7 Strategies to Ensure Diversity and Inclusion in Marketing Campaigns

To gain insights into strategies for ensuring diversity and inclusion in marketing campaigns, we sought the expertise of seven industry professionals, including Directors of Marketing and CEOs. Their strategies range from including diverse images and stories to collaborating with diverse content creators. Dive into these valuable insights to enhance your marketing approach.

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Include Diversity and Inclusion in Marketing Images and Stories 

We emphasize the critical role diversity and inclusion play in our marketing campaigns. One specific strategy employed to ensure diversity and inclusion is the careful selection of diverse images and stories for our marketing materials.

Diversity and inclusion in marketing are a guiding principle, and we recognize its significance. We make a deliberate effort to showcase families and children from various racial and ethnic backgrounds in promotional materials. This strategy not only mirrors the diversity of the families supported but also conveys a powerful message of inclusivity to the audience.

In 2022, 56% of awarded families self-identified as persons of color. It is a steadfast commitment to ensuring that marketing materials authentically reflect this statistic. This approach allows engagement with a broader spectrum of supporters and underscores an unwavering dedication to serving all families affected by childhood cancer.

Marybeth Meyer, Director of Marketing, Pinky Swear Foundation

Conduct Audience Research and Persona Development

One specific strategy to ensure diversity and inclusion in marketing campaigns is to conduct thorough audience research and persona development. This involves gathering data on demographics, cultural backgrounds, preferences, and behaviors of the target audience. 

To gather this type of insight, we use customer surveys and secondary research. By understanding the diverse perspectives and experiences within the audience, marketers can tailor messaging, imagery, and content to resonate with a wide range of individuals.

Emily Rodgers, Marketing Manager, Drive Research

Incorporate Diverse Keywords

A friend of mine looked at the front page of CouplePlaces.com at launch and asked me if the site was only for white couples. I responded back to him, “Of course not. Why?” His comment, though, was that of about 20 articles (mostly stock images and those created by AI tools), every one of them featured exclusively white people! 

Today, I specifically try to work “multiracial” or other keywords into the prompts so that I can achieve a sense of diversity and inclusion in marketing our content. We know that our audience itself is diverse and likes to engage with content that reflects them and their partners, too.

James Hills, Publisher – Travel and Relationships, CouplePlaces.com

Use AI to Catch Stereotypical Language

I run any copy through an artificial intelligence program designed to catch unintentionally gendered language before launching a marketing campaign.

This practice was started a year ago, and it was surprising how many words and terms it caught, despite best efforts towards diversity and inclusion in marketing. Phrases can carry inadvertent stereotypes that maintain the status quo in business, and I did not realize how often words like “aggressive” and “go-getter” were used—terms that have been shown to turn women away from industry positions.

This software updates regularly, reminding of the changing meaning in terms used unthinkingly. Now, more caution is exercised when speaking in person as well, and that’s a good thing.

Rob Reeves, CEO and President, Redfish Technology

Perform a Comprehensive Audience Review 

At Ignited Results, we prioritize a comprehensive audience review in our marketing endeavors. Before the debut of any campaign, we scrutinize our content to ensure it genuinely represents diverse backgrounds and viewpoints. This approach not only broadens our reach but underscores our unwavering dedication to inclusivity, fostering a connection with a wider audience.

Jon James, CEO, Ignited Results

Establish a Diverse Stakeholder Review Process

At our company, we believe that diversity and inclusion in marketing are essential components of successful marketing campaigns. We have established a specific strategy to ensure that these values come through in every aspect of our work. 

For this purpose, we make sure that every diversity and inclusion in marketing campaigns undergoes an extensive review process with stakeholders from multiple diverse backgrounds within the organization. We use this step to assess whether the proposed campaign meets our standards for diversity and inclusion. If not, then adjustments are made until everyone can agree on its content prior to launch.

James McNally, Managing Director, SDVH [Self Drive Vehicle Hire]

Collaborate with Diverse Content Creators

One specific strategy we use to ensure diversity and inclusion in marketing campaigns is to actively seek out and collaborate with diverse content creators, influencers, and voices. We recognize the importance of representation, so we engage individuals from various backgrounds, cultures, and perspectives who resonate with our target audience. 

This approach not only enriches our content with diverse viewpoints but also fosters a sense of inclusivity, showing our commitment to representing and serving a broad range of people.

Sarah Politi, Founder and Managing Director, Jade & Sterling

Resonate with your Readers

To ensure diversity and inclusion in marketing campaigns all begins with the copy that is written and published. Since copy is arguably the most important aspect of any marketing campaign, focusing in on inclusive language is imperative. No matter who reads a marketing email, social post, or sees a Google Ad, that content should be able to resonate to the viewer/reader.

Keeping up-to-date with what’s happening in your industry also helps with what language to use and what message needs to be conveyed from a diversity standpoint. By doing so, this will improve engagement metrics drastically.

Jon Wilson, Email Marketing Manager, RumbleOn

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