Inclusive Marketing, Because Brands Can’t Ignore It

Inclusiveness is not only good for a company’s image but also for its economy.

What Is Inclusive Marketing?

Head of multicultural and inclusive marketing for Microsoft Advertising, defined it ” as marketing that can highlight or resolve an aspect of diversity where exclusion occurs.” In other words, inclusive marketing campaigns aim to speak to all people, even those who are marginalized or underrepresented.

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Still, it does so by breaking stereotypes and making those groups get the message that the brand sees them, understands them, and, consequently, he talks about them and to them. 

Why does all this become an added value in a brand’s communication? Because the fundamental point of this strategy is precisely the people. KPI, data, analysis, performance, investments. We often forget that, beyond numbers, there are real humans with real needs.

Here then, is that marketing, to be effective, must take into account diversity in all its forms.

And when we talk about diversity, we refer to 7 areas: gender and gender identity, disability, age, ethnicity, sexual and emotional orientation, socio-economic status, religion, or belief.

IKEA’s + Friendly Example

How powerful is the message of a brand like IKEA, which, on the world day against homolesbobitransaphobia, celebrated every year on May 17, decides to launch a statement against discrimination against LGBTQIA + people? Home You Can Be You, the campaign’s slogan, is an invitation to make anyone feel welcome, regardless of their sexual orientation and gender identity. 

The most mischievous may think that they are just beautiful words. In reality, IKEA actively engages with accurate inclusion plans globally. 

It supports associations that work against discrimination in the community, such as the Quore Association, which is committed to the co-housing sector for LGBTQIA + people who had to leave their homes following coming out.  This is a crucial point; it is not enough to make a good campaign if facts do not support it and are capable of reducing distances for marginalized groups. Unless you want to come across the tortuous and quite toxic world of woke washing, that is, the exploitation of inclusion for mere commercial purposes.