
Advertising Age published DEIBA+ drivel from the Head
of Marketing at Zoomd, offering three strategies to energize internal and
external heat shields.
Um, a peek
at Zoomd leadership shows the three strategies are probably not executed at
the firm.
Inclusive Marketing
Matters—And Needs A Makeover
3 strategies to
revive internal and external DEI initiatives
By Keren Shlush
Since the
Supreme Court ruled in 2023 to end affirmative action in college admissions,
more than 30 states have introduced legislation banning or limiting diversity,
equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
This trend has
adversely impacted DEI initiatives in the corporate world, with companies
including DoorDash, Home Depot, Lyft, Meta, Snap, Wayfair and Zoom making
significant cuts to their DEI teams. According to data from workforce analytics
provider Revelio Labs, DEI jobs, which grew following Black Lives Matter
protests in 2020, peaked in early 2023 before falling by 5% and by an
additional 8% in Q1 2024.
Though
activists have pushed companies, including Ford and Harley-Davidson, to
scale back their DEI initiatives, historical marketing data supports the value
of diversity in marketing.
Research
conducted at Oxford University using data collected by large businesses
including Diageo, Kantar and Unilever, found that ads portraying a full range
of people increase consumer preferences and long-term sales. The reserachers analyzed
392 brands and found a 3.5% increase in short-term sales and a greater than 16%
increase in longer-term sales when running ads with a diverse range of people.
A marketing
professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
analyzed video commercials for mortgage refinancing and found that ads
that depicted minority representation increased advertising elasticity and
sales among both minority borrowers as well as among white borrowers.
With marketing
research data supporting the value of DEI initiatives, how can advertising and
marketing organizations ensure they’re optimizing their teams and work? Here
are three ways:
Rebrand DEI
According to HR
Dive, industry experts find the term “employee experience” a safe rebrand for
DEI. Another option is “employee empowerment.” Both of these terms have
positive associations for employees and broader corporate constituencies
without negative connotations.
The first and
most pronounced challenge around DEI is the name, which has negative
connotations for too many people. The most efficient and effective way to
address this challenge is to rebrand DEI without using the words diversity,
equity or inclusion. As marketers, we know how to rebrand as part of our work,
so we know that we can successfully pivot from DEI to a name or term that will
provide positive associations for current and prospective employees as well as
the other relevant constituencies.
Recruit
according to your target audience
A criticism
frequently leveled against DEI initiatives is that they don’t provide business
value for the corporate organization. The best way to address this challenge is
to ensure that there is a business case to support all initiatives being
implemented.
Fortunately,
many diversity initiatives do deliver business value. One such initiative is to
recruit employees according to each organization’s target audience. Therefore,
if your organization sells to seniors and minorities, then your marketing
organization should include both seniors and minorities.
There have been
countless marketing examples where marketing mistakes were made because the
marketing team didn’t have representation from the target audience. For
example, when AMC Motors launched the AMC Matador in Spanish-speaking
markets in the 1970s, the name didn’t go over well with many consumers because
“Matador,” used to describe a bullfighter, literally means “killer.” This is
but one of many marketing mistakes that could have been avoided with a marketing
team representing the targeted audience.
Measure your
recruiting initiatives
In our current
era of performance marketing, advertising campaigns are continuously being
measured according to key performance indicators (KPIs). Likewise, it’s
critical to incorporate measurement criteria for any diversity-driven
initiatives.
For example,
for a marketer recruiting to support target audiences such as seniors, it’s
important to establish KPIs to evaluate the performance of those recruited.
Effective KPIs can include comparing campaign results before and after seniors
were recruited, as well as media, messaging and budget performance changes.
If diversity
initiatives are managed like other business decisions and are supported with
real performance metrics, it’s difficult for those critical of DEI to find
fault in these initiatives.
In the same way
that the aforementioned research supports the value of diversity in
consumer-focused marketing, diversity initiatives can have a positive impact on
the marketing organization. By managing these initiatives effectively,
marketers benefit from the value of diversity and a smartly run business.