In this day, when diversity has been embraced by many, it is not surprising that marketers have incorporated this principle in their overall strategy to effectively connect with their target audience.
A study released by BabyCenter & Yougov reveals that 80 percent of parents like to see diverse families in advertisements, and many millennial parents are more apt to talk about and purchase products that include family diversity in their marketing.
Here are some examples of advertising campaigns that celebrate diversity:
Dove Real Beauty Sketches
The Dove Real Beauty campaign focuses on the struggles of being a woman. This beautiful campaign explores the emotions of the modern-day woman including the desire to feel empowered and beautiful.
Barbie Imagine the Possibilities
The Barbie Imagine the Possibilities’ campaign highlights the dreams and aspirations of a child. No matter how young they are, they can become whoever they want to be. It’s based on the concept that there are no boundaries in dreaming, and children can set goals for themselves, and achieve them!
Well’s Fargo Learning Sign Language
The idea of inclusivity is well-rooted in this Well’s Fargo campaign. No impediment can hinder you from being fully functioning individual who can connect with others.
Tylenol’s #HowWeFamily Campaign
This Tylenol campaign celebrates a human’s capability to love, and build a family–no matter what gender, or sexual preference. It encompasses every person’s individuality and embraces it.
Ad Council’s Love Has No Labels Campaign
This campaign teaches us to be more accepting when dealing with the prejudices we’ve set our minds on – whether consciously or unconsciously.
It strives to open our minds and go above the status quo, in terms of putting labels on relationships, and how we view other people as individuals.
Takeaways
The question now is – how can we, as marketers, learn from these awesome campaigns geared towards diversity marketing?
Get consumer insights
According to a report from Neilsen, consumers from diverse cultures such as African-American, Asian-American, and Hispanic consumers account for 120 million — or 38% of the total U.S. population. This sector is projected to increase by 2.3 million each year, according to the U.S. Census.
The long-term implication of this population trend shows this segment will have increasingly large portion of our nation’s purchasing power. Their lifestyle, purchasing habits, and disposable income are good indication of what the purchasing trends will be in the future, so getting more consumer insights and feedback is essential.
Marketers should conduct focus group discussions among a diverse group of people prior to launching a campaign. All angles will be covered that way and you can eliminate any potential backlash should there be any group affected or offended by the message conveyed by advertisement.
Diversify your team
A research from McKinsey & Company states that companies with more diverse workforces perform better financially. Results show ethnically diverse companies are more likely outperform those who are less diverse.
You can also embrace the diversity concept by hiring a diverse group of marketers – coming from all segments. These in-house group of marketing practitioners will have key insights that will prove to be essential in thinking out of the box, and going beyond the status quo.
A good example is Novartis Pharmaceuticals, according to an article from Ad Age. It has been included in Diversity Inc’s Top 50 list, because it stands to gain valuable business ideas, feedback, and concepts from the different groups by bringing together employees of similar backgrounds — from ethnic groups to veterans, women, working parents, and those affected by cancer.
Tap new market segments
You can also tap new market segments for your brand by being more open to diversity. Let’s say you sell construction clothing and accessories, such as gloves, tool belts, and knee pads,and you are used to rolling campaigns geared towards men. Perhaps you should research other audiences, such as women who play roller derby and are looking for gear to protect themselves while they play.
You’ll be capturing a whole new segment you’ve never thought of targeting.
To Conclude
It is important that our brand messages are communicated to our target segment – no matter what their age, gender, sexual preference, and lifestyle is. Marketers should never attemp to shove their market into a mold. In fact, it should work the other way around. Our products, services, and the way we craft our messages should adapt to them through and diversity.
Image Credits
Featured Image: zurijeta/Depositphotos.com
