Despite the high profile missteps of brands including Pepsi Max and Bud Light, new research claims to find real evidence that more inclusive ad campaigns have a positive impact on profits, sales and brand value.
The UN Women’s Unstereotype Alliance says that inclusive campaigns boost short-term sales by 3.5% and long-term sales by as much as 16%. They also persuade 62% of buyers to choose a product and make 15% of shoppers more loyal.
The study was conducted by researchers from the Said Business School at Oxford University. It analysed 392 brands in 58 countries across product categories including personal care, beauty, alcohol, confectionery, snacks, healthcare, household products, pet food and pet care. Diageo, Unilever and Kantar were among the companies to contribute their data.
Sara Denby, head of the Unstereotype Alliance secretariat at UN Women, said: “The idea that inclusive advertising content can commercially damage a business has limited progress for too long. The assertion is consistently unfounded – but we needed to provide evidence to the contrary. This irrefutable data should reassure any business and encourage brands to renew their commitment to inclusivity in all forms, to not only benefit the communities they serve but also to drive growth and financially prosper.”
It’s not just Bud Light’s unlikely foray into the trans community or Pepsi Max’s misjudged BLM bandwagon-jumping that have made brands scared to “go woke”. Many others have found that this kind of tokenistic diversity effort backfires, whether it’s jumping on the Pride bandwagon or – like Costa Coffee – randomly featuring top surgery in a campaign.
This report, however, shows that genuine inclusivity works. And it seems to be saying, quite sensibly, that it works best by including the full spectrum of society in your campaign, and not by jumping randomly on a fashionable cause.
Yes, the Unstereotype Alliance is an organisation with a vested interest in diversity, but at a time when DE&I is slipping down the agenda for marketing, somebody’s got to keep the woke flame burning.
