On April 7th, the Blis Italy team, fueled with determination and enthusiasm, took to the streets for the 22nd edition of the Milano Marathon. Teaming up with Brooks, we shared a common goal: to make a positive impact on our community’s future. Brooks generously supported our efforts by gifting their latest Glycerin21 shoes to our amazing team, improving their marathon experience and helping them get to the finish line!

The Milan Relay Marathon was not just a test of physical endurance, it was an opportunity to make a significant impact in the lives of children battling serious illnesses. Through this initiative, valuable funds were raised in support of Make-A-Wish, an organisation dedicated to granting the wishes of these brave children. Thanks to this collaborative effort, many young hearts were filled with joy and hope as they saw their dreams come to life.

“In the journey of life, it’s easy to get caught up in daily activities, but it’s crucial to remember our strength when we come together for a common cause. Blis’ participation in the Milan Relay Marathon is a clear example of this power. As we continue to work together for a better future, let’s always keep the flame of generosity alive, knowing that together we can make a difference in the lives of those who need it most”, said Roberto Cordopatri, Retail Marketing Manager at Brooks Italy. 

Beyond the race, our participation in the Milan Relay Marathon, alongside Brooks, was a tangible demonstration of how the power of collective efforts can have a great impact on the most vulnerable lives by building a better world. 

“As we reflect on this inspiring journey, we’re excited to continue our collaboration with Brooks, not only in community initiatives but also in making strides in the advertising industry. Together, we’re committed to building a brighter future for all”, added Simona Nucci, our Agency Group Head in Milan.

Andrea Savarino, Insights Leads at Blis, was delighted to be a speaker at last week’s Osservatorio’s conference titled ‘The evolution of measurement models and attention metrics’. Andrea joined other industry experts in addressing the growing measurement challenges the industry is facing and how to best approach them. 

During his talk, Andrea discussed how the hurdles in the media industry envelope many areas and channels, and understanding real audience engagement has become a tangled puzzle to solve with so many channels being involved. He emphasised that the current measurement models lack effectiveness and accuracy, as they only measure omnichannel as a series of individual campaigns, failing to capture the full spectrum of audience interactions and making the entire process even more complicated. 

Instead, Andrea advocated for a more robust approach to measuring ad effectiveness, urging marketers to compare the impact of ads on one, unified audience across all channels. By assessing outcome uplift between two groups of the same audience – one exposed to ads and the other not – brands can unlock the true impact of their campaigns.

This is exactly what the Blis platform covers, by measuring the audience instead of the channel. Through Blis’ latest innovative measurement technology, Smart Holdout Groups, brands can now effectively measure, and attribute, what really matters to them – footfall, sales, app usage, brand awareness or any custom metric that moves their needle. It empowers brands to directly attribute their advertising to real-world business outcomes. 

Learn more about our new omnichannel measurement technology and Blis platform here. 

To celebrate International Women’s Day, we invited three brilliant women at Blis to answer some questions and help us all #InspireInclusion this week.

Today we spoke with Becky Martin, one of our UK Group Heads. Check it out!

1. What were the one or two most important career moves you’ve made to feel more included, and why?
   
   I started my media career 17 years ago and have only worked at four different companies.  I have been so fortunate to work for great companies that I have never had to base a career move on the fact that I didn’t feel included. At a previous company, I was asked to apply for a job in a different team, which happened to be a more male-skewed team at the time. When I made this move internally, I was only four months into my new role, and I fell pregnant. At first I was worried this would hinder my career, taking a year out for maternity leave. However, it had the opposite effect, and I was, in fact, promoted within six months of returning from maternity leave. I have recently started my career at Blis, and as for everyone, it is very daunting starting a new job, especially with the added pressure of having two small children to raise. However, I feel very fortunate because of the team I work with and the leadership team; I have felt included and understood and never questioned if I needed time away from work to attend to my children.
   
   
2. What is the most important challenge we still need to tackle to become a more inclusive industry?
   
   As an industry, we are making great strides to become more inclusive. However, a quote went viral last year on social media that resonated with me: “Women are supposed to work like they don’t have children and mother like they don’t work”. As I have mentioned, I have been fortunate to work for great companies where I have been able to progress in my career while taking time out to raise my children. However, I believe there is still some work to be done, not just for working mothers but for becoming a more inclusive industry all around. Despite efforts to promote inclusion, there is still a struggle with issues such as unequal access to opportunities, discrimination in hiring and promotion practices, and a lack of representation of marginalized groups in leadership roles. 
   

    

3. What does #InspireInclusion mean to you?

   
   Regardless of their background, identity, or abilities, every individual feels welcomed in every aspect of life, whether in the workplace, home life, or social settings. It is about breaking down barriers and making everyone feel accepted and no judgment. Everyone should feel a sense of belonging in all walks of life.
   

4. What can people and companies do to help #InspireInclusion?
   
   Education and training on unconscious bias, privilege, and inclusive leadership can help raise awareness and promote behaviours supporting diversity and equity. Addressing the challenges collectively as an industry, asking for support from leaders and employees to create a more inclusive and fair environment where everyone has the opportunity to succeed regardless of their background. Having relatable role models in senior positions. Having great leadership at the top to shout the wins and champion the employees to make them feel included. This way, talent will be retained. 

To celebrate International Women’s Day, we invited three brilliant women at Blis to answer some questions and help us all #InspireInclusion this week.

Our second interview is with Kelly Jacobson Collins, our VP, Governance, Ethics & DPO. Check it out!

1. What were the one or two most important career moves you’ve made to feel more included, and why?
   
   The point of inclusion is for the company or the group to make the person who isn’t included feel included rather than an individual adapting to fit in. For decades, women have adapted their behaviour to feel more included, rather than the workplace losing its white masculine traits. Even as recently as 2011, Stamford University released research describing how women would be even more successful than men if they just turned on or off their masculine traits.’ Tropes like this drive me to be part of Rise and ensure that Blis is an inclusive workplace.
   
   
2. What is the most important challenge we still need to tackle to become a more inclusive industry?
   
   The findings from the All In Census shed light on ongoing challenges within the industry regarding gender equality and inclusion. The fact that nearly a third of women feel their gender hinders their careers highlights systemic issues that need to be addressed.  Moreover, the higher percentage of women from ethnic minorities feeling this way underscores intersectional challenges faced by individuals who belong to multiple marginalised groups.
   
   
   

   I never imagined I’d be quoting Elvis Presley lyrics, but we need “A little less conversation, a little more action”. LinkedIn posts, company policies and conversations are wonderful, but we need consistent action year-round to ensure that women, especially marginalised women, feel safe and happy in their roles and that they can succeed at work.

    

3. What does #InspireInclusion mean to you?
   
   It has two parts: education and being a role model. Education comes from blogs like this, Blis’  Let’s Talk About sessions and public resources like podcasts, articles and events. We need to hear from more women about how they feel when they’re excluded. What does it feel like to be left out? What does it feel like when your voice is never listened to? What does it feel like when you can’t join your colleagues at a social event because – e.g. you don’t drink/you have to pick your kids up/you haven’t been invited? Focusing on how it feels to be excluded (we all have been at some point in our lives) helps us feel the fire in our bellies and want to make change. 
   
   Being a role model means serving as an example, mentor, or inspiration to others. I do this by inspiring others at Blis to get involved with Rise, our employee DEI initiative, and inspiring them to get involved. I have mentored both men and women through different groups, including Bloom, Digilearning and Brixton Finishing School. And I set an example as a woman by showing that you can have a fulfilling career and caring responsibilities and drive change in the industry by advocating for yourself and others and speaking up for those who can’t speak up for themselves.
4. What can people and companies do to help #InspireInclusion?
   
   Last week on LinkedIn, a conference organiser shared an image of the panellists speaking on its panel. The headshots showed 5 white men and 1 non-white man; there was not much inclusion there! What can you do to help?

• If you’re invited to speak on a panel, regardless of your race, sexual orientation, gender, age, physical ability, or neurodivergence – ask the organiser who else is speaking and help to build a diverse panel. If everyone else is the same as you, suggest someone else.

   

• If you are sponsoring an event like this, nominate diverse speakers, send different people than usual, and give an opportunity to all (equity).
  
  
  
• If you’re organising an event, curate content and panels carefully. Think about how panels look and sound: balance commercial objectives with diversity goals.
  
  
  
• When I attend events in our industry, I am surrounded by white men because these are the people for whom companies will pay for tickets. Not because they are white men (I hope) but because we have so far to go in our industry in terms of DEI, and it is mostly men at the top. Offer free tickets to groups like MEFA, Bloom, and The Women in Programmatic Network. Brixton Finishing School and Digilearning.

To celebrate International Women’s Day, we invited three brilliant women at Blis to answer some questions and help us all #InspireInclusion this week.

Our first interview is with Group Head of Regions, Sadie Teasdale. Check it out!

1. What were the one or two most important career moves you’ve made to feel more included, and why?
   
   I can’t say that I’ve ever moved anywhere for the specific reason of feeling more included – it certainly feels like it just happens in a role rather than being expected. Most moves I’ve made were down to decisions in that company – I’ve been made redundant three times in my career, once when I was 34 weeks pregnant – so I didn’t have a choice in those moves! Companies are getting so much better at prioritising an inclusive working environment. Still, I always ensure I have a work ‘tribe’ – not necessarily people in the same situation but from whom you get unconditional support.
2. What is the most important challenge we still need to tackle to become a more inclusive industry?

   I recently saw a great quote from Tamu Thomas, author and life coach: ‘After years of trying to ‘girl boss’ like you don’t have a family and mother like you don’t have to work, you realise the game is rigged. That it’s not up to us to smash the glass ceiling… we need systematic change. It took me years to realise that you cannot outwork the patriarchy.
   And that’s what we need. We need that systematic change. We need women at the top of companies to help lower that ladder and raise the hidden talent or even shout out ‘I’m here’ talent. We need support, understanding, and the trust that we are doing our jobs brilliantly while watching our child’s nativity play, picking up from school, or caring for a relative. Unfortunately, there are still many companies where being visibly seen is the route to success, not the job output.

3. What does #InspireInclusion mean to you?

   
   To me, this means walking the walk and talking the talk. I want my team to feel included and know that their individualities help create our working environment, so I try to work with that in mind and behave in a way that inspires inclusion. I also see it happen in my leadership team — you learn the expectations from those more senior.

4. What can people and companies do to help #InspireInclusion?

   
   MEFA (Media for All) have a clear and straightforward way of looking at this challenge – three steps to increase inclusivity – recruit, retain and rise. Try to create an inclusive environment by recruiting people from all backgrounds, but don’t stop there. Ensure the support is continuous so they stay within that business / the industry – and then keep that ladder down to get them to the top. There’s been a lot of shouting about new recruitment policies to attract people with more diverse backgrounds, but the main challenge is keeping them in the industry and knowing how it can be a career for anyone.