Diversity, equity and inclusion strategy

This article is authored by Debasis Pradhan, Debashree Roy and Abhisek Kuanr.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is essentially at the heart of all customer-centric organisations. DEI in marketing is about acknowledging, accepting, representing, and celebrating the multiplicity of identities of the consumers through marketer-generated content. Body-positive advertising is one such form of DEI strategies in marketing.

Women empowerment (Voices of Youth)

It is believed that most consumers appreciate DEI strategies adopted by marketing firms, especially body-positive advertising. However, very few firms have taken this route. One wonders the reason behind such skepticism. There apparently is a degree of disagreement among brand managers on the effectiveness of a body-positive advertising strategy.

Brand managers need to understand the ongoing conversation between the consumers and the marketers to take prudent marketing decisions. It is common knowledge that most popular brands feature attractive supermodels to endorse their brands though the endorsers represent unattainable beauty standards. Do the consumers appreciate the fact that they do not see themselves reflected by the brands? Certainly not, if one goes by some recent reports by Adobe, which suggests that 34% of global consumers have rejected a brand because it did not represent their identity in its advertising. The reports also show that a whopping 120 million consumers in the US do not see themselves represented appropriately and proportionately in advertisements. A recent report from the Government of the UK shows that 61% of adults and 66% of children are dissatisfied with their body image. It categorically blames the advertisements of clothing and beauty brands for creating a false narrative of a ‘perfect body’.

Khatija Lokhandwala, head of brand marketing at Zivame, the leading brand of women’s intimate wear, shares that every woman, irrespective of her age, body shape, size, height, and complexion, deserves to be cherished for who she is. When Dove launched its famous Real Beauty Campaign worldwide and started its Dove self-esteem fund, little was known about its potential to become an Instagram-worthy story and inspire a movement worth everyone’s attention.

However, not many marketers could risk the idea of debunking traditional beauty stereotypes. It was unclear to most brands whether such forms of body-positive marketing campaigns produced any tangible outcomes.

Our research conducted across the globe reveals that body-positive advertisements are clear winners over thin-ideal advertisements; hence, they must be preferred by marketing firms. There is a reason why brand managers should take this insight more seriously. Our findings suggest that brands using body-positive advertising are perceived as authentic and genuine. The recent body-positive advertising campaign of Zivame is perceived as a brand’s realistic, genuine, and inclusive communication, unlike traditional stereotypical ads. Similarly, a recent advertisement from Bombay Shaving Company reflecting inclusivity and honesty has resonated better with consumers, fostering a stronger brand authenticity. We present clear evidence that a high degree of brand authenticity inspires consumers to be true to themselves, thereby deepening consumer engagement with the brands.

Why shouldn’t the brands be happy about such an insight if the consumer engagement scores are getting better? Strangely, most brands still seem to be the prisoners of their own creation and continue to portray idealistic images that are far from reality.

This also demonstrates how misguided and skewed our advertisements have become, which could turn our friendly consumers into foes and enthusiastic brand evangelists into detractors. Our research presents mounting scientific evidence in favour of body-positive advertising, a form of DEI strategy. We recommend brand managers to place their advertising messages subtly (an implicit advertising strategy) instead of an in-your-face, explicit strategy for greater consumer engagement. For example, brands like FabAlley, employing body-positive explicit advertising are very vocal about their stance. They also declared in one of their Instagram captions, “FabAlley is reclaiming body positivity, right here, right now.” Now, such an explicit body-positive advertising strategy may work in the short run, but it could lose steam after a certain point, and even backfire. Our research findings indicate that implicit advertising strategy lasts longer for its subtle messaging.

Overall, body-positive advertisement is going to be a unique differentiator for brands that can represent and celebrate diversity and, in turn, enlighten consumers about intangible brand values that go far beyond short-term commercial goals.

This article is authored by Debasis Pradhan, professor, XLRI Jamshedpur, Debashree Roy, former assistant professor, IIT, Dhanbad and Abhisek Kuanr, lecturer in marketing, University of Essex, England.