Have you ever felt like a brand just gets you? Like they understand your needs, your preferences, your values, and your identity? If so, chances are you’ve encountered diversity marketing.
Diversity marketing is a digital marketing strategy that recognizes and respects the differences within the subgroups of a target market, such as age, gender, disability, religion, ethnicity, and sexual identity. Diversity marketing aims to create a mix of different communication methods to reach people in each of the diverse groups present in the market. It also involves showing that a brand is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion in its actions and values.
Why is diversity marketing important?
Well, for one thing, it can help a brand connect with its customers, increase loyalty, and win over future customers. People like to see themselves represented in the media they consume, and they appreciate when a brand acknowledges and celebrates their uniqueness. Diversity marketing can also help a brand stand out from the competition, as it shows that the brand is aware of the changing demographics and social trends in the world.
Some examples of diversity marketing are:
- Dove’s Real Beauty campaign, which features women of different shapes, sizes, ages, and ethnicities to celebrate body positivity and self-esteem.
- Microsoft’s Super Bowl ad, which highlights how its adaptive controller enables gamers with disabilities to play and have fun.
- Nike’s Dream Crazier campaign, which features female athletes of different sports, ages, and abilities to inspire women to pursue their dreams and challenge stereotypes.
- L’Oréal’s True Match campaign, which offers a range of foundation shades to match different skin tones and celebrates the diversity of beauty.
These campaigns are not only effective in reaching their target audiences, but they also generate emotional and positive buzz and social media engagement for the brands.
Of course, diversity marketing is not without its challenges. It requires a lot of research, planning, testing, and feedback to ensure that the messages are authentic, respectful, and relevant. It also requires a lot of sensitivity and awareness to avoid stereotypes, clichés, or offensive language. Diversity marketing is not something that can be done overnight or as an afterthought. It has to be integrated into the brand’s vision, mission, and values.
How to make sure you’re doing it right? *How to Create a Diversity Marketing Strategy
1: Define your target market and subgroups
The first step in creating a diversity marketing strategy is to define your target market and the subgroups within it. A target market is the group of people who are most likely to buy your product or service, and a subgroup is a smaller segment of the target market that shares some common characteristics, such as age, gender, disability, religion, ethnicity, or sexual identity. By defining your target market and subgroups, you can better understand their needs, preferences, values, and identity, and tailor your marketing messages accordingly.
2: Conduct market research and analysis
The second step is to conduct market research and analysis. This involves collecting and analyzing data and information about your target market and subgroups, such as their demographics, psychographics, behavior, culture, and media consumption.
3: Create a mix of different communication methods
The third step is to create a mix of different communication methods to reach and engage your target market and subgroups.
A communication method is the way you deliver your marketing message to your customers, such as
- Advertising
- Social media
- Email marketing
- Content marketing
- Influencer marketing
You should use a mix of different communication methods that suit the preferences and habits of your target market and subgroups.
4: Test and measure your diversity marketing strategy
The fourth step is to test and measure your diversity marketing strategy. This involves evaluating the effectiveness and impact of your diversity marketing strategy on your brand awareness, customer satisfaction, loyalty, retention, and sales.
Diversity marketing is not just a trend or a fad. It’s a necessity in today’s globalized and multicultural world. By embracing diversity marketing, brands can show that they care about their customers as individuals, not just as numbers. Diversity marketing can help brands create meaningful relationships with their customers and make a positive impact on society.