Representation In Marketing Is An Ongoing Commitment. Here’s How To Keep Up The Momentum.
We’ve been ecstatic to see brands significantly improve their diversity efforts in marketing, and we want to continue striving for better representation now and go forward. Let us help you get there so that diversity goes beyond surface-level marketing and truly reflects the core values of your brand.
At Lytehouse, we’ve made it our commitment to propose casts that are diverse and represent creators of different races, genders, sexualities, religions, disabilities, body shapes, ages, and cultures. While the majority of brands we work with are receptive to these casts, we have also dealt with brands that are hesitant to feature diverse casts, not out of prejudice, but out of budget constraints or fear of backlash on social media. We understand that budgets can’t possibly accommodate the entire spectrum of diversity in a single campaign, but as our partner, we can ensure that when you look back, your campaigns over the course of time are collectively inclusive.
Backlash, on the other hand, is inevitable, but we’d like to put it into context; the 90/9/1 Rule, a concept coined by Jason Nielsen, states that in online communities, 90% of users do not contribute to online conversations, 9% contribute a little, and only 1% of users contribute frequently. In other words, the vocal backlash comes from a small percentage of consumers and does not reflect the actual sentiment of the majority, and the digital conversation is never the full conversation.
The long-term benefits of representation in your marketing will also outweigh the short-term perceived negatives; earned media from press is one such benefit, as is gaining attention and support for the communities you are representing, expanding your brand’s audience base, and building a supportive and diverse community. Representation alone will not solve all the issues that plague our country, but it does help and it does have a tremendous impact on those who see themselves in media where they couldn’t see themselves before. It is why we here at Lytehouse have established a commitment to diversity in casting to ensure that the campaigns we work on affirm our own values.
Our Reminders for Brands
Utilize marketing as a way to highlight your brand’s values.
Your customer base is diverse. When your marketing reflects and represents your customers, they can clearly see where your brand’s values lie. Committing to diverse representation in your marketing lets customers know what your brand stands for and helps humanize your brand.
Remember: diversity comes in many forms.
The best inclusive campaigns celebrate diversity and intersectionality, featuring models, influencers, and/or everyday people of different races, genders, sexualities, ages, body types, religions, cultures, and disabilities.
Represent, don’t tokenize.
It is apparent to consumers when brands are using diversity for some surface-level representation brownie points. Casting is only the first step; once your influencer partners have been selected, craft your brand’s creative briefs to highlight each individual’s story, providing plenty of creative room in your briefs to let the influencers guide the storytelling. Additionally, your diversity initiatives and support for social movements need to be backed up by your brand’s actual politics and policies. Publicize your brand’s charity and nonprofit partners, provide ways for your brand’s community to get involved with partner organizations, and speak out about social injustices.
Commit to ongoing goals for representation.
Truly diverse marketing does not simply mean working with LGBTQIA+ creators during Pride or Black creators during Black History Month. It is an ongoing goal that should be ever-present in your campaigns. Small brands may not be able to book a diverse roster of 100 creators every month, but across a whole year of marketing initiatives, you should be able to assess your influencer partnerships and see a diverse roster of creators represented.
Acknowledge pay disparities within marginalized groups.
The pay gap exists in the influencer world as well. Brands understandably want to maximize their budgets for influencer campaigns, but it is important to recognize that there is no set pricing rate for influencers and that influencers from minority or underrepresented communities might charge a higher rate than another influencer with a similar profile and following. This can be due to access to a diverse and highly engaged audience regardless of the follower tier they fall under.
Expand your goals beyond simply sales conversions.
Related to payment and maximizing budget, brands tend to sacrifice diversity goals in favor of sales conversion metrics, which we view as shortsighted and detrimental to a brand’s long-term goals. While we understand that sales are the ultimate end goal for brands, we encourage you to think beyond short-term sales conversion and consider additional metrics like community engagement, brand awareness, and brand permeance. These metrics will demonstrate if your brand is succeeding at building and maintaining relevance in culture, which will bring new customers into your brand’s community and lead to long-term success.
Work with creators as partners.
Bringing in diverse creators as true collaborative partners will help ensure that your marketing initiatives move beyond surface-level representation and achieve true representation. Cast influencers as ambassadors, collaborate with them on upcoming launches, develop co-branded collections with them, ask for their feedback on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, and take their lead when it comes to speaking to the communities they represent.