Diversity and inclusion are critical to the success of any business. From supporting and advancing the careers of diverse talent to featuring more diverse actors in campaigns, brands have a responsibility to break down barriers and support diversity.
Brand Innovators recently explored how brands are incorporating D&I programs into their businesses at the Diverse Voices in Retail Marketing event.
“When it comes to D&I, you really have to build it into the DNA in your brand,” said Bret Senior, Brand Director, Pantene North America, Procter & Gamble. “We learned that 60% of LGBTQ+ people change their hair when they’re coming out as queer. We built out a special Pantene Campaign to celebrate that. It’s incredibly impactful for consumers to see themselves positively and authentically represented in advertising.”
“The LGBTQ+ community does not just exist in the month of June,” he continued. “In the end, our objective was to reflect the LGBTQ+ community authentically, and also be a force for good by finding a way to be an ally for the community, opposed to being tokenistic. 72% of queer people think that the way they are being refleted in advertising is tokenistic. For us, it’s about how we can support the LGBTQ+ community beyond just representation. You need to listen to your consumers and actually hear them; don’t just steer with your brand, and the rest of the magic will follow.”
The pandemic impacted the beauty industry as consumers were doing their own hair at home. From a diversity point of view, this meant that Hair for Henkel had an opportunity to build up its content and talk to a diverse audience of people with different types of hair about styling and coloring.
“Since salons were closed and people were at home, we saw a huge spike during the March to early June time frame,” said Melinda V. Johnson, Director of Marketing, Hair for Henkel. “We also saw people were more willing to experiment with hair color, which was a really fun trend that was birthed from COVID. The use of bold color has really become more normalized as a result. We want to continue to fuel that momentum. As a society, we’re becoming more open and inclusive and how we think about societal norms, and what it means to have a certain look is changing. We’re excited to help break down some of those barriers.”
Fashion-forward ecommerce site JustFab also tells digital stories. As part of its social and content marketing strategy during Black History month, the company has promoted black-owned businesses.
“In terms of marketers and diversity, it’s really about understanding your audience and the audience that you want to go after,” said Erin Vitero, Director, CRM, JustFab – TechStyle Fashion Group. “At JustFab, our demographic is 28% African American and 14% Latino so we are constantly asking ourselves if what we’re putting out into this world is speaking to them. Is it reflecting, or can they see themselves in the marketing? That’s one that is really important. Putting numbers behind it makes it hard to argue with. Once you see the numbers, it all makes sense.”
