This week on EthicalVoices, Damaryan Benton, the founder of The PR Habitat, Co-Chair of the Queer Frontier Collective, and an account executive for Anomaly, discusses:
- Why you shouldn’t confuse access with alignment
- How early-career professionals can effectively challenge tone-deaf campaigns
- Why authentic storytelling—not social metrics—must guide the use of AI in communications
- Where young communicators can find a group built for them
Please tell my listeners more about yourself and your career.
I’m a brand strategist, community builder, and now a founder of this global platform that supports early-career communications professionals through networking events and advocacy throughout the industry.
But a lot of my work is within the advertising scene. I have a background in PR and that’s where I got my early start. I usually like to say my roots are in grassroots storytelling. I’ve always told stories since I was a kid, through being a product of a nonprofit called The Boys and Girls Club. I always told my story to garner support of a mission, and now I’m doing that for everything in between, from brands to other people.
Tell me about the PR Habitat. What made you found it? It sounds like it’s had explosive growth.
We’ve only been existing since July 2024. It started from a single LinkedIn post just about feeling unprepared for the industry. I got so many great reactions from that and hearing other people’s stories. As I grew my personal brand following like this, thousands of early-career professionals replied with their own stories.
I wanted to build a space that helped them to converge because as I met with more and more students, it was becoming, it’s crazy, like on LinkedIn, you don’t need to be a millionaire or have a million followers to get all these messages. You can only have a couple of thousand emails in your inbox, and it is full of people wanting to hear from you.
So, I wanted to put them into a community to just like share and discuss more. That’s when this LinkedIn group started. Now we’re a full-blown nonprofit from just a LinkedIn post.
I still remember when I was a young professional many years ago, I asked the same thing – how can I connect and how can I learn? In that case, it was going to some in-person meetings and hanging out with a bunch of “old farts” that could teach me a lot of things, but it’s great learning from peers and sharing stories as well.
Thinking about your career, what’s the most difficult ethical challenge you’ve confronted at work?
I think a defining moment for me came from working on a brand and they were pushing out news during a really pivotal time for our country during the 2024 election season. The day before the election, they wanted to push out this campaign news.
It just felt so immoral to do that, especially with just so many communities making this decision. When I raised the concern, it was just brushed to the side.
I think from that to earlier moments to where I was pushed on as far as my ability to understand PR, my perspective, what I bring to the table it made me really understand to never undermine my perspective to this industry.
A lot of what I think PR is going to lean on in the future is the perspectives of people of color and minorities that are coming into this industry. It wasn’t built for them.
With AI coming into the scene, and I’m using it every day, admittedly it’s really important that I am seeing in between these lines and providing context to where I have these past experiences with these ethical challenges that have made me build my own POV on the industry.
I would say I’ve challenged these when we’re pushing out campaigns or how we’re speaking. I’ve had a few times where some campaigns use language such as one was trying to do. As far as casting goes, we’re touching on what are the different types of casting? There were comments around, we don’t want this person of color because they look too African.
It really is interesting how we look at representation and what does that look like just to get on the screen? But then authentically, is it being portrayed correctly when we get to the actual decision-making. A lot of that’s comes into making sure I’m confident in pushing back on these decisions.
That would be a defining moment, just pitching the day before the election.
I think it’s a situation that many people face. It’s performative action. It doesn’t make sense and they want to say, no. It could be for different reasons – including just them being clueless. How do you recommend professionals effectively push back and highlight these issues so folks will listen to you?
Early career I think we don’t even have the confidence. We’ll just do as we’re told. This is what honestly challenges the PR ethics we’re talking about today of how do we actually ensure that the work we’re pushing is authentically represented.
I would say provide a clear case for why this is wrong. Share examples from other brands – either positive or negative.
Around that time, I was showcasing how many brands were going quiet that week, or it was specifically being touched on the election.
Since our campaign had nothing to do with the election, it just felt tone deaf, and having my team dismiss it, it was one of those, it can be a learning experience. Sometimes you won’t be able to change something right away.
That was a realization for me too. Because I think with a lot of the work I’m doing, I’m trying to save the industry and carry everything on my back, but it’s not all on me. I want to remind people that it’s not all on you to save an industry. You’re coming into it and you’re trying to pick up the pieces.
As much as it was disappointing, I was also clarifying what I will do in the future when I have the power to make that decision. A lot of leads on the agency side want to save the client. They don’t want to push back on anything.
But I’ve learned these are true partnerships and there should be no kind of conflict and more morals as far as the work we’re doing. That’s been a clash that’s been happening in the past year or so due to the scarcity of work and the consolidation of these different agencies.
Make sure you’re bringing the case. Whether that’s with examples from other case studies from other brands or the stats to back your statements up, but then also know that it may not happen immediately, and that’s just clarifying to your future POV, that you can create the change then.
I’d also say, if it’s important enough, don’t give up. Find allies to help you make the case if people are being dismissive.
You’ve talked a few times about saving the industry and how the industry wasn’t made for you. Would you elaborate on that a little bit more?
When I first came in it was in ‘23. In school, I had this view of the industry as being so ahead of its time, so forward thinking, so diverse in perspective and approach and learning style.
When I came into the industry, it was a rude awakening.
Not just because I started in a mid-size agency. I ended up working for a bigger agency and still saw the same patterns. I think within PR, and now advertising, I’ve gotten to see different industries and both of their pros and cons.
Within PR it was a shock to be the only black man in my department across three agencies at this point. And they’re not small boutique agencies. These are very huge agencies. And to say that out loud still feels so off-putting. I’m doing a lot of work to try to change that. Outside of my representation, I think a lot of the PR Habitat work has been to protect young workers.
Earlier on, when I brought up like how this all started was from that LinkedIn post, I was really questioning if this industry was for me. I’m very happy that the answer to that question was no. But I think a lot of young professionals of color get pushed out of the industry because their learning style, or their approach or perspective, is not really welcomed within PR because there’s a lot of traditions that are protected or unwilling to change.
That’s been something too. How I learn and how I pick up on these different skill sets have not been the easiest either. When you’re working on one account, when you’re working on these specific teams it’s not only luck of the draw, but that dictates a good amount of your career in the first three years of your career.
A stat showed that it dictates around 72% of your career trajectory. Your first three years make a huge difference in your career.
There are so many important things you said there. It’s so important for people to keep in mind different learning styles. It’s being open and it’s being inclusive. One thing I will say, at least from my perspective, is I’m seeing the industry going through a lot of transformation. AI’s going to blow a lot of things up, and there are chances for all of us, hopefully to make something better and continue to always innovate and replace.
What other major ethics challenges do you see for today and tomorrow?
I think the biggest pure ethics challenge is balancing brand accountability with performance-driven storytelling.
We’ve touched a lot on the industry and how we are respecting the talent that’s within it. But in the media ecosystem, I think it’s been really dominated by social metrics. Brands are really under pressure to perform virtue signaling. And instead of really demonstrating virtue in action, and as AI-generated content and influencer-driven narrative scale rapidly, I really see this line between authentic communication and manipulation getting thinner.
You look in comments right now of these AI-generated videos, and more often than not, you’re seeing people are saying, is this AI, is this real? I can’t tell anymore. It’s getting scary. The more brands that are using AI, whether it’s without a message or with a message – it’s really showcasing what brands are taking risks in that way and seeing how far they can go to toe the line of scaling costs or getting a reaction. We saw an example of that in the American Eagle and Sydney Sweeney campaign.
That’s the new marketing tactic, and I think we’re really disrespecting the craft, especially when we use AI without true insight. There’s a campaign right now that this gym just did. They used AI, but it was really around this insight that consumers are constantly questioning what’s real. They use AI in the campaign, but it ultimately ended on the tagline of Never question yourself. That was such a great insight.
I feel like tomorrow’s challenge isn’t just about the transparency, but it’s about trust. Who do we build it for? Who do we leave out? That’s where communicators really do have to lead with the strategy and with integrity.
If we’re not interrogating the systems behind the stories, there are so many people who will be like, oh, it is just marketing. The American Eagle and Sydney Sweeney campaign really showed the types of marketers in the ecosystem right now. Many were like…it got the sales and it’s good.
I don’t think we’re asking enough questions and interrogating it enough because then we really risk perpetuating harm while calling it progress, because that’s not where we want to see the industry in a few years.
That harkens back to PT Barnum days about as long as they spelled my name I don’t care. That’s not the way we need to go.
I thought you were actually going somewhere else and it was something I saw in your PR Week article, which I loved. It’s about performative action and how too many brands are, backing away and not actually walking the walk as well as talking the talk. How do you counsel folks to avoid performative action?
In marketing, you want eyes on you all the time. That’s why you see this wave of experiential marketing hitting. People want these exclusive events or one-in-a-lifetime moments that you have to catch at the right time.
With that trend. I think in turn we can look at that and say, we are not understanding that within pulling back on what we’ve already done, then we’re noticed like consumers are noticing it. We’re not really giving respect to the consumer mind and the share of mind that we’ve chased after.
For performative action, Pride was like a huge example. I think it’s really clear to look into these campaigns. Are you doing it for your newest launch or how are these campaigns impacting the communities you aim to reach.
I think within Pride it really hurt the brands that were supporting LGBTQ+ individuals. Target really had a huge hit, and yeah it was deserved. Consumers are understanding their spending power, and it’s getting harder to chase a dollar. Brands have to understand that their reputation isn’t so much just around how a consumer feels about the brand. That’s a part, but then it’s also the memory.
What do consumers remember about your brand from last year, from a decade ago? Thinking about the decisions you’re making now, are they in line? If it’s not in line, are you doing a rebrand? If it’s not a rebrand, are the priorities changing? But does that align with the consumer? Is everything connecting? The consumer can clock it from one campaign or from silence.
What is the best piece of ethics advice you ever received?
One thing that one of my earlier mentors told me was, “Don’t confuse access with alignment.” It took a long time to register.
Also, we’ve touched on AI coming in. Our specific use of AI is now going to dictate so much. I always like to remind professionals at large. You have such an important role to uphold the standard of this industry.
There’s a lot that goes into being a good PR or comms professional. But just because you’re invited into the room doesn’t mean the room is designed with your values in mind and touching on what I felt coming into the industry of oh, I don’t know if this is really for me.
The advice I would say is expanding on that – stay grounded in your own compass even when an opportunity feels big. Early career professionals, it’s so important to lean into your own POV. That’s why the whole idea of personal brand has really gotten popular. People have mixed opinions on it, but it’s so important to take time to actually understand what your personal brand is.
What do you stand for? What are you bringing to this industry? Ethics for me, it’s you are going to make mistakes. It’s not about doing no harm at all, right?
I’ve had to learn, even the smallest thing of creating a media list, there are times where I didn’t include other publications such as People in Español or thinking through even my own publications of Blavity. I wasn’t even expanding the rooms these stories could enter. That’s that was like, oh my gosh. I would just, go on MuckRack and click, English only.
But there are other people that read different languages. I was making a mistake. So, constantly learning to ask the right questions of how can you expand this room for other people? Who are you building with? Who are you building for?
Those two questions are just always on my mind,
Don’t confuse access to the alignment. That is a really good reminder of everything I have to say is of value to this room. That’s why they always say there are no stupid questions or no stupid ideas – because it’s all of value to the room.
You’re right. We’re not perfect. We’re all human. We’re going to screw up, Ethisphere says ethical companies are not perfect, but when they make mistakes, they fix them.
You have to know who you are and what you stand for, because otherwise it’s tougher to make a stand if you passively go along for a little bit. It becomes tacit acceptance and approval.
I feel like indifference is really a career killer. When somebody’s getting to the top of a brand, it’s because that brand just aligns with what that person stands for, what that person believes.
That’s why I’ve been so adamant in building my brand, building The PR Habitat, because you have to train them young. You have to really understand what is at stake. That’s what my mission is right now. That’s everyone’s mission really at the end of the day.
Is there anything else you wanted to highlight?
We talked about your personal brand, but your professional identity can evolve. You can really understand yourself and understand where you’ve gone over a couple of years.
What helped me to also understand the ethics that I want to uphold as I continue throughout my career is testing them in real time. When you asked how are you addressing issues in real time? It really takes practice. I think that’s where I have really become a little bit more outspoken.
That’s also a really big call out I have for the industry. When you are giving a perspective that’s not the majority, you may think maybe you shouldn’t say that, or, be told I wouldn’t make that post, or I wouldn’t say that. I’m always wrong when I think that. You can apologize later.
I’ve talked about music selection for an ad. These are very small aspects of the full project, but they make a huge difference. I think any part you’re touching, you can’t like, have a prioritization of what’s not important or what is and I even in the music selection, I just was like, oh, I want to make sure I research this song. Are we actually using the correct music?
And found out it was. This trend originated from HBCU culture, and it was a major dance trend. And I was like, oh, I want to provide this context. And I remember having one of my team just letting me know maybe you shouldn’t, we don’t really need to know that. Just give next steps.
I pushed back. Because I was like, something I admire about you is that you bring your heritage into meetings, and it’s something that really brings something to the room. And that was a moment that I felt was really important to my culture.
Practicing anything that you feel is important. Do not leave a room where you’re like, oh, I wish I would’ve said that. Really get onto those hesitancies because it’ll only expand over time and you’ll think of more things you can call out or provide a lens for because there are communities rooting for you – but they’re not in the room.
Listen to the full interview, with bonus content, here
This interview was edited slightly for clarity. Nothing material was changed.
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