New Study Proves Inclusive Advertising Boosts Sales, Brand Value

A first-of-its-kind global study released this week presents proof that
inclusive advertising — content that authentically and positively portrays a
full range of people and is devoid of stereotypes — positively impacts business
profit, sales and brand value.

The study was conducted by the Unstereotype
Alliance — an industry-led initiative
convened by the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment
of Women (UN Women) — along with researchers
from Oxford University’s Saïd Business School; and
incorporated proprietary data provided by Unstereotype Alliance
members Bayer
Consumer
Health,
Diageo, the Geena Davis
Institute, Kantar,
Mars Incorporated, Mondelez
International and
Unilever.

The research comes during a time when a growing wave of
companies
are dropping their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies like hot
potatoes in the face of
pressure
from anti-woke
activists;
and a growing perception that DEI initiatives could be culturally, socially, and
financially detrimental to business — which has become more
mainstream but tends to lack empirical backing or scientific evidence.

And until now, there was also little evidence to the contrary. But the new study irrefutably demonstrates that
inclusion equals income — and makes the case that not adopting inclusive
advertising practices will make brands less attractive and less sticky to
growing segments of consumers.

“It’s crucially important that the decisions we make in business and society are
rooted in correct assumptions and scientifically proven facts, rather than
anecdotal evidence and unproven truisms,” said Andrew
Stephen — L’Oréal Professor of
Marketing, Deputy Dean for Faculty and Research, and Director of the Oxford
Future of Marketing
Initiative
at Saïd Business School; and co-conductor of the study. “We are very pleased to
share the findings which emerged from this study and be able to provide reliable
information on this contested topic, allowing businesses to reconsider the role
of inclusion in their advertising practices. They can gain a lot from doing so.”

The business case

The research — based on analysis of 392 brands across 58 countries — proves the
positive impact of inclusive advertising on business outcomes in both the short-
and long-term, and across multiple metrics. It highlights
performance improvement across sales, customer
preference and loyalty, brand equity and market competitiveness across
several product categories — including confectionary, snacks, personal care,
beauty, pet food, pet care, alcohol, consumer healthcare and household products
— across geographies.

The findings confirm that inclusive ad campaigns deliver:

• 3.5 percent higher shorter-term sales and 16 percent higher longer-term sales

• 62 percent higher likelihood of being a consumer’s first choice

• 15 percent higher customer loyalty

The results further show this positive impact extends into the longer term, with
a higher sales uptick — as well as brand perception and brand value metrics
indicating a stronger and more positive brand reputation.

These findings refute the assertion that inclusive advertising can adversely
affect business performance — an idea that has taken hold, despite a lack of
empirical backing or statistical evidence.

“The idea that that inclusive advertising content can commercially damage a
business has limited progress for too long,” stated Sara
Denby, Head of the Unstereotype
Alliance Secretariat at UN Women and co-author of the study. “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 to drive growth and financially prosper.”

With the publication of the report, the Unstereotype Alliance is calling on the
business community to adopt more inclusive advertising practices. The findings
highlight the commercial benefits from inclusive advertising and therefore
support the notion that inclusion should be considered a key element of overall
corporate strategy and associated communications strategies.

“For us, creating work that is inclusive of people with different lived
experiences isn’t just the right thing to do, it is a business imperative that
drives brand power and commercial results,” said Esi Eggleston
Bracey, Chief Growth and
Marketing Officer at Unilever — which has led industry efforts to promote more
inclusivity in global advertising through initiatives including its “Positive
Beauty”
commitment
and Dove’s “Show Us. It’s on Us.”
challenge
to other brands to expand their ideas of beauty. “This report highlights the
undeniable business case for more diverse and inclusive marketing and will prove
a powerful tool as the industry strives for even more progressive, impactful
work moving forward.”

Methodology

The study set out to scientifically test the hypothesis that inclusive
advertising has a positive impact on a brand’s (a) commercial performance and
(b) value. It used the Unstereotype Alliance’s Gender Unstereotype
Metric
(GUM) — which measures on a five-point scale the extent to which an ad is
perceived by in-market consumers to present a positive image of the character(s)
of each gender that sets a good example for others — to measure the extent to
which a brand’s advertising and marketing was inclusive in a given year.

But the study’s definitions of inclusive advertising were not limited to gender:
Kantar captured 65 characteristics of the talent in an ad — including age,
ethnicity, skin tone, body type, sexual
orientation
and personality characteristics — as well as the activity the talent is
engaged in. Commonalities were deduced across the 65 characteristics to find key
drivers of inclusion in the top 25 percent of ads scored using the GUM.

“As experts in brand growth, we know that D&I can influence buying decisions —
and the data from this study clearly shows that inclusive advertising drives a
significant sales uplift,” said Sarah
Morrell, Kantar’s Senior
Client Lead of Creative. “The importance of being inclusive is only going to
keep growing: Kantar insights show that globally, diversity, fairness and
inclusion are even more important to millennials and Gen Z than other groups. As
these populations grow — and grow their buying power — diversity and inclusion
will also carry more weight.”

The study clearly shows business leaders and marketers that more inclusive
advertising practices pay off for brands in multiple commercially, financially,
competitively and strategically relevant ways. This means that brands with more
inclusive advertising should enjoy greater growth — particularly, if key
competitors in their category have not embraced inclusive advertising openly and
successfully; companies that take no action to improve their GUM scores will not
only forego additional value creation but also likely suffer continuous
attrition of their business to their more inclusive competitors.

Read the full report
here.

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Sustainable Brands Staff

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Published Sep 20, 2024 2pm EDT / 11am PDT / 7pm BST / 8pm CEST