Inclusion

Leadership Position

Advertising, from team make up and structure, to casting and media placement, is most effective when it reflects the societies we serve. When we include people, we not only drive business results, but create opportunities for innovation and better representation, bolstering information integrity and economic performance.

The Commercial Impact

“Brands with more inclusive advertising practices sell more (3.46% higher shorter-term sales and 16.26% higher longer-term sales), are considered and trialled more (33% higher strong consideration, 62% higher likelihood of being a consumer’s first choice, and 8% higher incidence of being trialled), enjoy higher customer loyalty (23% lower chance of being abandoned after trial and 15% higher loyalty), are valued greater by consumers (54% higher pricing power), and have higher brand equity (8.3% more meaningful, 12.1% more different, and 9.4% higher salience).”  Unstereotype Alliance, 2024

• There is a 39% increased likelihood of outperformance for those teams in the top quartile of ethnic representation versus the bottom quartile.
• Companies with over 30% representation of women on their executive teams financially outperform those with less.

• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) is positively associated with long-term market valuation and innovation.

• 52% of all consumers trust a brand more if their ads reflect their culture.
• 70% of Gen Z consumers are more trusting of brands that represent diversity in ads.
• 64% of individuals perform an action (including purchasing) after seeing an ad that embraces diversity.

• 8% of the global population feel advertisers never represent them well, increasing to 20% in Japan and 15% in the Czech Republic.

• Annual spend for the LGBTQIA+ community alone is estimated to be £33 billion in the UK, nearly $1 trillion in the US and $3.7 trillion globally.

Taking Action: Five Essential Steps

This Guide is designed to be used alongside the CAN Guiding Principles. Please complete the Principles before implementing Guides.

1. Organisation

• Comply with all existing and upcoming legislation, including the Equality Act 2010.

• Create a plan for inclusion, including, if possible, board level commitments which encourage all leaders to be accountable for increasing sustainability.
  • • Set Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) which are regularly reviewed against business objectives.
    • Include demographics such as age, veterans, parents, and socio-economic background.
    • Benchmark yourselves among the industry.
    • Use resources such as the World Federation of Advertising’s Global DEI Charter for Change to set a plan for continuous improvement, and reporting on impact.

• Introduce DEI statements and policies, with publicly reported progress with measurable accountability.
  • • Consider vision/mission and how they show up in your organisational ethos.
    • Articulate the actions you’re taking (or will take)
    • Consider using a service like Brands by Me, who help organisations embed equity, anti-racism, and anti-oppression into the heart of their brands.
• Consider accreditations and training which might help you and your partners and vendors to be more inclusive, such as:
  • • The Creative + Media Equality Standard from Creative Equals
    • Unconscious bias training.

2. Briefing

• Ask agencies, partners and vendors:
  • • For their documented DEI statements and policies. Check how their ethos aligns with yours.
    • For details of team composition. Ensure teams have a diversity of lived experiences and are representative of audience and subject matter.
    • If they have a process in place to review creative work against the ASA gender stereotyping standards.
    • For details of how inclusion and representation will be included in things such as casting and production.
    • For details of how media buying will be inclusive. 
• Ensure all briefs:
  • • Are reflective of the audience you want to reach.
    • Outline requirements for inclusive work (including accessibility).
    • Involve interrogating assumptions built into the campaign for potential stereotyping:
      • Use resources such as the ASA Guidelines on Gender Stereotyping, World Federation of Advertising (WFA) Guide to Potential Areas for Bias in the Creative Process or the Black Representation in Marketing framework to help.
    • Identify any areas of concern, such as potentially insensitive or inappropriate content

3. Creative

• Consider the highest standards of inclusion, even in global markets which may lag behind. Use resources such as:
  • • The Ad Accessibility Alliance Hub.
    • The Outvertising Advocacy Playbook.
    • ‘Diversity & Representation: Focus on Media Planning and Buying’, by the WFA Diversity Task Force.
    • The Global DEI Charter for Change.
    • ‘Reframing Accessible Advertising’, by Flock and ISBA.
    • ‘Why Greater Diversity Produces Better Marketing Outcomes’, by the Chief Marketing Officer Alliance.
  • Consider sense checking ideas with representative audiences.
  • Put a process in place that facilitates challenges to inappropriate content, protects individuals speaking up and involves an escalation process.

4. Media Buying

• Include diverse community media in your media placements: 
  • • Check editorial policies against your own DEI statement.
    • Review inclusion lists to ensure ads are appealing to a range of diverse voices:
    • Explore partnering with diverse publications or content creators to better understand audiences and shape content.
    • Review brand safety settings to ensure they are not blocking LGBTQ+ content, or content from other communities.

5. Your People

• Consider how you can introduce equity into the recruitment process:
  • • Train teams in inclusive recruitment or engage recruiters with training such as the Creative Equals Inclusive Recruiters certification.
    • Hire from alternative websites, like The Dots.
    • Use anonymised recruitment methods.
    • Ensure representation in hiring teams.
    • Evaluate candidates using scorecards, structured questions – and join the Disability Confident Recruitment Scheme.
    • Support grassroots initiatives that foster entry talent like The Ideas Foundation, Brixton Finishing School, IPA’s Entry Level Talent Advisory Service, and D&ADShift.
    • Consider career progression opportunities for diverse talent.
    • Examine your gender pay gap and seek to also improve your ethnicity and disability pay gap.
      • Commit to pay gap reporting where legally possible and disclose this data annually and publicly where appropriate.
    • Include questions about belonging in your staff satisfaction surveys. Belonging is an important part of Inclusion and refers to feeling accepted and part of a community.

Organisations to Consider Joining:

The Valuable500 – a disability charter

Outvertising – representing the LGBTQIA+ community in advertising and media

Stonewall – LGBTQ+ organisation

The Future is ND – a network for neurodiverse individuals

Bloom UK – a professional network for women in communications

SheSays – an authentic voice in the gender equality movement

Join Our Table – enhancing equity and access for Black women in advertising and media

Black Create Connect – empowering Black professionals by providing a supportive community and access to career opportunities

Media For All (MEFA) – exists to close the representation gap in media and advertising

Visible Start – training midlife women for real jobs

Neurodiversity in Media – helping the media industry to support neurodivergent talent