Founder and CEO of Flowers Communications Group, Michelle Flowers Welch, was recently honored with the 2017 Distinguished Senior Leader Award by the Public Relations Society of America Chicago Chapter.
Recognized for her work in the multicultural space, Flowers Welch shared her journey to create one of today’s leading agencies that connects its brand partners to communities of color, highlighting that #MulticulturalConsumersMatter.
After 26 years of building long-lasting relationships with clients, Flowers Welch has overcome many challenges in getting brands to recognize the importance and need for multicultural agencies. At the start of her career, the challenge was helping clients understand the purpose multicultural agencies served. Now, according to Flowers Welch, it’s securing and validating budget for the work, getting brands to recognize that multicultural agencies can lead out on total market efforts, and ensuring that people of color continue to have a voice.
“The fight in the multicultural space continues… There’s still the challenge of getting our voice heard at the table… [We need to be] involved in the strategy and provide expertise from the unique multicultural lens. And that can help prevent some of today’s racially explosive PR fiascos,” said Flowers Welch.
With the recent marketing blunders lacking cultural nuances from top brands, either inaccurately portraying multicultural audiences or creating culturally irrelevant campaigns, Flowers Welch urges industry leaders to become more vocal advocates for multicultural strategic expertise. “As I look around the room, I see so many accomplished senior leaders with the power to affect change,” said Flowers Welch.
For more information on Flowers Communications Group, visit www. -explorefcg.com.
About Michelle Flowers Welch
Michelle Flowers Welch received her master’s degree from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism and her undergraduate degree from Winston-Salem State University. Flowers Welch has more than 75 awards for her work in public relations, advertising and integrated marketing communications.
