Why Inclusive Brand Marketing Is Imperative Today
Inclusivity is a buzzword these days, and it is used in a variety of arenas. From representation in entertainment to equality in employment opportunities, inclusivity has become one of the benchmarks by which we measure the respect and compassion of an organization.
With more emphasis on inclusion in the workplace, schools, entertainment, politics, and other areas nowadays, it’s only natural that this should be reflected in aspects like marketing, too.
And considering that organizations are frequently judged by how inclusive they are, we can expect that brands are, too.
So how does inclusive marketing reflect on the brands behind the campaigns? And why is it so vital?
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How To Market Inclusively From the Ground Up
All visual aspects of marketing should be taken into account when building an inclusive marketing campaign. Here are a few pointers on how to get started.
- Involve your logo, as this is a focal point of your branding. You may want to open up to logo design artists from a variety of backgrounds in order to get a good feel for an inclusive graphic. You can always consider an AI logo design tool to create a professional brand symbol for your business quickly.
- Be sensitive to cultural diversity and how your visuals may affect your audience. For example color psychology is frequently cited as an important factor in choosing palettes for design, but it varies from culture to culture.
- Think outside the box by remembering that you have more than just one demographic to market to.
- Do more than just know your audience — be your audience. Personal understanding of who you’re marketing to, what they need and want, and how they feel will make it easier to predict the impact that your marketing will have.
The Problem with Exclusive Marketing
The opposite of inclusive marketing is, naturally enough, exclusive marketing. This isn’t referring to marketing deals that are exclusive between companies. Rather, in this context, exclusive marketing involves advertising content that is limited in the way it is presented, such as only using models of a certain age, gender, race, or size.
Very few would automatically term traditional marketing this way, but effectively, that’s what it is. Most view common marketing as “mainstream,” a reflection of the average consumer. But is it really?
Over the year, quite a few marketing campaigns received criticisms of being focused on just a small group of people.
The target demographic for any given product or service will vary depending on that product or service. But target demographics themselves vary widely, which is why there’s really no excuse for the majority of advertising over the last fifty years imposing such limits on their models or campaign concepts.
Part of this has to do with what’s “in,” especially in terms of the current ideals in body size and shape.
But just acknowledging that decisions are made based on popularity isn’t enough for a brand that wants to appeal to more than just a limited target base.
And with the conversation regarding exclusion of genders, sizes, ethnic backgrounds, and other details still going strong, it’s definitely an issue that must be confronted head-on by brands today.
Changing How We View Marketing
But what’s the first step toward inclusive brand marketing? How can a brand that has used “traditional” methods and models change their approach?
It all starts with how we view marketing. The typical approach has remained popular for years because that was what was most comfortable and familiar for those who ran marketing campaigns. But with diversity on the rise across the board, familiarity and comfort just isn’t enough.
Changing how you view and approach marketing involves a very important alteration in the marketing process: not just identifying your target audience, but identifying with your audience.
Aligning With Your Audience
Market research is the first step to this, of course. In order to start to get to know the target demographic for your brand, you need to identify who your products will appeal to the most.
This is rarely just a single demographic. Most brands have a main demographic, as well as a secondary target audience, and then outliers.
For example, your target demographic may be women between 18 and 45 — but what about their partners, spouses, and friends who are shopping on their behalf or to find presents for them?
This is a very basic idea of the need for diversity within brand marketing. It’s vital that marketers avoid discounting the idea that someone outside of the target audience will investigate the brand.
Once that target audience is identified, however, it’s important to align the marketing with the audience — not just use marketing techniques that are “traditional” or “comfortable.”
One way to do this, through research and even interviews, is to create buyer personas: a general representation of your customers which can be leveraged to find the pain points for your audience, and identify the best way to cover them.
A great example of this practice of inclusivity is P&G’s campaign, ‘The Name’. It highlights how people from different backgrounds and cultures should be able to have their names pronounced correctly.
This is great way to connect with younger generations and create brand awareness among a global audience. It has value from a marketing standpoint as well, because it enables you to imagine your customers as real people and create a bridge between brand and audience — a bridge that can be crossed with inclusive marketing.
Making Your Audience Feel Seen and Heard
Inclusive marketing is one of the most fundamental ways to ensure that your audience feels not only seen, but also heard.
Representing a wide variety in your marketing will expand the probability that you can form connections with more of your audience.
So far brands like Dove, Lego and Virgin Atlantic have been on the forefront of leading the change for inclusive marketing.
It also demonstrates the sensitivity of these brands to the individual members of the target demographic, rather than just clumping them all together under one vague, “traditionally marketed” label.
Inclusive marketing does more than just let consumers know that your brand is willing to cater to them — it can actually start the conversation between consumer and brand.
Final Thoughts
Let’s face it — inclusivity in branding and marketing has been long overdue. It’s running as more of a popular trend now, but that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t have been more inclusive all along.
We can’t go back and fix “traditional” marketing, but we can commit to being more inclusive in all aspects of marketing, as well as everything else.
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