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Does rebranding guarantee a culture shift?

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Bozoma Saint John is on my short list of Friends In my Head.  I've been following her career since she was the head of Music and Entertainment Marketing at Pepsi.  She has always stuck out to me as a possibility model as there are few Black women in the executive suite doing the kind of work I'd like to do. When Bozoma left Uber to join Endeavor as their Chief Marketing Officer it was clear to me that she is the living embodiment of the phrase "make your next move, your best move." 

So when Black Enterprise reported today that she had been hired by Papa John's Pizza to help with their re-brand, it definitely made me raise an eyebrow. 

This is a really pivotal moment not just for Papa John’s, but for all corporate businesses and all brands that service a larger group of people,” Saint John told Adweek. “Our culture has become even more sensitive to anything we feel is outside of our moral compass, and as a brand we acknowledge that.

I have a few thoughts about this, many of which are evolving. I am going to try my best to share my take on all this with as little shade thrown as possible. 

First, let me state the obvious. I am all for Black women getting their coins. It is Team #PayBlackWomen over here (word to Leslie Mac). Part of me really ain't mad at Bozoma for taking on this very challenging client, and for doing the work of helping them clean up the mess they made.  I simply can't knock the hustle. By all means, get money sis. 

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Also, not to give credit to Papa John's for doing the bare minimum, but hiring a Black woman to help you do the tough work of reconciling a racist history of wrongdoing is pretty much the best move here. Black women have the tea, the receipts, and the antidote. Hiring a Black woman to teach how to not be a racist company is the least you can do. They did what they were supposed to in this situation.  And I also want to point out that I don't actually believe that all money is good money. Sure, having a fat check clear after you have helped re-brand a company who has a history of racism may feel good...but at what cost? At what point do you say to a company that asks you to help them crawl out of the hole they've dug for themselves,  "I'm good love, enjoy"? 

Before going to Endeavor and before being hired by Papa John's, Bozoma was the Chief Brand Officer at Uber. After numerous reports of bad business practices, skeevy drivers, and bad work conditions on top of sad diversity numbers, the rideshare giant hired her to help them salvage their reputation. I don't claim to know the whole story about what went down, and whether or not Uber has changed is arguable, but what I do know is that Bozoma left after a year. 

And maybe, just maybe, the diagram below could fill in the blanks: 

 

 

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Again, there's no way of knowing for sure. And as far as I am concerned, I'm not fully convinced that Uber's brand is any better than it was before Bozoma joined their executive team. 

And I am also not convinced that's her fault. 

Here's the bottom line for me: It takes more than hiring a competent Black woman to lead a company's re-branding campaign when so much damage has already been done. In the case of Papa John's and Uber, there has to be a complete shift in the company culture for the re-brand to have a lasting impact. And a culture shift won't happen just because you tell them the right words to say or fire all the jerks. No amount of clever ads, thoughtful donations, or well-known third-party validators can make a toxic company culture disappear. 

It'll be very interesting to see what Bozoma can do for Papa John's, but I hope they know that the work doesn't stop with hiring a talented Black woman marketing executive. Progress and growth is a long game. I hope they're ready to play.