Scaling MarTech for Social Impact

Here’s What Happened

Silhouette of a woman with braids wearing a gold crown, with the text 'The Crown Act' below.

In 2018, JOY Collective, an African-American women-owned agency, was selected by Unilever to lead the CROWN Act movement's digital strategy. I was brought on as Lead Digital Designer.

We were building the digital backbone for civil rights legislation that didn't exist yet. Hair discrimination was happening everywhere, but getting states to change their laws required something completely different from traditional advocacy.

The Challenge

Imagine trying to explain to Unilever executives why they should take a public stance on legislation that might never pass, in an area where corporate involvement could create massive liability issues.

Now imagine doing that while federal agencies are asking questions about why a soap company is suddenly involved in civil rights law.

We had to coordinate between Esi Eggleston Bracey, President of Unilever North America at the time (a visionary and architect of the CROWN movement), Unilever's legal teams (who were nervous), multiple other agencies (who had different expertise), and state-level advocates (who needed results, not corporate caution).

Every piece of content had to pass legal review in multiple jurisdictions while feeling authentic to communities fighting for basic dignity. Digital content and social media strategy required balancing corporate messaging with cultural authenticity across different agency partners.

Gold silhouette of a person's head with an afro hairstyle on a beige background.

The Approach

  • Built the TheCROWNAct.com authoritative hub housing Dove's proprietary research studies, state legislative tracking, and advocacy capabilities - all accessible to the public while maintaining regulatory requirements across multiple jurisdictions.

  • Integrated research platform where individuals, employers, and legal teams could access the same research data driving national policy discussions, creating unified information sources for advocacy efforts.

  • State-by-state tracking platforms because every state has different legislative processes, different committee structures, and different political dynamics requiring specialized technology approaches.

  • Consistent messaging systems that could handle state-level complexity while keeping communications aligned across diverse political landscapes and regulatory environments throughout the country.

  • Corporate partnership capabilities that let companies like LinkedIn join the effort without accidentally creating coordination issues that might trigger lobbying regulations or compliance concerns.

  • Annual CROWN Day initiatives that maintained momentum between legislative sessions while providing safe ways for Unilever to show continued support without overstepping regulatory boundaries.

The hardest part wasn't the technology. It was figuring out how to make authentic advocacy work within corporate legal constraints while maintaining the trust of communities who had every reason to be skeptical of corporate involvement in civil rights.

Collage of logos and text related to the CROWN Act, featuring the CROWN Awards by Dove, CROWN Conversations powered by Dove, and CROWN Day on July 3. Includes logos of various organizations like Dove, Color of Change, and Western Center on Law & Poverty, emphasizing support for the CROWN Coalition.

The Impact

Legislative Impact: Twenty-seven states passed CROWN Act legislation. Corporate legal departments, state legislators, and advocacy organizations all referenced our platform as the authoritative source for hair discrimination law.

Digital Performance:

  • 2 million unique visitors annually to TheCROWNAct.com

  • 500,000+ petition signatures processed

  • Real-time legislative tracking across 27 states with successful bill passage

  • 95% uptime for research repository used by corporate legal teams and policy makers

But the real achievement was proving that corporations could support civil rights legislation without either compromising the movement or exposing themselves to unnecessary legal risk.

Why It Matters Now

I learned how to build marketing campaigns through technology that satisfies corporate legal requirements while serving real advocacy needs. How to coordinate between federal agencies, state legislators, corporate executives, and community organizers simultaneously.

Every company dealing with ESG requirements, regulatory advocacy, or stakeholder capitalism faces versions of these same challenges: How do you use corporate resources to support social change without creating legal or business problems?

The fundamentals haven't changed - technology that serves legal strategy while engaging all stakeholders. I've been solving these problems since 2018.