The Strategic Communication capstone agencies, AdZou and MOJO Ad, are committed to diversity and inclusion in our staff, the agency work environment, the clients we serve and the work that we create. To uphold an exemplary standard we will:

• Foster representation on our agency teams. This will be done by promoting our capstones to a wide variety of students starting at the freshman level with the Fall Welcome, as well as talking with student groups such as NABJ, NAHJ, Queer Media Association and Women in Media. Additionally, during the capstone enrollment process we will present students with information about the options available for different positions and client opportunities to help students make an informed choice when stating their capstone preferences.
• Foster representation and experiences within our group of faculty instructors. This will be done by seeking those who bring different perspectives to our capstones as well as inviting speakers from organizations that emphasize diverse communities, such as the American Advertising Federation Mosaic Center for Multiculturalism, the BrandLab of Kansas City, The Marcus Graham Project and the Mizzou Division of Inclusion, Diversity and Equity.
• Expect our student teams to work together to understand and respect each other. This will be done through team building exercises and 360-degree reviews of each other to create an open dialogue where they can learn about each other and their backgrounds.
• Recruit a wide range of clients. This will include talking to coalitions both locally and nationally, such as the Columbia Diversity Awareness Partnership and Columbia Business Association, and using resources such as the Columbia Minority and Women Owned Business Directory to seek out potential clients. We will also present clients with the opportunity to target socially vulnerable communities as appropriate and fitting with client business objectives.
• Represent the client and audiences correctly through our capstone research process, conducting primary qualitative and quantitative research of the audience. This research is critical to our capstone work to ensure that campaigns aren’t created based on feeling, but on data acquired through contact with the target audience(s). Research will be done using practices that are ethical, based on industry and social standards, and incorporate all relevant communities to the client problem the teams are being asked to solve.
• Encourage and facilitate discussion of differing views and approaches to the campaign process in order to create positive and accurate portrayals of diverse persons and socially vulnerable communities that resists stereotypes.

Through the aforementioned goals and action items, our intention is to provide all Strategic Communication students with a breadth of real-world experiences and a deeper understanding of the vital role diversity and inclusion plays in our industry and society at large.