Why conscious inclusion in marketing is so right, right now
In today’s multi cultural and increasingly diverse markets, your brand’s story needs to accurately represent the voice of the customer - the global customer.
To ignore this is business suicide. Don’t believe me? Remember when Fashion retailer H&M found itself in hot water after their ad for a printed hoodie sweatshirt went viral? The ad featured a young Black girl with a hairstyle that some deemed as inappropriate, messy, and unkempt. Celebrity hairstylist Vernon Francois responded to the ad, indicating that H&M may have intentionally allowed the young model’s hair to be uncombed and Francois’ response garnered a lot of commentary.
It can often be difficult for large corporations to notice culturally insensitive messages, failing to understand the complexity of cultural context and meaning – and in turn failing to recognise how diverse audiences may interpret their messages.
How can brands design their strategies and communications to make them more universally applicable and relevant?
Dive Deep Into The Audience
There is no single image of what a “typical consumer” looks like as any population comprises people from a diverse range of backgrounds, ages, genders, sexualities, nationalities, religions and so on. Thus, it is now more important than ever to ensure marketing campaigns resonate with people from a variety of backgrounds. Especially for companies that aim to increase their global presence, navigating their way through varying cultural landscapes.
Seeing large global corporations making such marketing mistakes is surprising, and has inevitably sparked an important discussion regarding diversity and inclusion. However, they are starting to take action. For example, after facing an intense backlash, H&M appointed a diversity and inclusiveness global leader, making a conscious effort to show customers that they have been “listening”, and are committed to avoiding such errors in the future.
After a heavily publicised incident, Starbucks recently closed all their US stores for a half-day racial bias training program, educating staff on racial bias while also encouraging them to share ideas on how to make the store more welcoming. There have been various reports on diversity and inclusion, including the recent MRS report on “Inclusion in the Market Research Sector” and many organisations have cited diversity and inclusion as a key corporate objective, recognising its importance in improving business performance.
Invest in Market Research
Market research can play a significant role in helping companies understand the cultural environments they operate in – whether through semiotics or by incorporating respondents from a wide range of backgrounds into research. Semiotic principles are useful when examining the complex cultural meanings behind communication, allowing brands to gain insight into the signs and symbols that affect the way their messages are perceived and interpreted.
Make Inclusive Leadership and Staff Choices
Diversity and inclusion is important in ensuring the voices of all are heard, and taken into account. This not only prevents companies from going viral for all the wrong reasons, but also ensures that they are communicating in the best way to each customer, regardless of background. More often than not, industry expert panels look like this. And even discussion around lack of diversity tends to be dominated by voices that don’t represent diversity.
There’s no shortage of promises, but the numbers aren’t matching up. Almost every large global. company has publicly proclaimed its commitment to diversity, yet senior ranks largely look the same—even more so than they were a few years ago. As the voice of the customer, marketers are in a unique position to rewrite the rules on inclusion in business. Marketing leaders have the power to be change agents—for your brand, your customers and your team—by promoting inclusivity beyond recruitment, and into in decision-making and career growth. An important part of the equation What tends to be forgotten is that diversity is just half of the equation.
To achieve true inclusion, it’s not enough to have a diverse team.
Marketing leaders need to not only advocate for, but represent, the ideals they preach in order to retain the right people and grow a team that truly lives up to their companies’ values. Inclusivity is the nurturing ingrained in your culture. It’s bringing representation to the table.
Prioritise Inclusivity
For measurable gain, marketers need to prioritise inclusivity as much as they prioritise diversity. Especially considering consumers expect these efforts from brands. Connection is the new currency, and people can’t connect to brands that don’t reflect them or their sensibilities.
Once you’ve ensured that diversity of identity, background and experience are present on your team, make sure all voices are consistently heard and have a clear path to advancement.
Too many leaders think the work is done after the hire is made. But the real work is retaining the diversity you’ve built.
It’s a cyclical pattern: Companies may succeed in hiring diverse candidates, but once those employees are in, they don’t see a path to move up. Logically, they seek opportunities elsewhere. And the company that hired them in the first place only grows more homogeneous.
Disrupt Unconscious Bias
Marketing leaders can start to nurture real growth opportunities by disrupting unconscious biases. BMO Financial Group recently faced their own unconscious biases. The team discovered that managers who made hiring decisions toward the end of the day when they were likely rushed or tired were more likely to select a candidate that was similar to them or their existing team. In mitigating those biases, managers used calendar notifications to prompt managers to review resumes earlier in the day. They also implemented online hubs with facilitation guides and questions for reflection, forcing managers to think about their own similarity attraction bias. Also consider ways of nurturing current employees.
Kristin Lemkau, CMO of Chase, wanted to commit to openly talk about issues women were experiencing at work, and attempt to resolve them as a leader. “Women told me that one of the biggest barriers to women being productive and finding balance were bad meetings. That was one of the many reasons that led to declaring a war on bad meetings across the company and giving people their time back,” Lemkau told Adweek.
Just a few shifts in how you shape your team can help you avoid patterns that work against your values and your brand’s reputation.
The benefits
Inclusion is a business priority Inclusion is a valuable imperative in its own right, but it’s also a smart a business move.
Data shows that diverse teams deliver better decision making. One study found that inclusive teams make more effective business decisions up to 87% of the time. Deloitte’s Human Capital Trends report found that companies with inclusive talent practices generate up to 30% higher revenue per employee and greater profitability than their competitors.
Diverse teams operating in inclusive cultures offer viewpoints that drive innovation and move the needle for businesses.
When Microsoft released its 2018 holiday ad, they featured a real nine-year-old gamer with a rare genetic disorder, which makes it tough for him to use a traditional video game controller. The ad shows both the company’s adaptive controller in action and an inclusive perspective of their product.
The controller was named one of Time Magazine’s best inventions of the year and shows how a company can prioritize D&I efforts without taking a hit to its bottom line.
A team that reflects the incredible diversity of the marketplace is more likely to develop content that resonates. When you’re ideating with a team diverse in background, thought and experience, you produce a message your audience is more likely to connect with. Instead of relying on focus groups, include the actual voices in the room.
As marketers, we have to constantly ask ourselves, “Is my brand doing enough to be inclusive?” Because what worked 30 years ago isn’t working today. Consumer expectations are higher, and not recognizing the value in this shift is a big oversight on behalf of a brand’s leadership.
The value of inclusion
The right place to start is at the top. CMOs are in a unique position to rewrite the rules on inclusion in marketing. Lead by example and set initiatives in motion to do more than deliver lip service. By setting internal goals for inclusion, you can send an unmistakable message about the need to transform this industry.
For your team, what they see in their organisation, they internalise. If they see themselves, it gives them hope that they will be listened to when approaching leaders with new product ideas, growth opportunities or simply to connect.
For your consumers, when they feel connected to your brand, you unlock potential beyond the bottom line. You activate a more hopeful consumer-brand relationship. And this hope fuels a commitment needed for innovation and the retention of A-team players across the board.
_______________________________________________
Sources:
Sprout Social Adapt (https://sproutsocial.com/adapt)
Forbes.com.