Originally posted on Adweek by Doug Zanger, July 30, 2020.
The evolution of agencies and advertising continues, and due to the impact of Covid-19, the future seems uncertain. Layoffs and bad news from holding companies mean that talent will likely need to adjust to new realities and change the way they work. On the flip side, brands and agencies continue to look at and accelerate flexible options, using more freelancers.
Flexible talent platform We Are Rosie has become a beneficiary of the changing face and structure of marketing and is one of the leading players in assessing the future of work. Last May, We Are Rosie founder Stephanie Nadi Olson and her team released The Rosie Report, a research project that deconstructed some of the myths of remote working, and outlined some of the major successes between the platform and major brands.
To breathe more life into its insights and research, We Are Rosie transitioned the URL from that report into a robust content platform. Covering seven core areas—creativity, inclusion, innovation, sustainability, wellness, productivity and prosperity—the site contains articles, a bimonthly podcast, newsletter, insights, case studies and reports.
“Many [in the We Are Rosie community of over 5,500 people] have really valuable insights and opinions—from the C-suite to self-taught creatives who didn’t have an opportunity to go to portfolio school,” Olson said. “I really believe that all of these voices should be heard, and that we should curate content that tells the more holistic story of the opportunity presented by building a future of work that’s leveraging technology and a distributed workforce.”
Contributors to the site include Cindy Gallop, CEO and founder of IfWeRanTheWorld and MakeLoveNotPorn, and Sparks&Honey chief strategy officer Camilo La Cruz. Launch partners include Aerialist (who consulted on the project), Allyship & Action, Bumble, Shanty Town Design and The 3% Conference.
“Now more than ever, it’s important that creativity, adaptability and flexibility in the workforce continue to be core competencies,” said Chelsea Cain, marketing vp at Bumble, a We Are Rosie client. “Too often, businesses expect people to behave like computers with inputs coming in and outputs going out, but that isn’t always the case. This partnership definitely helped cement that thought for me. I hope that we can help amplify We Are Rosie’s mission even further through our support of The Rosie Report.”
From its launch, Olson, who has deep experience in media from past roles, noted that the editorial process will be highly curated but not too rigid, allowing for flexibility as the platform evolves. And while there is a great deal of clutter in the marketing content space, Olson believes that We Are Rosie’s unique proposition and point of view will help break through the clutter.
“We want to create a home where people that have a voice, a unique perspective and something to say can share that voice,” said Olson. “[In the] modern working [world], and all the things that come along with that within our industry, we haven’t seen anything else that is strictly focused on diverse perspectives and building a more equitable future of work and advertising content.”