Diversity and identity politics can be a minefield. In my science fantasy series, Pearseus, I had as diverse a cast as possible, with strong female leads, a main hero of Indian descent, another one of Chinese descent, Masai warriors, a lesbian leader, etc. Even so, I got flak from people who felt their preferred minority was underrepresented because, for example, my warrior heroines were slim and slender (even though one of my favorite characters, Head Priestess Tie, was a big woman with a shaved head).
So, should we, as authors, shy away from diversity?
In one word, no. With Pearseus, I didn’t set off to create a diverse cast; it came about organically as that was simply what fit my characters. I seem to have an eye for the quirky and the unusual when people-watching and that shows in my own work. And I find it boring when I write stories with only one kind of heroes.
But I had never thought of a possible relationship between my Ad campaign and diversity.
So, when Edwin Deponte suggested this as a topic for his guest post, I was intrigued.
Edwin is a motivational writer who is also passionate about Social Marketing. He believes in others’ abilities and tends to bring out people’s hidden potentials through his words of inspirations and motivational articles.
How Celebrating Diversity Can Make Your Ad Campaigns Better
More and more people are learning to celebrate their differences today rather than fight over it. And nobody’s currently breaking the mold more than digital marketers. Integrating diversity in their advertisement campaigns and marketing strategies has helped them a lot in recent years. If you want to know the impacts it has made on ads, then read on below.
It Lets You Connect Better
Making your advertisements culturally and ethnically diverse not only enables you to reach out to a broader range of audience but allows you to form better connections with them as well. Say you’re running a Kansas City social marketing company. Kansas has a 30% non-white population, which includes African American, Asian, American Indian, Pacific Islander, and Hispanics/Latinos. The best way to reach this segment is by using diversity in your ad campaigns in a way that will help you build rapport with its white citizens as well as with the other ethnic groups who make their homes there.
Different is In Right Now
Demand for diversity in media and advertisement has been at an all-time high for quite some time now. According to a BabyCenter & Yougov study, almost 90% of parents want societies to be more accepting of different types of families. Also, nearly half of the millennial parents talk about products that feature diverse families in their Ads. This demonstrates how much popularity celebrating diversity is gathering in recent years.
It Helps Break Barriers
Celebrating diversity in your Ads helps you and your audience debunk stereotypes as well as increase cultural sensitivity. This would result in advertisements that would better convince everyone (not just a particular group of people) that your brand is exactly right for them, ultimately encouraging them to root for it. It would also increase your target audience since the Ad now caters to the needs of more than one specific ethnicity or group.
Diversity is Beautiful
If you just have one type of fish in your aquarium, then it would be pretty dull and boring. But add a few more fishes and put in other aquatic life in your tank and you get an entire oceanic ecosystem in a box! Similarly, your ads could look catatonic and lifeless if you keep using the same groups of people as your main subjects. By making it ethnically diverse, you add beauty and value to it. So try changing it up every once in a while!
It Makes You More Creative
Diversity and creativity go hand in hand. Studies have shown that teams whose members come from diverse backgrounds tend to come up with more imaginative ideas than groups with members coming from the same place. And it’s not just true in making advertisements and marketing campaigns! Diversity is also the main ingredient when being creative in how you start and manage your marketing team and solve any challenges that come your way.
The best Ads are those which effectively communicate its brand to its target audience― regardless of age, beliefs, and sexual preferences. By employing diversity in Ad campaigns, you’ll be able to craft messages that reach out and benefit your audience as well as increase your brand’s reputation and your business’ profitability.
What are your thoughts on diversity and advertisement? Let us know on the comments section below!
Featured Image: Pixabay.com
Reblogged this on Legends of Windemere and commented:
Excellent post.
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Reblogged this on Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog.
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This is an interesting post, Nicholas. 🙂 — Suzanne
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Thank you, Suzanne 😀
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Reblogged this on Kim's Musings.
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I didn’t either but my Lana Malloy series has a diverse cast too.
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I’ve noticed that it seems to come naturally to many of us.
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Ads are a weak point of mine (which is hilarious because I used to create successful ones for the companies I worked for). But I think both ads and our fiction should represent real life. I’m currently working on a series that has people from various nationalities, and it makes sense to me because part of it takes place near WPAFB, which (because of the base) is a very diverse area. Another part takes place in a university, also diverse. And then, there is some global travel. I believe diversity in this cast is necessary because it’s authentic. On the other hand, I wrote a series that was very Italian-American (and Italian) forward. That was a much smaller social circle. I still had a little diversity, but a truly global cast would have felt forced and contrived. So, yes, I’m pro-diversity in fiction and ads, but as long as it doesn’t feel gratuitous.
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Couldn’t agree more. It’s a completely different feel when you force diversity onto a cast just to be politically correct.
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I like a diverse cast of characters. I’m working to get better at it. Hadn’t thought about the slanting that for the marketing side, but definitely worth looking into more.
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Same here. It was an interesting take, but the more I thought about it, the more examples I could see in everyday Ads (Benetton, anyone?)
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I love it 90% of parents want a society more accepting of diversity. (Makes me wonder about the other 10%). Great reminder, Nicholas, to include a diversity of characters in our writing too. Thank you. 🙂
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True, it does make you wonder 🙂
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I think using diversity in our characters is not only fun, but a must! This goes right along with our ASPIRE TO INSPIRE topic this month. Thanks, Nicholas! I may refer to your blog in the show, if you have no objections.
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Yay! That sounds awesome; thank you, Jan 😀
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Reblogged this on Author Don Massenzio and commented:
Check out this post from Nicholas Rossis’ blog on the topic of How Celebrating Diversity Can Make Your Ad Campaigns Better
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I’ve been making a point of including diversity in main characters wherever possible. My Fantasy series, for example, is set after most of the world’s population was wiped out and the descendants of a random selection of London residents would naturally be mixed!
The scifi really calls for it as any futuristic scenario will include a variety of peoples.
The Steampunk has posed a challenge because Victorian England was low on diversity, but I’m rising to the challenge and researching ethnic groups present at the time. After all, many Crusaders brought back Moorish wives.
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Fascinating! I thought the Victorian times were the precursor to our globalization, with several Indians moving to the Empire’s capital. Is that not the case?
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India obtained independence from The British Empire in 1947, so before that it was limited. The East India Company brought many over but these would have been in close communities. A 1931 Census of India estimated that there were at least 2,000 Indian students in English and Scottish Universities, but when you think about it, that’s not a lot spread out so far. Obviously this is a primary ethnic group to draw from, but a far cry from the diversity of modern times.
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Thank you for that! My concept was one of far greater interaction between the various ethnic groups, so I’m glad I asked you 🙂
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Are you familiar with the term ‘Imperialism’ in reference to the British Empire? The monied classes in particular had an attitude that still rears its ugly head today, a mixture of supreme arrogance and racism of the worst kind. Part of our less attractive history.
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It’s such a loaded term, isn’t it? A handful of supporters argue in favor of the “they were a bunch of savages before we civilized them,” while its detractors blame it for pretty much everything wrong under the sun. I suspect plenty more would be in favor of it if they weren’t afraid of being ridiculed, mind you.
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Great points! Diversity is so important in marketing. As a consumer, I feel the person/company communicates their values and who they value the most through their campaigns. God has created so many different types of people that are so many different colors, shapes, ethnicities, dialects, etc. so making an effort to reach as many people as possible is beneficial to everyone. The Apostle Paul had the same approach when preaching. He said, “I have become all things to people of all sorts, so that I might by all possible means save some” (1 Corinthians 9:19-22). He included everyone and his preaching campaigns were very successful. The wider the net the more fish are caught.
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Couldn’t agree more, Heather! Well said 🙂
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