Let’s face facts… it has always been important for marketing to be diverse and inclusive. And now, it’s especially important.
When consumers see “themselves” in marketing content or advertisements, it allows them to further place themselves in that given position whether it’s a family cooking at home or a young couple out shopping for weekly groceries. It is expected for marketers to think holistically in this sense and be considerate of the shopper, their lives and how the product or service is making a difference within it.
Why It’s Important For Your Marketing to Be Diverse and Inclusive
Authenticity Matters to People
Being authentic is seen as a bit of a challenge for some brands but when you use the term literally, shouldn’t things just come naturally if we’re truly being “authentic”? Trying too hard to be authentic will do exactly the opposite. Just remember to take your mother’s advice and “just be yourself” and they’ll like you! Here are some great examples of marketing campaigns that effortlessly communicated authenticity.
Build a Deeper Connection with Audiences
Building connections with groups of people, or consumers, builds a bridge to the end game, which is demand and sales. When we are inclusive with our marketing efforts, we simply invite more people to come to the party to enjoy our products or services a bit more than they might’ve before.
Lean into Food Culture
Food and culture go hand in hand and at the moment, food is culture! Last year, consumers experimented more with spices from around the world to expand their flavor palettes and as a result, brands were able to tap into new and expanded audiences that may not have had an opportunity to try exotic foods and spices otherwise.
Build Empathy
We all come from different backgrounds and experiences which means there are countless perspectives in the world. Taking the time and initiative to understand a variety of perspectives of your consuming audiences, no matter the background or culture, opens up a door to building a deeper empathy. When we build empathy, we begin to truly understand our audiences and are more capable of providing the products, services, content and messages that they not only want to hear, but “need” to hear most.
Serve as a Guide
Serving your consuming audiences as a leader, or guide, puts you in a position to teach and inspire changes at the hand of a fresh produce or food item. At DMA, we believe that food that is grown can make all the difference in choices that people make. Just because a child was relegated to food often found in a food desert doesn’t mean that as a young adult, the same child might opt for a healthier, cleaner snack or dinner when presented with the opportunity. Simply by meeting your consumer where they are in their lives can make all of the difference in a food choice made in our favor, or not. We need more guides to help people from all walks of life and perspectives to see our products as a central part of their lifestyles and in order to do this, being inclusive is the ticket to our collaborative success.
We recently hosted our Marketing Matters Webinar on the topic of diversity and inclusion! We hope you’ll take a moment to watch the recording and contact us if you would like to brainstorm together.
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