ATLANTA — Six multicultural and LGBTQ agencies have banded together to help organizations reach diverse audiences in ways that are appropriate and meaningful to those communities.

“The mission is the change the conversation about multicultural and LGBTQ communications, and change the process,” said RenewPR president Ben Finzel, a co-founder of the new network, called the Change Agencies.

The other founding firms are Chino Chapa Communications, MuchPR, PRecise Communications, Mahogany Xan Communications and Storieology Communications, each of which is owned by someone who is either African-American, Asian-American, LatinX or LGBTQ. 

Among the services offered by the member firms are consumer marketing, public affairs and policy communications, issues management, community relations, influencer outreach, target market research, crisis communications and message development. The signature offering of the Change Agencies is called the Change Audit, a discovery process designed to analyze, evaluate and implement appropriate communications throughout an organization.

Finzel said the collaboration has been in the works for roughly a year, the product of six like-minded independent agency leaders who believe the creation of well-crafted communications targeting distinct audiences is largely stymied by the dearth of diversity in the industry.

“We’ve been talking about this for decades and it never happens,” said Finzel. “If you want something done right, do it yourself.”

Christina Yumul, founder and president of Storieology Communications, said participating agencies have the advantage of being able to offer organizations insiders’ insights into what sort of communications resonate with multicultural and LGBTQ consumers — and how best to deliver them.

“We are the people in those communities. We are them,” Yumul said.

The network, however, has also built in a resource of its own, creating an advisory council of experts in the field able to offer advice as well as connections.