Marketing Needs To Be Inclusive

Diversity efforts must be authentic and go further than checking off a box.

- Frederick Joseph

Marketing is an industry that constantly evolves due to the everchanging ways in which people engage with content and campaigns. From the invention of the television to the frequent changes in social media algorithms, marketers have to stay up-to-date not only on the latest media and ways to market but also regarding who we’re marketing to. Over the last few decades, marketers have placed an emphasis on diversifying target audiences, finding that there is a great deal of buying power beyond the white male consumer. Examples of this can be found in women and African- Americans: The purchasing power of women in the U.S. alone ranges from $5 trillion to $15 trillion annually, and African-American buying power was roughly $1.2 trillion as of 2017.

More often than not, marketers have been charged with finding ways to convert these audiences into consumers of products and content that wasn’t created for them. But even this has changed greatly in recent years as brands have started diversifying what marketers are selling. Many believe we are beginning a global renaissance of diversity. The creation of content and products is slowly becoming less centered on white males and more inclusive of other groups in an attempt to drive organic consumerism.