Brands are increasingly responding to the public desire for more inclusivity in their marketing, some with more success than others. Here’s how to reap the benefits and avoid some of the pitfalls.
Just as we’re seeing greater diversity in the places we work and the movies we watch, companies and brands are taking steps to ensure their marketing is more reflective of the real world. ‘Mum’ is coming out of the kitchen, and about time too. Consumers are tired of outdated stereotypes; in fact relying on clichés is the fastest way to show your customers you don’t understand them.
Inclusive marketing typically means showing a greater appreciation for differences in gender, ethnicity, age and appearance, and accurately representing your customer base in all its diversity. But while you can easily find yourself in hot water for sticking to stereotypes, a more inclusive approach can also backfire if it isn’t well executed.
Paying attention to detail
These days, even a whiff of sexist, racist, homophobic or xenophobic content and brands can find themselves in the midst of a social media storm. As Swedish brand H&M found out, it’s important to critique your messaging from multiple perspectives before you make it public.
Last year the fashion giant was slammed on social media for being “inappropriate”, “offensive” and “racist” – with some users threatening to boycott the brand, after a black child was featured on its website modelling a hoodie with the slogan “Coolest Monkey in the Jungle”. As the incident showed, failing to consider cultural sensitivities – no matter how innocent the mistake – can cause immeasurable reputational damage to a brand.
Authenticity matters
At the opposite end of the scale, brands that really think about the full impact of their communications can build trust and loyalty and boost their bottom line. A good example is personal care brand Dove, which has sought to challenge traditional stereotypes of female beauty and embrace ‘all’ women with its ‘Real beauty’ campaign.
Starting with billboards the campaign is most well known for featuring groups of ‘real’ women in their underwear representing a variety of body types. In conjunction, Dove partnered with organisations like the Girl Guides to organise activities around female empowerment, through improving body confidence and self-esteem. A series of Youtube videos also helped to support these efforts, including ‘Evolution’, showing how expert styling and digital alterations can turn an average women into a supermodel – the video currently has nearly 20 million views.
In addition to building brand love, the campaign has sold an enormous amount of product, driving sales from $2.5 billion in its first year to $4 billion 10 years later.
Representing minorities
Other brands applauded for their inclusive marketing efforts include Malteser UK for its disability TV campaign, which was timed to coincide with the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games.
Featuring a series of protagonists with disabilities sharing funny experiences and anecdotes, the three ads reportedly blew all targets. While they were on air, sales of Maltesers grew by 8.1 per cent, more than double its goal, and brand affinity reached 20 per cent, compared to a target of 10 per cent. In addition, YouTube views for the launch ad, ‘New boyfriend’, broke the two million barrier within the first 24 hours, all up making this the brand’s most successful campaign in a decade.
Australian brands would be wise to take a leaf out of Malteser’s book. At the last count, 18 per cent of the population, or nearly one in five people, has a disability. By including them in their marketing, companies have the opportunity to connect more strongly with customers with disability, as well as their families and friends. More importantly, this demonstrates their support for human diversity more broadly and can help to counteract social exclusion of minority groups.
Where to start
Of course not all businesses have the budgets of global brands, but there’s still plenty you can do to make your marketing more inclusive.
It’s worth mentioning here that Dove’s breakthrough ‘Real Beauty’ campaign began with some straightforward market research. They conducted a study of 3,000 women in 10 countries, revealing that only two per cent of the interviewees considered themselves beautiful, which highlighted an opportunity to start a new conversation.
In the same way, small businesses can get to better know their customers, as you can only start to refine your messaging if you have a deep understanding and empathy for your audience – and the chances are it’s more diverse than you might think.
You can also take steps to increase diversity within your workforce, in particular on your marketing teams. This will help to ensure various perspectives are considered when developing ideas. And take a thorough, impartial look at your current marketing content… how well does it reflect the world and the market you’re operating in?
As well as potentially boosting sales, any improvements you make will also help to show a commitment to promoting inclusion in society, and this can only be of benefit to your business and the people you serve.
This article was first published on the Optus Yes Business hub in April, 2019.
