Publicis Groupe Canada is throwing its weight behind the CEE Centre for Young Black Professionals to address the unemployment gap for Black youth in the company’s largest-ever pro bono campaign.

“Who I Really Am” is the first major work for CEE, a Toronto non-profit that provides free professional workforce skill training and development for Black youth, alongside holistic supports like access to social workers and therapists, education and advocacy.

More than 1,000 Black youth have graduated from CEE programs and the non-profit proudly notes a 96% program retention rate.

The “Who I Really Am” hero spot singles out nine CEE alumni, providing them with customized “Who I Really Am” hoodies that double as a resume, detailing their professional experience, accomplishments and accolades. That ties into the theme of the spot, as explained by filmmaker Mike Regis in the voice-over: that Black youth can achieve their professional dreams, regardless of what people might assume based on bias.

The hoodies were produced by Grandslammer$, an apparel brand founded by CEE alum Jason Blackwood, also featured in the video.

Stephanie McRae, Publicis Groupe Canada’s head of diversity and inclusion, tells strategy the initiative is part of Publicis’ DEI mandate, which has pillars of giving back, talent management and education, but also making such commitments sustainable.

In fact, “Who I Really Am” marks an important milestone for Publicis Groupe Canada: an annual commitment to creating pro bono campaigns for non-profits in the BIPOC space.

It’s one thing to make a more diverse workforce, it’s quite another to have a broader societal impact, McRae stresses. With Publicis, it’s about using its collective talents to support a community organization’s broad range of vital services.

CEE’s executive director was the first speaker the agency had as part of its educational series, and according to McRae, this “power of one” moment prompted a much larger effort, involving 40 staffers spanning multiple disciplines.

“This is something that’s agency-wide,” says Scott Pinkney, SVP and ECD at Publicis Hawkeye, telling strategy that of the 40 participants who had volunteered their time, he met 39 for the first time.

Pinkney says of the CEE alum, “their story is my story,” stressing the importance of these kinds of Black youth empowerment initiatives, particularly in the wake of George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police, which occurred around the time Publicis first connected with CEE.

In terms of the creative, Pinkney says Publicis wanted to make the message positive, and also wanted to give CEE a strong positioning from which future campaigns could be birthed, that would “shine a light on their ongoing commitment to help Black youth thrive.”

“We are trying to make real change,” he says. And that also means going to high schools, and doing school board partnerships. Pinkney says that the industry commitment is there, and that c-suites are receptive.

That change is needed now: the 2021 unemployment rate among young Black people 15 to 24, according to Stats Canada, was almost double that of the national average for the same age group.

Talent from across Publicis Groupe’s Canadian agencies worked on the campaign, which includes the digital hero video, social and influencer content, as well as OOH placements in Toronto with includes support from media partners Branded Cities, Pattison, Outfront, Vertical Impression, Allvision and Astral.

Together, these partners have united to champion the initiative, donating over $500,000 in primarily OOH ad space, including in premium locations like Union Station, Dundas Square and the CF Toronto Eaton Centre, as well as on highway billboards, transit shelters and TTC stations.

The campaign also includes an influencer strategy with four paid partners, all of whom local, young talented Black professionals. There is also paid social targeting on LinkedIn and Meta targeted to GTA-based HR and DEI decision makers, including in the core industries CEE actively trains its students.