As we aim to connect with increasingly diverse target audiences, the concept of inclusive marketing is steadily taking root – and setting the standard in terms of consumer expectations. If you want your business to thrive in today’s market, it’s a no-brainer: Creating intentionally inclusive marketing campaigns will boost your brand’s image and help you access a larger market share, as well as making a positive social impact.
To find out more about inclusive marketing and why it’s so important, we spoke with Sonia Thompson, an inclusive marketing consultant and strategist. In this article, we include some of Sonia’s expert insights, as well as providing examples of successful inclusive marketing that illustrate best practices.
Check out our full conversation with Sonia on the Masters of Marketing podcast below:
What is Inclusive Marketing?
Inclusive marketing (also known as diversity marketing and inclusion marketing) is about acknowledging, representing, and valuing diverse identities in your customer base. It takes an intentional effort to incorporate inclusion in your marketing strategy and brands often fail to do so.
Sonia acknowledges that in most cases, brands “aren’t being malicious about not serving people” – it’s simply that they “just haven’t chosen or acknowledged the different identities that people have. As a result, their marketing excludes and pushes people away, versus makes more people feel seen.”
Making people feel seen is at the heart of it – and in order to do so, brands need to really see the diversity of identities within their target audience. They need to go beyond traditional markers of diversity such as race and gender and give consideration to dimensions such as age, body size, body type, sexual orientation, varying abilities, and neurodiversity – and even things like family makeup, as Sonia explains: “What does a traditional family look like? Most kids don’t live in a traditional household, right? Are we taking all those types of things into consideration? Because those are the things that make people feel seen and like they belong with you.”
Essentially, inclusive marketing is simply good marketing. “We call it inclusive marketing now to give it a name, because so many people aren’t marketing inclusively,” Sonia clarifies, “but really, what we want people to do is just do marketing well.”
Why Inclusive Marketing is Crucial for Brands
Once something of an afterthought in marketing campaigns, diversity and inclusion are now vital considerations for brands aiming to build meaningful, lasting relationships with their target audiences.
Consumers these days demand more from brands than just products and services – they want, and expect, to see their unique identities valued and reflected by the brands they choose to buy from. They’re quick to support brands that value inclusion and equally quick to call out those that fail to deliver on these expectations. “Consumers are starting to really demand that brands cater to their needs,” Sonia confirms. “They aren’t really willing anymore to say, all right, I’ll just take what I can get, right? They’re just like, no.”
By choosing to be inclusive, brands can make a positive social impact: increasing representation of underserved communities, embracing cultural and demographic change, and providing a more accurate reflection of the society we live in.
But inclusive marketing isn’t just the right thing to do by moral standards – there’s a solid business case for it. Companies that embrace inclusivity can differentiate themselves in a crowded marketplace, build trust, and encourage long-term loyalty.
Representation in marketing has an impact on consumers that goes beyond the product itself. Making people feel seen, valued and included improves consumers’ perception of your brand.
Being intentionally inclusive and catering to diverse groups of people also allows your brand to access a larger share of the market, since consumers are more likely to engage with brands that reflect their own identities and experiences. For the same reason, when brands incorporate inclusive marketing into their overall strategy, it has a positive effect on customer loyalty and retention.
Examples of Successful Inclusive Marketing Campaigns
Sonia highlights Rihanna’s brands Fenty Beauty and Savage X Fenty as “pioneers in putting inclusive marketing on the map”. Fenty Beauty, a makeup brand, launched with 40 shades of foundation to cater to the multitude of skin tones of its target audience worldwide. In doing so, the brand not only won over previously underserved customers but also set a new industry standard in the process, forcing many competitors to follow suit – proof, if needed, that inclusion is in demand.
Rihanna’s lingerie brand Savage X Fenty has similarly provided broad representation through both its marketing and fashion shows, using models with a range of sizes, races, and disabilities. Sonia credits the brand’s success to its recognition that “just because you have something that makes you different, it doesn’t change your core need or the desires that you have” – and Rihanna’s aim to give people “the ability to feel sexy in the things that they were wearing”, no matter what kind of body they have.
Another inclusive marketing example Sonia draws attention to is IKEA’s Diwali campaign, which resonated with Indian communities by celebrating their cultural heritage and traditions in a way that felt authentic. Just by incorporating a small part of their identity and culture, IKEA identified this group of people as part of its target market and created something that spoke to them and made them feel seen. “They’re not doing something that speaks to them all year long,” Sonia explains, “but just that one little nugget was enough for them to say, wow, they really get it.” The campaign was widely shared on social media within the community, proving that authentic representation leads to better engagement.
Creating an Inclusive Marketing Strategy – Best Practices
Know Your Audience
Sonia recommends taking a deeper look at your ideal customer profile, going beyond surface-level demographics to include diversity in race, ability, religion, family structure, and more. “Most of the time brands have a psychographic profile, maybe some behavioral things, but they haven’t gone to that other layer of some of the specifics: Does this profile of person include people who are Muslim? Does it include people who live in this country, in this time zone? Does it include people who have a disability?”
Understanding your audience’s unique needs and creating experiences that resonate with them is essential to successful inclusive marketing. Engage with your customers to better understand their needs and pain points related to inclusion. In order to avoid stereotypes, unconscious biases, or any form of cultural appropriation, it’s important to have your marketing assets reviewed by people who identify as part of your target group – whether they be members of your internal team, focus groups, or external creative professionals. It’s also a good idea to involve professionals from your target demographic throughout the creative process to ensure that your brand’s marketing materials reflect that group’s realities and desires.
Go Beyond Surface Representation
It’s important that various aspects of diversity are regularly incorporated into your customer engagement strategy, rather than merely addressed superficially (in a single ad campaign, for example). A brand’s customer service, website accessibility and product offerings must also align with its message of inclusivity. By creating a consistent customer experience, you’ll make people feel welcomed and respected. “It’s wonderful to know that someone took the time to think of you in advance,” Sonia points out. “Versus, you know, a sort of cobbled-together experience that feels very much like an afterthought. Nobody wants to feel like an afterthought.”
Be Clear about Your Target Audience
The idea of catering to so many diverse identities can be overwhelming. Sonia wants to dispel the misconception that inclusive marketing has to involve pleasing every single demographic all the time – in fact, attempting to do so can lead to watered-down marketing efforts.
The important thing is to know your core audience and ensure they feel valued. Brands should therefore focus on delivering value to the specific communities they want to serve.
“It’s helpful if you just take the time to figure out, okay, with the identities and the resources that we have, what are the identities that we’re going to focus on serving? You have to be clear about what you’re going to cater to and you go from there,” Sonia advises. “Over time, as you’re able to, you can expand if you like – but it’s more about being intentional about choosing, and then doing that well.”
Final Thoughts: Inclusivity in Marketing Matters
It’s clear that in today’s increasingly diverse world, inclusive marketing is not a trend – it’s a necessity. Consumers want to engage with brands that recognize their unique identities, understand their needs, and align with their values.
By intentionally making diversity and inclusion a central part of your marketing strategy, you can ensure that a broader audience connects with and feels welcomed by your brand – enabling you to create a positive brand image, grow your market share, and increase customer loyalty.
Resources
To learn more about inclusive marketing, go to Sonia Thompson’s website.