What is inclusive marketing?

“Inclusive marketing is implementing the right strategies, systems and processes to create content that represents the diversity of the brand’s target audience.” Joyann Boyce

Don’t join the bad period advert club. Discover how to market period products in a realistic and relatable way, and how to include a range of menstruation experiences to win over your audience.

Love is a powerful emotion. It’s something we all seek within our lives. So, it’s no wonder that marketers package stories about love to connect with their audience.

In recent years, the body positivity movement has taken off. People have fought against the airbrushed images and the constant stream of ‘perfect’ bodies pumped through media, tired of the unrealistic beauty standards promoted at every turn.

In 2018, H&M were accused of racism and were condemned by thousands of people worldwide, both on and off social media. With H&M claiming to value diversity and inclusion, how did their marketing fail to capture these stated values? 

Let’s look at what happens without inclusive marketing…   

Google ‘stock images’ and you’ll find libraries of them, each holding hundreds of images within an impressive range of categories. Just search ‘computer’ on a stock photography site and you’ll get a plethora of images to choose from.

However, while these photography libraries aim to capture diverse themes, they don’t always succeed at representing diverse people.

There are ways in which businesses can dampen the potential and power of illustrations. They can fail to represent their diverse target audience. Inclusive illustrations point to an inclusive brand. And as a brand, that’s what you want to be. Remember, people are more likely to show interest in your product if they see themselves reflected in your brand. Inclusive illustrations show your customers they belong and are considered.

These days, inclusion is the word on everyone’s lips and like all hot buzz words, plenty of brands are jumping on the bandwagon, while others are waiting on the sidelines believing it to be a passing trend. Many brands simply don’t get it.

We have some big news…

It’s happening. We’re putting The Social Detail to bed and we’re waking up Arima & Co.

As Arima & Co, our values and beliefs remain the same. And we’re sticking to most of our original services, including expert consulting, thorough audits and – of course – informative talks and workshops. But this time around, we won’t be offering social media marketing. Our focus is shifting entirely to inclusive marketing.