Building Brand Through Diversity & Inclusion Best Practices · 82%of millennials identified an employer’s policy on diversity, equality and workforce inclusion as very important

Building Brand Through Diversity & InclusionBest Practices

DBP RESEARCH REQUEST

Link Between Diversity & Inclusion and Brand

A diverse population and global marketplace have made diversity and inclusion (D&I) essential components of a company’s brand:

• Over 80% of leaders acknowledge that employer branding has a significant impact on their ability to hire talent.

• 50% of candidates won’t consider working for a company with a bad employer brand, no matter how high the salary offer.

• 56% of professionals said a company’s reputation was the most important factor to consider when contemplating a job offer.

• The majority of consumers feel executives should take a stand on social issues, and 44% of them will purchase more from brands who do.

Understand who you are communicating your brand to, and what is important to them. Consider the values and interests of employees, customers, suppliers, and prospective talent. Be authentic: today companies are held accountable and expected to practice what they preach!

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• In 40% of US households, women are the primary breadwinner; 66% of millennial women earn the same or more than their partner or spouse

• Black buying power increased 86% since 2000 to currently account for $1 trillion buying power

• Black buying power is predicted to increase to $1.3 trillion in 2017

• In 2015, Hispanics controlled $1.3 trillion in US buying power

• Projections estimate Hispanic buying power to be $1.7 trillion by 2020

• The LGBTQ community has one of the highestdiscretionary income pools of any diverse demographic in the US population

• In 2017, LGBTQ consumer buying power exceeded $917 billion.

• The US Hispanic population is 3xs larger than the Asian American, but the Asian American population is growing at a faster rate overall

• In 2015, Asian Americans had an estimated buying power $825 billion

• Asian American annual buying power is expected to increase to $1.1 trillion by 2020

• In 2017, millennial spending power was estimated at $200 billion.

• Multicultural Millennials represent 42% of the Millennial population, spending more than $65 billion each year and influencing upward of $1 trillion in total consumer spending.

• Disabled Americans have $225 billion in discretionary spending power

Diverse Consumer Spending Power

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Room for Improvement

• 32% of companies say they don’t have a clear employment brand strategy, but are working on it.

• 35% of companies have a clear brand strategy, but believe it needs further development to be

truly effective; 38% of companies plan to increase their investment in this area.

• A Newscred survey found that more than 91% of U.S. marketers agree there is still room for

growth in using more diverse images by marketers.

• As of 2016, only 37% of people featured in commercials were women, and 19% were minorities.

• 70% of black millennials say they are more likely to buy from a brand that takes a stand on race-

related issues. Their motto: Don’t just reflect society – push it forward.

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Conclusion

With the current state of our society, from both a cultural and political perspective, inclusivity and diversity are consistently hot topics in the media.

The key to staying competitive lies in providing diversified content for diversified audiences, in a way that actually represents present-day society.

From marketing campaigns showcasing a diverse consumer base to physical representations of diversity in-store or online, brands need to transform in step with society to maintain relevance in the marketplace.

Inclusivity in branding allows for all customers to see themselves in that brand. When a customer or, even more broadly, when a person feels respected, their affinity for the brand will build, and they will talk about it.

The more a brand can personally connect, build relationships and trust, and include all customers, the more they will differentiate themselves and push the boundaries in the marketplace.

Sources: Interbrand5

Link Between Brand and Recruitment

82% of millennials identified an employer’s policy on diversity, equality and workforce inclusion as very important when deciding whether or not to work for an organization.

According to research from Glassdoor, 67% percent of job seekers said that a diverse workforce is an important factor to them when considering companies and job offers.

63% of millennial women and 45% of millennial men said their company’s ‘cause’ work influenced them to accept their job.

94% of people said they would apply for a job if the company actively manages their brand.

Content shared by employees receives 8Xs more engagement than content shared by brand channels. Brand messages reached 561% further when shared by employees.

Employees are 3Xs more trusted than the CEO when it comes to showcasing what its like to work at the company. The average employee has a network of followers 10Xs larger than the company they work for.

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Self Assessment: Building a Strong Brand

Building a strong D&I brand requires executive sponsorship, cross-functional partnerships between HR, Marketing, Sales and other functions, and input from customers and employees. Here are a few key considerations:• What is our D&I vision and what is its importance to our key internal and external stakeholders?• How do our employees and customers feel about our D&I brand?• What are the best channels we should use for messaging?• Do we obtain ongoing feedback to ensure that our D&I branding is clear, compelling and

authentic?• Do different key “touch points” in both the employee lifecycle (such as recruiting, onboarding,

development) and in the marketplace (relevant products, delivered effectively across the customer value chain), reinforce and strengthen our brand as a great place to work and do business with?

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Linking Brand to CSR

Weak employer brands can result in high employee turnover and unimpressive corporate reputation.Brands that don’t incorporate elements of CSR and D&I risk alienating diverse communities and millennials who value these components.

Customers who don’t see a strong commitment to social causes and D&I will take their business elsewhere.

ØWhat are our values and beliefs?

ØWhat is our competitive edge?

ØWhere do we excel?ØWhat makes us the best place to

work?ØWhat do we value most in our

employees?

These answers should form the bedrock of your brand.

Sources: LinkedIn; JobVite 8

Engage Employees as Brand Ambassadors

Ø Use benchmarking, surveys, ERGs, focus groups, interviews, and social media to get input from stakeholders

Ø Survey diverse employees to understand what’s important to them and what drew them to the company

Ø Use ERGs to poll employees and get their input on company values, culture, and D&I

Ø Charge ERGs with test marketing the brand: Do target communities see themselves reflected?

Ø Monitor websites like Glassdoor to learn what people are saying and how the company is perceived

Ø Promote how great the company is by promoting how great employees are!

Sources: LinkedIn; JobVite

A diverse workforce and inclusive culture have become central to employer brand and reputation, and key to attracting new talent. Employees are the face of the brand; involving them in spreading the word about the company through their social media networks can have widespread impact and will authentically resonate with prospective talent and consumers. Leading companies are engaging key influencers in their organization and using them to dispatch company culture and values by telling their ‘story.’ Some companies create a unique hashtag that employees can use to post information about the company and their jobs on Instagram and Twitter.

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Tips for Promoting Brand Through Social Media

Videos, blogs, photos, and employee testimonials provide insight into company culture and communicate what the company values and what it’s like to work there. It’s better to be truthful and authentic than slick.

Move away from traditional media to online advertising and an active social media presence. Establish interactive ways for customers and prospective talent to interact with your brand.

Consider creating a unique hashtag that employees can use to post information about the company and their jobs.

Tap into diverse communication mediums and alternative formats, for example Hispanic radio and Spanish formats.

Consider that Black millennials watch 73% more YouTube on mobile per person than the general population of the same age. Their mobile watch time has more than doubled on YouTube in the last two years.

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Communicating Brand Through Social Media

Social media is a powerful platform for brand promotion and community outreach. These platforms are today’s virtual water coolers where employees hang out and swap stories and information.

Social media allows a constant flow of communication and outreach to target audiences. Employees, ERGs, and even company leaders can participate in threads and discussions, and post news, articles, and blogs.

Brand managers and D&I officers can collaborate to create content that highlights values, culture, and diversity.

Ø Research by Employer Brand International found 58% of companies report social media is the most effective way to communicate brand.

Ø On an average day, 87% of millennials use between two to three devices and spend 114 minutes sending text messages each day.

Ø 54% would rather pay for a purchase using a smartphone or mobile wallet.

Ø By 2020, 80% of millennials will own a smartphone, driving the need for companies to significantly invest in mobile and omni-channel strategies.

Source: Balance; Grovo Report; PowerRetail 11

Linking Brand to Talent Recruitment

According to a 2017 report by Wilson Human Capital Group, the following elements are what prospective employees are looking for on corporate websites and in social media when assessing a company’s brand:

Inclusion and diversity recruitment initiatives: Does the company specify how it fosters an inclusive environment in the workplace and ensures diversity in its recruitment processes?

Gender equality: Does the company mention how it addresses and ensures gender equality in its hiring processes?

Sustainability and green initiatives: Does the company mention any efforts that it’s making to support sustainability and green initiatives on its website?

Corporate ethics: Has the company publicly stated its organization-wide stance on corporate ethics? It may even list a code of ethics by which it abides.

Community outreach and employee volunteer days: How involved is the company in the community, and does it encourage employees to participate in volunteer days for charities and nonprofits?

Employee well-being: Like work-life balance, employee well-being refers to workers’ state of mind and mental and physical health. Does the company mention how it supports these qualities in its workforce?

Veteran recruitment initiatives: What does the company say about hiring veterans?

Sources: WilsonHGC12

Case Studies:Embedding Diversity in Brand

A Shutterstock study surveyed 1,500 marketers in the U.S., U.K. and Australia, and found that 80% of marketers agree that using images showing nontraditional families and nonprofessional models reflecting modern society helps a brand’s reputation.Portraying same-sex couples, people with disabilities, and mixed-race families make brands more relatable, and demonstrate the influence of social media, where consumers prefer images that accurately show the world around them rather than a perfected version.In four different surveys by Barkley and Futurecast, eMarketer, and The Harris Poll, coveted demographic groups, Gen Zers (aged 15 to19) and millennials (aged 20 to 35), reported that they are most receptive to ads showcasing diverse families and are more accepting of nontraditional gender roles compared to baby boomers.Findings showed that 18- to 34-year-olds preferred consuming movies and television featuring multicultural casts and were more likely to buy from retailers that offered a wider range of multicultural products.

Diverse Images Promote Brand

Sources: ClearVoice 14

Analysts and advertising gurus are calling Nike’s campaign featuring Colin Kaepernick a game-changer, one where companies are taking stances on formerly no-go territories, such as politics and social justice.The risks seem high in a world where brands try to stick with mainstream narratives. Initially, Nike appeared to “take a knee,” and alienated a segment of their customers who took offense to the sports apparel behemoth’s seemingly “political” stance and called for a boycott.However, data numbers after Nike released the ad show interesting results.• Within 24 hours of the Colin Kaepernick ad airing, Nike gained $43 million dollars in free media

exposure.• A segment of Nike’s customers reacted by burning their Nike socks and shoes and sharing protest

videos on social media, resulting in Nike’s stock stumbling.• Yet shortly after the immediate negative reactions, Nike’s stock has risen steadily back — rising to

its highest stock prices ever, and stimulated a rise in direct digital sales by 36% overall during the quarter.

This calculated risk was based on Nike knowing its market: people who purchase Nike are mostly under 35, and who are ethnically and racially diverse.

Nike: Promoting Brand Through Social Justice

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Lesson 1: Know your niche. Nike knew their core consumers were 18- to 29-year-old males, who would naturally fall into a group of Gen Z and millennials who were raised with consumer-activist attitudes.Lesson 2: Track your data. A company can only know who buys their shoes by collecting laser-sharp data on their consumers. Nike, like Netflix, knows what their consumers value by the data they gather.

Lesson 3: Controversy equals free air time and social media exposure. Nike wins if everyone has Nike on their mind for a long segment of the media cycle.Lesson 4: Be on the right side of controversy. If you’re a company taking a calculated risk, a stance is likely to pay off if you show that you share values with your consumers.

Nike’s Lessons for Success

Sources: ClearVoice 16

By creating the Pro Hijab, Nike sends an important message about their brand and encourages a generation of Muslim girls to think of themselves as athletes. Designers in Nike’s headquarters tackled the challenge of creating a high-performance ‘Pro Hijab’ that would make it easier for millions of Muslim women to participate in sports. The project was both contentious and highly supported, but one that Nike drove relentlessly to production. Brand ambassadors for the Hijab include figure skater Zahra Lari and triathlete Manal Rostom. The product came on the heels of a surge in spending in the Middle-East which drove new marketing strategies and advertisement spending by international brands.Amna Al Haddad, the Dubai-based weightlifter who inspired Nike to create the hijab, believes that the 800 million Muslim women around the world are no longer invisible as consumers. It was encouraging to her that large American apparel brands like Nike don’t see hijab-clad women as foreign or strange, but as valuable customers. “There’s a change happening in the world,” Al Haddad says. “You can see it when a big brand like Nike creates a sports hijab.”

Nike: Promoting Brand Through Inclusive Design

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In China, parents are nervous about sports and the possibility their children will get hurt. To disarm those concerns, Nike created the Badge of Honor brand of bandages, specially designed for basketball, running, football and skateboarding. The bandages are free with the purchase of youth athlete products.

The bandages are packaged in sleeves that unfold into comic strips telling fictional stories of young athletes who gave it their all, got hurt and then got back into the game. The comic book messages of inspiration have a corresponding YouTube film to reinforce the ‘just do it’ brand.

By offering these bandages, Nike admits that in sports there are risks of physical injury. But the message that carries is that if you get hurt, brush yourself off and get back in the game – ‘just do it.’ Since the parents are likely the ones applying the bandages, they get the message, too.

This little idea has big implications. It's a service, a message and a completely new medium with which to communicate the company’s brand to consumers.

Nike: Connecting with New Markets

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Fenty Beauty: Products for Everyone

Fenty Beauty, a cosmetics brand founded by Rihanna and claiming to be “the new generation of beauty,” launched 40 shades of foundation for men and women of all complexions.

In the makeup world, a launch this extensive, especially for a new brand, is typically unheard of. In the first month of it’s launch, the brand saw $72 million in earned media value, and over 132 million views on YouTube.

“Fenty Beauty was created for everyone: for women of all shades, personalities, attitudes, cultures and races. I wanted everyone to feel included. That’s the real reason I made this line.”

- Rihanna

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Lush received a huge wave of support for their Valentines Day ad-campaign featuring two gay couples taking bubble baths. The normalization and ease with which the couples are portrayed in the ad is perhaps the reason the campaign has garnered so much praise.

LGBTQ communities have been vocal in the past by ‘token’ inclusion of the LGBTQ community in advertisements. However, the couples featured in the Lush campaign are not only integral to marketing the product, they also comprise some of the most humorous and wholesome moments in the advertisement, and refute any ‘tokenistic’ sentiment.

Source: Swaay

Lush: Communicating Brand Through Inclusive Advertising

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P&G: Building a Strong Brand

P&G recognized it is a brand leader and that the company could use its voice to express a strong view about gender equality.

“P&G aspires to build a better world for all of us – a world free from gender bias, and a world with equal representation and an equal voice for men and women. A world where everyone sees equal.”

The #WeSeeEqual digital campaign was launched internationally to unite all P&G brands under a single message designed to convey the company’s commitment to D&I and its commitment to equality and acceptance.

The multi-year campaign is run through paid and organic social media sharing on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and elsewhere.

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P&G: Repositioning Marketing Functions

After selling 100 of its weaker brands, P&G refocused on its top-performing product lines – all aligned under the #WeSeeEqual gender equality message.

As part of the new focus, the company retooled its marketing practices to focus on brand management.

Hundreds of P&G marketing directors and associate directors were repositioned as brand managers. The brand management organization oversees brand management, consumer marketing and knowledge, communications, and design.

The organization has single-point responsibility for the strategies, plans and results for all P&G brands,

The move from marketing to branding puts P&G at the forefront: a search on LinkedIn turned up nearly 73,000 marketing directors and associate marketing directors, but only 1,350 brand directors or associate brand directors.

Source: Adage Article22

General Electric: Repositioning Brand

GE overhauled its brand from household appliance to building aviation, energy and other industrial equipment.

The business shift requires a different workforce, and GE competes with companies like Google and Facebook to attract tech talent.

GE established a dedicated department and employer brand team with full-time employees focused on branding. The team regularly develops and disseminates information promoting brand and GE as employer of choice.

The team uses tools including LinkedIn, Elevate, and Hootsuite to manage social media outreach; 78% of GE employees are on LinkedIn.

Source: Talent Economy Report23

General Electric: Redefining Marketing Function

• 10,000 employees are trained as GE brand ambassadors; 5,000 were trained in 2015 alone.• Brand ambassadors provide ongoing input on brand development and relevance; talk up GE on

social media, share posts, and promote job openings. • LinkedIn training is available to all employees and they are encouraged to build LinkedIn profiles

that include why they like working at GE.• A GE 35 member employer brand council represents every business unit and geographic region

where the company operates. Council members work on branding at least 25% of their time, and hold monthly conference calls with brand ambassadors.

• Local council members determine the best strategies for promoting brand based on their specific geographic locale.

Source: Talent Economy Report24

Promoting Brand Through Social Media

Brands with a D&I focus weave diversity into a variety of stories and campaigns to tell a story that everyone can relate to. Toyota took this approach when marketing the 2018 Camry, cramming as much diversity as possible into one campaign. The automotive brand worked to create eight unique films about the same car. Each spot features people of different ethnicities, races, and lifestyles, each is designed to tap into unique cultural motivators, and each has been targeted to relevant online audiences.

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Sodexo: Promoting Brand To Recruit Talent

Sodexo is building its brand as ‘a good place to work and a good place to give’.

The company has invested heavily in establishing a strong social presence and following. Individuals following the company on social platforms learn about the company’s brand, its values and its employees. Sodexo’s Career Page and Blog are directly integrated on Facebook and gather people who worked, are working, or will work for Sodexo. The blog provides advice on job hunting, HR, and recruitment.

A very active YouTube channel highlights employees telling their stories, corporate social responsibility initiatives, and diversity and equality in the workplace. The company’s Career Twitter account shares information and drives traffic to the website, and its LinkedIn page has about 170,000 followers.

The company reports that more than 45% of Sodexo candidates have used one or more of Sodexo’s social platforms in their job searches. Recruitment advertising costs have decreased $300,000 annually.Traffic to Sodexo Careers web page increased by 182% since the launch of the social presence.

Source: The Sodexo Strategy 26