By: Jackie Ferguson

This article was written by our sponsor, The Diversity Movement

For marketers, 2023 is going to be the “Year of Accountability.”

Think about the array of challenges marketing executives and their C-suite leaders face: economic uncertainty; increased demand for Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) implementation; and general disgust with “woke-washed,” performative branding efforts. Again and again, marketing executives are staring down repeated crises ignited by frustrated customers, employees and shareholders.

Answering the accountability question begins and ends with creating a culture-centric marketing organization (in-house or agency) that integrates diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) into marketing initiatives and campaigns authentically and in a way that develops true brand strength. Let me put it more bluntly: If the brand is not aligned with the company’s DEI strategy, then the organization is exposed to serious risk.

Do any of these sound familiar?:

– Advertisements feature diverse actors, but the agency has no diversity on its creative teams.

– Marketing efforts are supposedly directed at supported communities, but only have a strategy for “diverse” holidays.

– The communications team struggles to authentically respond to RFP questions about diversity.

– C-suite leaders are having trouble communicating with internal and external audiences.

The cost of “not getting” DEI or getting it wrong hurts the bottom line in talent acquisition and retention, alienates customers and potential customers who are angered by insensitive efforts, and leads to crises when stakeholders take offense at a misguided campaign. The backlash from any one of these challenges can have immeasurable negative consequences for the brand and permanently damage the organization’s reputation. For example, the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) reports that about 70% of businesses have “significant” accessibility issues, opening themselves to potential lawsuits.

To quickly understand where an organization’s marketing ranks for DEI best practices, take this 12-point assessment. The results will provide an overview, including a clearer sense of priorities and free resources to put to use right away.

Need to convince the CEO, Board of Directors members or senior leadership about why the marketing team should be strategizing with DEI at the heart of cultural transformation? Here are four essential reasons marketers need to focus on culture in 2023:

1. Marketing is the heart of building culture-centric organizations

Marketing leaders – and their teams – know how to manage and transform cultures, both internally and for clients. The notion of “winning hearts and minds” is a natural outcome of their work.

As Donald Thompson, CEO of The Diversity Movement, explains, “By focusing on messaging, marketers intuitively understand how to reach audiences and advocate for a perspective. As a result, tying marketing to diversity enables marketing to reach more people, while also helping to explain why DEI is so critical to an organization’s future success.”

2. Customers and stakeholders demand authenticity

After decades of bad advertisements and messages that were collectively labeled “greenwashing,” customers and stakeholders are on the lookout for similar examples of “woke-washing,” or the deliberate attempt to performatively show cultural change externally without making responsible changes to internal culture. C-suite leaders fear the dreaded “H”-word: hypocrisy.

According to Erin Dowell and Marlette Jackson in the Harvard Business Review, “Organizations must be cognizant of the fact that the current outcry for justice is not ephemeral or confined to social media. It is the culmination of decades of advocacy and centuries of discrimination, and as such, consumers are no longer willing to let organizations squander those efforts.”

3. Authentic diversity means having diverse teams and productive employees

Diversity is happening whether organizations embrace it or not – it’s a matter of demographics as culture-savvy (and more diverse) generations enter the marketplace. For marketing leaders and their C-suite counterparts, this undeniable fact means that change is mandatory and needs to happen as soon as possible.

In talent retention and attraction, employees and prospects are demanding that organizations prove that DEI is meaningful and important. In today’s social context, creating a positive workplace culture where people feel a sense of belonging is an important factor in where they work and where they hope to make their careers.

Happy employees stay in their jobs and are more productive. Data from Oxford’s Saïd Business School shows that happy employees are 13% more productive every week. This equates to nearly one extra hour of work per day, per employee, or five extra hours a week. And, happy employees don’t leave their jobs. Turnover is expensive and a drain on resources, from searching and vetting candidates to the time spent training and onboarding.

4. Partners matter

Despite the best efforts of organizations across the nation, they struggle with attracting and retaining diverse workers. For marketing leaders the truth is painfully obvious: They can’t get diverse fast enough to meet the changing needs of clients or companies. This challenge has a direct impact on revenue, because some 60% to 70% of consumers say diversity in advertising is important to them when they are making purchasing decisions. And, 70% of organizations that have operationalized DEI into their workplace culture have captured new market share versus their peers.

Here are two steps a leader can take right away to overcome the “diverse enough” challenge while working to fix the longer-term challenge of attracting underrepresented employees. First, when focusing on DEI strategies and tactics, find a partner that more accurately represents the demographics of the campaign. For example, a one-person agency run by a Black woman could help expand diversity of thought right away and open up new opportunities. Next, be intentional about suppliers to quickly expand the department’s DEI footprint. Diversifying one’s network via minority-led vendors can make a tangible difference in underrepresented and marginalized communities.

The Year of Accountability

By any measure, from implementing ESG into a company’s mission to creating a more efficient employee lifecycle, marketers will be at the core of organizational success in 2023. It’s not just C-suite leaders who are demanding more and better, it’s customers, vendors, suppliers, and – most importantly – employees.

If there is a reckoning on the horizon, the time to prepare is now. Successful marketing leaders integrate DEI into their brand strategy to build authentic brands and connect with audiences. Inclusive marketing builds trust with consumers, helping companies retain existing customers and attract new ones. Companies with inclusive marketing practices have a clear business advantage.

Ready to learn more about growing your brand and revenue via DEI initiatives? Click here to take a 12-point self-assessment and get more information about how The Diversity Movement can help your marketing team prepare for 2023. 

This article was written by our sponsor, The Diversity Movement