D&I Is Not Just for HR: Why Diversity & Inclusion Matters for Marketers and What We All Can Do About It
Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) matters in every industry, but as marketers, it becomes essential to our job - since it’s our job to understand customers, while advertising holds so much power over representing and reinforcing stereotypes, or possibly changing them. We recently invited industry veteran and Outvertising Non Executive Director, Jerry Daykin, to share his insights on the topic.
“We shape stereotypes - we control not only the ads we make, but the content that gets sponsored and gets made. So, as marketers, advertisers, people working in tech, wherever we work in our industry, we actually have quite a unique position [of influence],” says Jerry.
Bringing in diverse voices around the decision making table is key for internal D&I. At the same time, it also starts to shape the conversation throughout the production process, from briefing to planning, to production and go live.
Within an organisation like Automated Creative, we can drive D&I in marketing simply through the opportunity we offer of multiple variations of ads, which can be tested to actually prove what resonates with audiences.
Jerry explained: “We used to make one big advert that told one big story. And now [with] the magic of Automated Creative you can tell hundreds of different stories to hundreds of different people, see what works, what doesn’t work, optimise, improve.”
Moreover, we can take creative platforms and try different angles with different communities. Brands don’t need to go “all in” and have a massive pride campaign, which can scare some in an era where the LGBT agenda has attracted its share of negativity. But experimenting with multiple ads and variations of message can allow brands to target different communities and to continually optimise their message in a more diverse and inclusive way than ever.
Here are 5 takeaways for brands when it comes to D&I in advertising:
Consider diversity and underrepresented audiences from the start when briefing campaigns through targeting and messaging.
Partner with diverse agencies and production companies that can provide challenging perspectives.
Stand by inclusive work that drives results, even if it attracts some backlash from a vocal minority.
Evaluate feedback objectively but also help clients maintain confidence in their inclusive goals.
Explore opportunities to measure representation and storytelling in campaigns through tools that provide inclusive marketing metrics.
Of course, performance marketers need to keep an open mind either way. At Automated Creative, we’ve seen diverse creative get more engagement, however this can take both positive and negative forms. For example, ads with a diverse cast have sometimes attracted high negative feedback from the target audience. This is an opportunity for partners to have a good conversation with the client, looking at the importance of showing diverse representation and inclusion, but balanced with the brand’s mission and specific goals for the campaign in question.
At the end of the day, there is an important opportunity for brands to tap into new markets, to connect with consumers differently, and to actually make things better for some people in society who often have things made worse for them.
As for our experience at Automated Creative, the session opened our eyes even further to being aware of unconscious biases in everyday work. It was also really interesting to hear directly from the personal and professional experience of Jerry - as Non Executive Director of Outvertising, a D&I champion with the World Federation of Advertisers, a senior media leader, and a gay man. Feedback received reflected just that: “Actionable! Good to see senior people giving nice, clear advice with things to do [in this area].”
You can learn more about why representation matters for brands and for the public, and get a practical blueprint for embedding D&I across your marketing process, in Jerry’s book, “Inclusive Marketing.” We encourage you to get in touch with Jerry for a talk in your own organisation, by contacting him on Linkedin.
