Is your brand exclusive or does it appeal to people from all walks of life? In this post, we will discuss inclusive marketing, why it is important for your brand and the key pillars of inclusion in content and marketing.
What exactly is inclusive marketing?
Inclusive marketing is promotion that appeals to a diverse audience and incorporates belonging, cultural representation, brand identity and topics that go beyond “business as usual”.
When we are talking about diversity, it is not just racial diversity! Diversity also covers neurodivergent folks, people with disabilities, the LQBTQIA+ community, and people who have mental illnesses.
Why inclusive marketing matters:
- The world is becoming more racially diverse:
By 2045, the US will be majority BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, people of color). This means that brands will need to shift and create more content and marketing campaigns to fit the needs of a racially diverse audience. Stereotyping, exclusionary marketing messages and insensitive social media comments have no place in inclusive marketing.
- Clients and consumers want to feel like they belong when they interact with your brand
According to Google, 69% of Black consumers were likely to purchase from a brand that is positively reflecting their race/ethnicity in advertising.
This means that your audience wants to see less stereotypes and more positive representation. Diverse audiences want to feel like they are not being seen as a caricature or marketing tactic and that their stories matter.
- Values matter and your brand should amplify them
June 2020 exposed the true intentions and values of many companies. Some brands struggled to come up with quick “values” while others stood true in the values that they have promoted for years.
69% of older millennials are more likely to choose one brand over another if that brand demonstrates inclusion and diversity in terms of its promotions and offers, according to Accenture.
This means that values DO matter and being intentional about inclusion and being quiet about values is no longer an option. As some like to say, you can’t fake the funk!
- Reaching more different groups of people is a smart business decision
This the last on the list for a reason. Revenue is not the most important factor when considering inclusion, but brands who put an effort into inclusion do typically see a higher level of financial prosperity.
Check out how Fenty Beauty prioritized inclusion and have smashed sales goals without once mentioning the word inclusion.
In this article, Sandy Saputo, chief marketing officer at Kendo Brands notes “In our first year of business, Fenty Beauty became the biggest beauty brand launch in YouTube history, drove huge success commercially, and was named one of Time Magazine’s best inventions of 2017.”
Looks like inclusion does matter after all.
Want to learn more about inclusive marketing and how your brand can be on the more inclusive side of life?
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