12 Jul How Marketing Can Enhance DE&I

Organizational DE&I initiatives are starting to make some impact on the inequity and discrimination that exists in society today. DE&I is increasingly important for marketing departments too. Consumers today are using their influence to demand change by buying more from brands that show accountability and have progressive organizational values on diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

Brands that focus on DE&I in both their internal actions, external actions, and within advertising and promotional campaigns are more likely to satisfy and retain customers than their competitors. 

Facebook advertising data analysis found that diverse representation in advertising increased ad recall. Despite this only 5.2 percent of marketing spending centers around multicultural representation. 

So what can marketers do to not only support a more inclusive society but also make campaigns more effective?  It’s possible to create an impact by creating marketing content that represents a broader society and includes more multicultural aspects. A multicultural approach can be used in both the visual content used and also in the messaging via written text or scriptwriting. 

Taking a multicultural approach doesn’t mean every advert or brand image needs to feature multicultural representation. It’s possible to build variety by featuring multicultural campaigns and running other ad campaigns that can also talk directly to underrepresented groups. 

Using a mix of positive multicultural representation and direct communication with underrepresented audience segments of yours has a more powerful overall impact and message than just using multicultural images or copy in every campaign. 

Marketing teams can also embrace diversity in external communication campaigns alongside building a diverse internal marketing team. Diverse marketing teams will feel much better equipped to deliver multicultural campaigns and deliver them with authenticity. By displaying a commitment to DE&I in the marketing department and in the brand’s external messaging, not only consumers will pay attention, but also your current and future employees and leaders across the business and other departments. 

In this way, marketers can have a big impact on DE&I internally and with consumers. 

If you would like help with your brand messaging, advertising, and digital marketing in Charlotte, North Carolina, to Seattle, Washington, and everywhere in between, get in touch with Visual Caffeine to learn how we can help you.