Good for Humankind, Good for Sales
I have reminded more than one creative director to be inclusive when writing copy and choosing images. I readily admit that my personal motivation has less to do with marketing and more to do with a social conscience. But for the more mercenary, I offer the convenient fact that inclusiveness is good for sales.
You sell more to customers who identify with the people you depict in your advertising. If you depict only whites, you fail to connect with more than one-third of the population of the United States, soon to be half, given current trends. That’s over 100 million, soon to be 150 million, potential customers.
Hue and facial features aside, it pays to remember that well over 150 million wallet-bearing humans are not male, over 12 million are not straight (and many times that number are their relatives or friends), over 150 million are not in political agreement with you, and over 60 million consider themselves “non religious.”
Review your marketing. See if you’re leaving anyone out or slighting anyone. Taking care to be inclusive offers you increased sales. Better yet, it offers you an opportunity to help spread the scientifically established—and socially crucial—message that we are, after all, one vast family.
—Steve Cuno
I have reminded more than one creative director to be inclusive when writing copy and choosing images. I readily admit that my personal motivation has less to do with marketing and more to do with a social conscience. But for the more mercenary, I offer the convenient fact that inclusiveness is good for sales.
You sell more to customers who identify with the people you depict in your advertising. If you depict only whites, you fail to connect with more than one-third of the population of the United States, soon to be half, given current trends. That’s over 100 million, soon to be 150 million, potential customers.
Hue and facial features aside, it pays to remember that well over 150 million wallet-bearing humans are not male, over 12 million are not straight (and many times that number are their relatives or friends), over 150 million are not in political agreement with you, and over 60 million consider themselves “non religious.”
Review your marketing. See if you’re leaving anyone out or slighting anyone. Taking care to be inclusive offers you increased sales. Better yet, it offers you an opportunity to help spread the scientifically established—and socially crucial—message that we are, after all, one vast family.
—Steve Cuno
RSS Feed
