Prologue: Stop Pioneering and Reimagine a Decolonized Future for MarComms

By Jazzmin Gota and Paul David Terry

Have you ever felt disillusioned by the superficial gestures and tokenism often associated with awareness days for social justice causes? Do you find yourself questioning the impact of well-intentioned organizational apologies for diverse communities and responses that may inadvertently misrepresent marginalized communities? Are you ever weary from constantly revisiting lists of dos and don'ts for engaging with different communities? The world of marketing and communications (MarComms) is not immune to these challenges, sometimes perpetuating issues from the very foundations that guide our strategies, practices and intentions.

As communicators, we are confronted with the task of navigating complex questions surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion while operating within frameworks that may perpetuate harmful ideologies. In the digital age, our communications often reflect and perpetuate dominant Western and capitalist norms, influencing narratives and perceptions in ways that may exclude or misrepresent diverse voices. In fact, the very communities we (mis)represent are those that have been teaching us how to connect and communicate—developing a misconception that we are pioneering this work. This is where our blog comes in!

What if we reimagined colonial and capitalistic mentalities of pioneering new ideas that have been in relation with diverse and non-dominant communities? What if we shift the concept of discovering new territories to be in relation by listening with our communities, our people, our words? What if we recognized methods in decolonization not as a quick fix, but to find value that elevates the spirit and dreams of our communities rather than focusing on what’s in it for us? 

From Pioneering to Developing Relationships

Drawing inspiration from Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed, our blog provides pathways to bridge between the language and process of the oppressor and oppressed to foster collaborative and community centric solutions. While it's not always perfect and doesn't produce immediate results, it does nurture critical hope—a transformative concept that goes beyond mere success metrics, emphasizing authentic community engagement based on meaningful relationships and collective action. 

🌿 For those seeking immediate results and tangible numbers, take a moment to reflect on the origins of that sense of urgency to connect with people? Hold that thought for our upcoming posts. Why are we so transactional with human

Our words, content, graphics, the things unspoken in our communications, and what we broadcast can carry bias that is intentional or unintentional. By decolonizing MarComms we critically examine how coloniality and capitalism have marginalized or erased Indigenous communities and practices. Then can then understand how our structures founded on forced displacement, cultural erasure, resource deprivation, and hierarchical systems of human existence are disconnecting rather than engaging. This allows us to address problematic areas, particularly as we interact with communities that our foundations were designed to suppress. We seek authentic communication by uplifting dialogue around oppressive means, rather than reinforcing them, and moving our organizations beyond acknowledgement and apologies towards sustained actions. 

In this blog, we aim to stir up discussions about how capitalism and colonialism affect communities, and explore ways to break down or reimagine systems that support dominant ideologies, placing emphasis on dignity, respect, and effective tools for engagement. We delve into how communication channels are shaped by capitalism and dominance, and how fostering genuine partnerships based on mutual understanding and collaboration can lead to a more inclusive future. Instead of perpetuating exploitative practices, we aspire to inspire readers and MarComms professionals to adopt decolonial approaches.

We recognize that this is a large undertaking, to truly transform how we approach our work and address skepticism in the process. Our work is to start and continue conversations that have been had, while finding a flow for more conversations to come. We came to this blog wishing that these ideas existed somewhere where we could read. To think through ideas and questions like how can we be authentic in communication with capitalistic tools. Can we? 

While our focus is on digital MarComms, we send this to all of you so that our work connects so that others continue challenging traditional approaches and embracing decolonial practices that call out problems while seeing people to try solutions. Our hope is to move beyond capitalistic means, but given the reality of our society, can we at least rethink our modes to help us all find two-way engagement that is for our communities

Our Journey Ahead

Our series comprises seven segments, including an introduction and conclusion, offering readings, reflection questions, and ways to reconsider our approach to work.

In the first blog post, "Prologue: Moving Beyond Pioneering to Envision a Decolonized Future for MarComms," we introduce the concept of decolonizing digital marketing and communications for community building and engagement beyond the current industry norms. This is followed by "Decolonizing Digital Marketing and Communications: Understanding the Why, How, and When," which explores historical accounts and provides foundational definitions and concepts for our decolonial journey.

Moving on to blog 3, "The Impact of Colonization on Mass Media: An Overview," we present a brief history of colonization, mass media, and the role of digital marketing and communications within this context. These initial blog posts set the stage for the necessity of decolonizing MarComms and outline how we can collectively undertake this transformative work.

The subsequent set of posts examines various aspects of media, identity, and technology. In the fourth post, "Media and Information Literacy: Identifying, Challenging, and Reshaping Dominant Narratives," we uplift critical media and information literacy and its role in shaping social norms and perceptions. This is followed by the fifth post, "Understanding the Power Interplay of Capitalism, Colonialism, and Communications," which explores the intersections of economic, political, and social systems in the realm of digital MarComms.

The sixth post, "Speaking Truth to Voices in the Digital Arena: Strategies for Engagement," offers practical steps and strategies for effective communication through digital platforms. In the seventh blog post, "Queering Our Norms: Exploring Ableism and Heteronormativity in MarComms," we address the importance of inclusivity and safety by challenging ableism and heteronormative ideals within the MarComms industry.

Our final post delves into "Technologies, Colonialism, and Gender Equality," expanding on the complexities of digital MarComms and examining the historical biases and power structures embedded in the technologies we utilize.

As the series concludes with "Delving Deeper: Continuing the Journey of Decoloniality," we encourage readers to reflect on the next steps in their own decolonial journey. Additionally, we provide a curated collection of resources referenced throughout the series—a reading, watching, and listening list on digital MarComms.

🌿 Review the map below and join us in our MarComms journey! What’s new? What’s interesting? What are you passionate about? Our ability to learn with an open heart comes from challenging our own bias and being with education as a source of inspiration, hope and joy!

Blog series roadmap

Come with us on a journey towards decolonizing marketing and communications, where we highlight diverse perspectives and social movements to reshape the industry with respect, understanding, and a dedication to humanizing our resources and relationships. Together, let's envision a future where critical connections and innovative thinking pave the way towards a more equitable and inclusive world.

This series has been inspired by these principles, and we are grateful to the Center for Humanizing Education and Research (C-HER) at the University of San Francisco for their support. Through the Freedom Dreaming Grant provided by C-HER, we have been able to rethink our approaches to promoting social justice and human rights in MarComms, and contemplate how each of us can contribute to systemic change. We extend our heartfelt thanks to C-HER for their invaluable support and partnership in this journey towards a more inclusive and just future for marketing and communications.

Here are a list of readings that inspired our post above!

Duncan-Andrade, J. (2009). Note to Educators: Hope is Required When Growing Roses in Concrete. Harvard Educational Review, 79. https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.79.2.nu3436017730384w

Freire, P. (1968). Pedagogy of the oppressed. Seabury Press.

Krawec, P. (2022). Becoming kin: An Indigenous call to unforgetting the past and reimagining our future. 1517 Media. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv29sfz3r

Stein, S. (2022). Unsettling the university: Confronting the colonial foundations of US higher education. Johns Hopkins University Press., https://doi.org/10.56021/9781421445052