IW Group, an Asian American owned marketing firm, known for working with some of the biggest film and TV projects and brands, was recently recognized as Ad Age’s 2022 Multicultural Agency of the Year.
The marketing firm first began with a focus on the growing Asian audience, but has been expanding to reach broader groups, including Latinx, Black and LGBTQIA+ communities. It’s the kind of mission that really resonates with our goals here at POC Culture.
“As brands continue to double down on their commitment to multicultural youth, agency partners who are both culturally and digitally fluent will be imperative,” said Nita Song, IW Group President and Chief Momentum Officer in a press release. “Our team’s diverse backgrounds — both personally and professionally — and our talent development programs have aligned us with the zeitgeist and are preparing us for the future.”
When it comes to true representation in media, diversity in all areas is needed. I often talk about how important it is to have diverse creatives behind the camera, diversity in decision making positions, and diversity in journalism covering these projects. Another area where greater diversity is absolutely critical, is with marketing and PR firms.
Pulling the curtains back a bit, for every win we see when Sandra Oh is starring in a film or when Pixar finally releases a film centered on an Asian girl, marketing and PR representatives play a vital role in helping to determine how those films and shows are presented to the public. Recently, with the release of Pixar’s Turning Red, there’s been a lot of discussion on film journalism and how certain film critics respond to certain stories. The work that IW Group does is vital to the growth of diverse brands and access for diverse journalists and outlets (like ours).
“It’s an absolute honor to be recognized by one of the industry’s foremost authorities in creative excellence,” said Bill Imada, IW Group’s Founder and Chief Connectivity Officer in a press release. “These past few years haven’t been easy but they’ve also brought forth extraordinary opportunities from both new and existing clients. Their faith in our agency and our team’s passion for innovation is what enables us to produce significant work, which leads to significant awards.”
On a personal level, I’ve had the opportunity to work closely with IW Group over the last couple of years and they set the industry standard when it comes to incredible work and professionalism. It’s wonderful to see that their work is being recognized.
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ASIAN AMERICAN-OWNED MARKETING FIRM IW GROUP
NAMED AD AGE’S 2022 MULTICULTURAL AGENCY OF THE YEAR
LA-based consumer and entertainment shop wins top category honor at
A-List & Creativity Awards
LOS ANGELES, March 15, 2022 — From tapping into the power of Kpop to embracing the possibilities of the metaverse, 2021 was a year of extraordinary firsts for IW Group, a leading creative agency specializing in engaging diverse audiences, and its clients. As the pandemic continued to limit in-person activities and on-set production, the firm explored new creative approaches that not only yielded award-winning campaigns for clients McDonald’s and Jack Daniel’s, but also an unprecedented expansion into new consumer segments — including LGBTQ+, Hispanic and Indigenous — for the traditionally AAPI-focused agency.
Characterized by a renewed emphasis on innovation, transformation and purpose, IW Group’s landmark 2021 has culminated with being named Ad Age’s 2022 Multicultural Agency of the Year. One of the marketing industry’s highest honors, it is part of the trade organization’s prestigious A-List & Creativity Awards, which recognizes the best forward-thinking leaders, top agencies and creative innovators of today.
“It’s an absolute honor to be recognized by one of the industry’s foremost authorities in creative excellence,” said Bill Imada, IW Group’s Founder and Chief Connectivity Officer. “These past few years haven’t been easy but they’ve also brought forth extraordinary opportunities from both new and existing clients. Their faith in our agency and our team’s passion for innovation is what enables us to produce significant work, which leads to significant awards.”
Bolstered by diverse young talent and guided by veteran leadership, IW Group scored new clients in 2021 across a broad range of industries including consumer, entertainment and healthcare. Upskilling agency personnel has also been a key priority, with internal training courses on emerging tech and digital trends (e.g., metaverse, NFTs and VR) offered regularly to staff. With an eye towards the future, the firm also recently opened an office in the metaverse, which will be utilized for virtual events, client presentations and staff meetings.
“As brands continue to double down on their commitment to multicultural youth, agency partners who are both culturally and digitally fluent will be imperative,” said Nita Song, IW Group President and Chief Momentum Officer. “Our team’s diverse backgrounds — both personally and professionally — and our talent development programs have aligned us with the zeitgeist and are preparing us for the future.”
For the year ahead, IW Group will pursue agency growth; with plans to expand its award-winning entertainment practice, scale up its content department and formalize its burgeoning metaverse marketing capabilities. Additionally, the firm is exploring new client opportunities with overseas brands seeking to enter the US market.
“Our non-traditional approach to tradition and the opportunity to introduce new cultural representations not only fuels our creativity but also drives our purpose as an organization,” said Telly Wong, IW Group’s Chief Content Officer and SVP. “Our mission is to create work that not only excites our clients and resonates with audiences, but also inspires our team.”
About IW Group
One of the most award-winning multicultural agencies of all-time, IW Group was originally founded in 1990 to help US companies engage the then-emerging Asian American market. With a mission to create extraordinary brand experiences through culture and innovation, their clients include such major companies as McDonald’s, Lexus, Warner Brothers, and Disney. In recent years, the firm’s culture-first, digital-led and youth-driven approach has enabled the agency to expand into new industry categories and audience segments. Headquartered in Los Angeles, IW Group has additional offices in New York, San Francisco and the metaverse.
Ron is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of POC Culture. He is a big believer in the power and impact of pop culture and the importance of representation in media.
