< Back to all posts
Inclusive Marketing: Diversify Your Video Campaigns
Brands today are giving serious thought to the inclusivity of marketing materials. This can mean depicting more groups of people in terms of race and ethnicity, cultural background, gender identity, sexual orientation and disability. It’s also a matter of being responsible and appropriate in these depictions instead of tokenistic.
This broadening of perspective can and should be more than a fad or trend. If your business launches and inclusive marketing strategy, it should become a natural and foundational part of the way you present your brand to the world.
Using a more diverse lineup of marketing videos isn’t just a symbolic commitment or a commentary on values — it’s also a smart move from a simple promotional perspective. Consumers are hoping to see this type of content for brands. Now it’s up to you to make sure your efforts hit the mark.
Why Commit to Inclusive Digital Marketing?
Inclusivity in content marketing reflects a brand’s desire to reach a broad, diverse audience, one that cuts across demographics and identities. Consumer bases are naturally diverse, and there’s a rising focus on creating content that’s not limited to a single group.
Any type of marketing content can be revised for a greater focus on diversity — even written material with no visual component can receive a sweep to make sure it’s full of inclusive language that reflects up-to-date social consciousness. With that said, photos and videos are the major focus areas for brands seeking to present a more inclusive face to the world.
Storyblocks reviewed a two-year sample and found that by the end of that period, companies had increased their downloads of diverse video content by 191%. These marketers didn’t limit their focus to racial and ethnic diversity, also choosing to use videos that displayed a wider variety of ages, abilities, body types and sexual orientations.
Of course, this new approach to content marketing efforts may ring false if the brands launching inclusive marketing campaigns don’t also practice diversity, equity and inclusion in their everyday business practices. It’s important to make sure your brand has a solid commitment to inclusiveness, and then produce materials that are an extension of that attitude.
What Does a Successful Inclusive Marketing Campaign Look Like?
No matter what method your brand uses to produce its marketing content — anything from a full internal style to an agency model or a collaboration with a third party — shifting your focus to include more diverse subjects can be a positive move.
A good inclusive marketing campaign must strike a careful balance between expressing a positive, diverse worldview and selling your products. If visual diversity is simply used as a prop to increase sales, members of the target audience may distrust the company’s messaging, so the commitment to inclusivity must come from an honest place.
The most natural way to create inclusive content is to make sure the people behind the scenes come from diverse backgrounds. Building a video team that fits this description represents an intentional choice to move away from homogeneous modes of content creation, where a disproportionate number of crew members have been white and male.
As part of a Little Black Book feature on crew diversity, production company CEO Jemel Richards suggested that creative leaders will have to take on new selection criteria when deciding who will direct their videos. Turning to the same people and groups, which is a common practice, tends to prevent new, diverse voices from breaking into the industry.
By welcoming in new entrants from previously underrepresented groups and creating paths for advancement, decision-makers in the marketing and content creation spaces can proactively add diverse perspectives to the sector. This behind-the-scenes work will then make it easier to produce honestly and naturally inclusive content that fits a diverse audience’s preferences and expectations.
Ready to Commit to High-Quality Video Marketing?
Once you’ve decided that video is your brand’s best option for an inclusive marketing campaign, it’s time to assemble the infrastructure to produce the content. Whether you’re just getting involved with video production for the first time or have an established pipeline, it can pay to work with an expert third party.
Outside video teams deliver numerous advantages, offering access to skilled professionals and the latest and greatest gear. With these logistical matters in hand, your marketing efforts can unfold smoothly.
Crews Control’s teams provide the added benefit of close engagement with their respective regions. Since these experts understand their surroundings, they can help you produce high-quality videos that take full advantage of your chosen location. Your internal stakeholders and talent can relax and focus on their specific duties as you roll out exciting new video concepts for your inclusive marketing strategy.
Learn much more about the state of diversity in video: Read our eBook.
Leave a Reply