Behind the Screens: Meet Senior Manager of Marketing & Client Solutions Adrian Bernal

Welcome back to ‘Behind the Screens,’ a monthly blog series in which we introduce members of our Cox Media team. This month, I was joined by Las Vegas’s Adrian Bernal, Sr. Manager of Marketing & Client Solutions.

He shared the importance of cultural understanding as a way to relate to diverse clients and communities.

Adrian Bernal, Sr. Manager of Marketing & Client Solutions, Las Vegas

Adrian, thank you so much for joining me today. For our first question, can you tell me how long you’ve been with Cox Media and a bit about your background?

Sure, I have been with Cox Media since December of 2021. So, a relatively short time, but I’ve been with Cox Communications on the residential side for 22 years, 16 of which were in marketing prior to joining Cox Media. In my previous role I was part of the competitive intelligence and strategy team for Cox Residential and have held several different titles from – multicultural marketing, product marketing, residential acquisition and retention marketing. It’s been an awesome 22-year career.

So, what drew you to Cox Media? Can you describe your role and what appealed to you?

I was drawn to Cox Media because it was a new challenge. When I looked into the organization and the role itself, what excited me about it was being able to not only continue to focus on our Residential services – cable, Internet, home, home automation, home security – but to also focus on a wider breadth of solutions for customer, client and prospective businesses.

The world of media is constantly changing, so actually building strategies in an ever-evolving environment is a fun and challenging part of my role. It’s important to me to create these truly impactful marketing strategies to help our clients grow their business.

What would you say your interactions with clients and prospects are like?

In conjunction with our consultants, our marketing team hosts open meetings we call “No Limits Cafés” – these are opportunities for the clients to meet with us directly to share what their goals are, what they are currently doing, and how we can partner together. From there, my team can take that information and develop a unique plan that will help them achieve those goals. In that way, we are ingrained with the client experience from day one.

We also do in-campaign and post-campaign analysis with our clients, where we celebrate the successes, reevaluate our clients’ priorities, and make tweaks along the way.

Knowing how passionate you are about this topic, one of the things we’d like to discuss with you is the importance of diversity and inclusion at work. At its best, what does diversity and inclusion look like in your experience?

Diversity and inclusion is such a passion point for me. Aside from my day job, I’m one of the national leaders of the Latino Employee Resource Group, ¡Hola!, and heavily involved with other Inclusion, Diversity & Equity groups.

So, how do I define diversity, inclusion, and equity? I typically explain it like this: Diversity is being invited to the party, Inclusion is being asked to dance, and Equity is being given the opportunity to change the music.

To that end, a benefit of having a diverse team is having different ways of thinking and the ability to see a wide range of perspectives. Representation is so important in everything that we do, because that’s how we stay in tune with the communities and the clients that we serve.

You know, we can’t talk the talk if we don’t walk the walk, right? That is where I see an opportunity for us as a company to make a significant impact. It is not just a priority for Cox Media, but for all of the divisions of Cox as a whole. I think that is what so impactful with the 34 by 34 Initiative – where we plan to impact 34 million lives by 2034.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are also critical to reach the communities we serve. There are a number of diverse ethnicities that are underrepresented in the workplace. But, if we are going to continue to partner with clients, having folks who look like them, who understand the community, and who can relate to what their goals are is important. Changing the music is what we’re all striving for, right?

You touched on this a little bit already, but do you have examples of diversity, inclusion, and equity in the workforce and the organization?

I think the work that we do with our internal employee resource groups is a great example. We have resource groups for Latinx, Black and African Americans, Asian/Pacific Islanders, women, LGBTQ+ and so many others. The goals of those groups is to not only make a positive impact on our employees, but also on the communities that represent those ERG segments. Also, you don’t necessarily have to be part of that community to be involved.

For example: if you are trying to make an impact on the Hispanic community, or make inroads into the Hispanic business community, you don’t necessarily have to be Hispanic to approach them. You just have to have an understanding of what is important to them, how they’re currently doing business, and how to relate and help them achieve their goals. That’s the key, and we can only accomplish that when we continue to educate all of our employees on what’s important to these different cultures that make up our community.

So, how is this education and cultural understanding demonstrate in relationships with clients?

As we approach our clients and the community, we have to continue to build trust within those communities that we are trying to serve. It’s one thing to say ‘I want your business’, but it’s important for us to demonstrate that while yes, we want their business, we want to build a genuine relationship with their community – that’s what creates trust.

It’s so important to show, with action, that we aren’t here to make money of off underrepresented communities – we are here to make a positive impact, because that’s ingrained in our culture.

This is wonderful insight and perspective. My last question: if there’s one thing you’d like our current or future clients to know, what would it be?

That’s a tough one. I would say that there is not a limit to what we can accomplish together. I think when we look at the capabilities that we bring to the table, they may seem daunting or complex, but that’s our opportunity to educate folks.

It may seem difficult at first, but Cox Media can make things easier and can be their full-service partner. That is what I want people to walk away with. It is, not just that we are here to try to make money. We want to help you win. And when you win, we win together.

Thanks so much for talking with me, Adrian! We hope you enjoyed our conversation about the importance of diversity, inclusion, and equity in the workplace, and as a way reach your clients and communities authentically.

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