The best way to learn about TWS, The UnAgency is to know the women who started the company.
From a girl growing up in
What got me where I am today, began long before I knew what my career goals were. It's the chapters of my story that informs what I know of any story. From the Saturday communal carport gatherings around crawfish and bar-b-q of my hometown to the dining hall and Huddle gatherings at the University of Notre Dame, these experiences solidified the value of “all of me.” Even the prequel to my Notre Dame story, defies conventional wisdom. My high school white, male English teacher predicted that I would never be accepted to Notre Dame from an all-black, public high school in the deep south with so many odds against me. Well, what conventional wisdom and my English teacher didn’t know about me is that I am the exception, and not the rule. And my light shines through in any and everything of which I am a part. Well, we all know it now.
That same ‘something different’ about me brought me to the advertising industry. As a young black woman at Notre Dame in the early 90's, I definitely loved watching BET. I had a need to be connected to the cultural identity that I certainly missed – the music, the visuals of people that looked like me - being one of few ethnically diverse people at ND. But, I also wanted to see more of a variety in the different representations of black life in the programming and the commercials between my beloved early 90’s video shows. I wanted to see more of the shows I identified with and aspired to, like ‘The Cosby Show’ and ‘Different World.’ Not that my parents were upper-middle class; but that education, pride in culture and striving toward accomplishment were important values where I come from and were valuable wherever I took them.
I learned that the name of that career field was advertising. And, I set out on my career path to make a change. Since then, I have brought the beauty of my difference to everything I’ve touched from my paid work on national brands and start-ups as well as my service work for one of the biggest and oldest global brands, my alma mater, Notre Dame.
I’ve worked with some amazing people and developed some amazing work. Those great people include Jim Pollak, Bruce Levitt and Al Chaiet - the J. Walter Thompson alums and entrepreneur partners that owned the first agency I worked at. Jan Freund, the woman who hired me for that first Account Coordinator position and rehired me more than 10 years later. I have also worked in-culture with people like Tanya Walker and cross-culturally with people like Michael Wong, Liz Hernandez and Kateri Kerwin to develop and market programs for the diverse alumni base of Notre Dame.
In my career, I’ve seen ups (creating my first entrepreneurial venture as a marketing consultant) and downs (being hired and fired within a two month period because the agency didn’t get the account they anticipated). And unfortunately, as I come up on 15 years in the advertising and marketing industries, working with a diverse team has been few and far between. I also know there is much more work that would benefit from the diversity of background and experiences that any number of people I know would bring to the table. But, the current state of the industry makes it harder for a diverse team to get to those opportunities.
Well, if you know me, you know that I am not one to sit around and complain for too long. If the opportunity is not there, I look to create it. And, that’s what TWS The UnAgency is - the opportunity created. I want to bring the beauty of difference – culturally, ethnically, categorically and experientially - to the table where company brands are developed, images and messages are created and media is chosen to touch communities all over this country and resonate over the world.
Let’s go! Nothing about me is ordinary! Where I come from and how my career came to be is a tale of determination and the audacity to dream…Big! I was raised up in a community that sometimes seemed overwhelmed with limitations. But at a young age, I used determination and resilience to assure me I would beat the odds. I never knew where or how it would all come about, but I was sure somehow or another, I’d make it. My passion to read and write became my solace in a sometimes unstable and uncertain world. Because of my passion, I’ve always understood the power of words and the enigmatic ability to engage an audience in the conscious and unconscious world. It’s a key element in what propelled me to become an accomplished writer. I set my sights to enter the world of public relations because I knew it would lead to my greatness. But, I was met with resistance from the world’s status quo. To put it candidly, I was told that unless I had “A, B, C & D”, there was no way I was going to get a foot in. The odds were seemingly against me and I decided to create my own opportunity and launch a boutique PR firm. The Write Stylz Public Relations Firm was born of that effort in 2003. As Founder & President, I worked diligently to set my firm apart from the pack with the uncanny ability to tell a compelling story. We’ve told the story of entrepreneurs, celebrities and notable organizations through media such as The Charlotte Observer, The So now I embark on larger territory – TWS The UnAgency is everything I have been moving towards and defines what has helped my successes to date – “doing it anyway and in spite of”! I continue on this journey of moving forward when the odds are seemingly against me – against us as we face uncharacteristic changes in our professional and personal lives in this time in history. It’s not just me that I move forward for – it’s for everyone who knows there is something different, better, extraordinary. I am truly excited to be part of such an exciting transformation in the communications industry – to be able to develop new ways to communicate in our changing world and to be in a position of bringing brands together with their audiences with new media, new talent and a new and better way to do business and yield results we can all be proud of.
Tamika Morrison
COO