Crain's Chicago Marketing Honorees Include African-American, Million Dollar Business Commonground

Commercials are becoming more diverse. Some advertising agencies are adding other target groups to their lineup. And the marketing industry is becoming more multicultural. And two of the four African-American honorees in Crain's Chicago 40 Under 40 2009 list helped with changing the face of today's advertising.

Chicago marketing company Commonground is owned by Sherman Wright and Ahmad Islam, and they're both pleased to be on Crain's Chicago Business Magazine's list.

"I think that as a businessperson there are certain honors that you aspire to," Islam said. "I think that [Crain's list] was one of the boxes that I was hoping to be able to check and one of the honors that I was hoping to achieve. I'll be 40 in May so I was getting down to the wire."

But the person who nominated Commonground is still a mystery to them.

"I read Crain's and understand that it's the voice of Chicago's business community so I'm very familiar with the publication and the list," Wright, also 39 and born in May, said. "We still don't know who nominated us. I was shocked that we were featured on the list because it's not something that we proactively pursued, but it's a humbling experience. I feel honored that somebody honors the hard work and the passion that we put into [Commonground]."

Wright, a Texan, came to Chicago after graduating from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Journalism. He worked for FKM agency from the age of 22 to 26 before deciding it was time to move on. Originally he came to Chicago for the Partnership for Success Program, which was created to encourage diversity in marketing, but when that program didn't pan out like Wright expected, he went on eight interviews with other ad agencies and was hired a week later with Upshot.

Islam, who is from Ohio, earned his master's degree in Sports Marketing and a bachelor's degree in Business Psychology before moving on to work in various states. He worked with Nike for six years in sales and marketing, one year with Minneapolis' Campbell Mithun and four years with Chicago's Leo Burnett.

Wright and Islam had met through a mutual friend who knew they were young, African-American Alpha Phi Alpha members with senior positions at marketing companies, and he felt they should meet. But even after meeting the first time, the two didn't immediately collaborate.

"It wasn't a lot of [young, African-Americans] in general marketing agencies at senior levels so we were introduced by a mutual friend," Islam explained. "We never really kind of spent that much time talking and getting to know each other until the Cancun trip."

Their second meeting happened while they were both on a trip to Cancun in August 2002, and neither one of them knew the other was there.

"I was down there with my wife," Islam said. "We'd just found out that we were expecting our first child. I was doing the heavy-lifting on the margarita side, and she couldn't hold up her end of that deal. I was thinking I was getting away from the city and working for a week or so, and happened to look to my right and there was Sherman."

"Thirty-three was an interesting year for me," Wright said. "I'd had my first and only child. I was recently married. I felt that there was more for me to offer, and I didn't necessarily want to work for somebody else. I felt it was a great time and a great age to start my own entity. I had philosophies and experiences about how I would run it.

The two marketing executives spent the next year and a half devising a plan for a multicultural marketing agency that later became Commonground. Wright left his job with Upshot in November 2003. Islam left Leo Barnett in December 2003. And Commonground was born in January 2004.

The marketing company has had some very popular clients-including Sprite, Coke, MGD, Bacardi Ltd., American Family Insurance, MillerCoors, General Mills and Alberto Culver. Islam was even able to represent his previous employer, Nike, through Commonground. And in the six years they've been in business, they made $750,000 in revenue by the end of 2005 and reached $8 million after four years, and they've created campaigns ranging from hip hop, Greek stepping to exotic vacations.

"We have a diverse array of clients," Islam said. "If you go through some of the work we've done for clients, it's been multicultural."

But Wright is quick to point out that it's not just physical appearance that companies are looking to advertise to.

"As a marketer, you can't stop at color, skin or ethnicity," Wright said. "I think you need to go deeper than that and say, 'What is that person all about?'"

Both Wright and Islam agree that there has been an increase in visibility for African-Americans in commercials and ads. Social media networking has also created a shift in marketing methods. But besides making money and building their clientele, Commonground also wants to create opportunities for other minorities in the marketing and advertising industry.

"When you look at the lack of representation in [the African-American] industry, there is not a lot of diversity," Wright said. "And a lot of times there's not necessarily a push from the top down saying we're looking for these individuals. You hear things such as 'I can't find this individual' or 'That qualified candidate is not out there,' and sometimes you have to use a different filter because it's an education process. It's not necessarily looking at your local headhunter and saying, 'Hey, I need to find this type of candidate.' Currently [in] the Chicago Ad Federation we have a program [called Cultural Connection Initiative], and it's about looking for qualified, young individuals who are interested in this profession."

But why is it so important to have a diverse audience inside the marketing industry and for the consumer?

"Marketers have acknowledged the fact that we do live in a multicultural world, and you're starting to see that play out," Islam said. "Some brands are doing a better job and are being more aggressive. What gets people's attention is the ability to generate revenue and grow their business. Not only is the face of the country changing but also the economic power and economic influence is changing. For a brand or a marketer to be successful, they have to find a way to make their brand and make their methods relevant to a diverse constituency."