6 ways the advertising industry can be inclusive in 2022

The advertising industry has a distinct opportunity to influence culture by creating campaigns that are representative across race, gender, sexual orientation, age and physical ability. This same opportunity also makes it a target for quick criticism from consumers when the message falls flat or doesn’t land the way it was intended.

But this shouldn’t deter creatives from being more inclusive, and thinking about representation from the very start as an idea begins to take shape. During the Female Quotient’s Equality Lounge at the recent CES tech show, media executives shared solutions to change the way we work, and the need for equity-centered, system-wide change. Here are six ways the advertising industry can become more inclusive in 2022:

1. Make it a business imperative
If inclusion work is not perceived as a core strategy, it’s not going to be integrated into daily processes, goals and expectations. It needs to be woven into everything an organization does to succeed, not solely on the shoulders of the executive in charge of diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I). Inclusion needs to be its own business strategy coming from the top-down.

2. Audit your advertising campaigns
“A lot of brands think they're doing a great job with diversity and representation in their advertising, until we do a ‘heat test’ and ingest all of a company’s advertising over a quarter, comparing it with its competitors to see how diverse it actually is,” says Nathan Young, head of strategy at Deloitte’s Ethos service, helping clients effect DE&I initiatives. “And then, the client is often surprised to find that it’s not as diverse as they thought.”

3. Diversify every layer of the production process
Who’s behind the camera? Who’s producing the work? This is another layer that can bring additional authenticity and can power the decisions leaders make to drive equity. Review every layer of the production process. Look at who’s on board and the influence they’re having on the creative, the language in the script, the set design, the choice of music and the clothing worn. All these things may appear minor, but little nuances mean so much to those watching.

Disney has been applauded for its representation in Encanto.

4. Pull conversations upstream
Inclusion needs to be part of the conversation from the beginning. Whether identifying the target audience, writing a strategic brief or a media plan, or ensuring the right people are at the table. “Too often, inclusion is brought up in the conversation at the casting stage or during production, and then it’s a superficial fix,” says Betsey Borunda, audience marketing lead at Meta. “Conversation should be happening way upstream,“ noting that viewers see when something “inclusive'' is slapped on, misses the mark and undermines its intention.

5. Use AI to help eliminate bias in advertising
Karen Fegelman, senior director, analytics and insights, as well as human insights leader at P&G, notes that, “As one of the largest advertisers, our ads are seen by millions of people every day, and with that comes a responsibility to ensure that we’re portraying people fairly and accurately.” Fegelman has has been working with IBM Watson Advertising in more effectively using AI in advertising, and Sheri Bachstein, CEO of The Weather Company and GM, Watson Advertising, elaborates: “We have an AI Fairness 360 toolkit that we give to all developers, and this is the first time we're applying it to advertising," she says. “It is open tech that anyone can use and we welcome partnerships. We have been examining campaign data retroactively, and going into this year we’re looking to mitigate bias in real time as a campaign is running.” Bachstein says that AI is not a technology that you can set and forget. Rather, marketers must keep their eyes open for where there are underserved pockets and how they can manage algorithms to make sure they are not optimizing to the wrong place.

6. Rethink job requirements
“If your interview practices have been the same for the past 10 years, you’re going to miss a lot of people who may have the experience, but not through traditional avenues,” says Young, referring to what he calls the “parallel experience.” “If what it takes to have diverse voices in the room is removing a requirement like having a four-year degree, I’m all for it,” he says.