What to know

Strategies and tactics fuel marketing goals. They offer, in the case of strategy, the pathway or road map, and in the case of tactics, the tools used in that pathway, to achieve the overarching intentions of marketing and advertising: building brand awareness and trust that ultimately translate into sales. 

A diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) strategy in marketing refers to the game plan and tools used to ensure that a variety of identities in a target audience feel seen, welcomed, respected, supported, valued, and included.  

One of the potential pitfalls of treating DEI in marketing as a strategy is alienating those very segments you are looking to connect with. Strategy determines the budgets, space, time, and effort your brand dedicates to a given segment. In this context, DEI in marketing can become merely a checklist item. This may result in limited resources and effort to achieve the kind of equity and inclusion that fosters genuine relationships with consumers. 

A DEI lens permeates all aspects of a brand and campaign. Unlike DEI strategy, a DEI lens is a mindset through which to consider everything your brand touches. It offers more than tools and static goals. It is an ethos that informs all your brand’s decisions and actions in marketing and beyond, ensuring that your brand’s actions consistently align with your socially conscious mission. Through this process, DEI becomes a living part of the brand identity. 

The brands that work through a DEI lens to forge a more personalized and emotional connection to their audience are the brands that can hit a truth that resonates for everyone, and they use diverse lenses to expand on and deliver that message. Incorporating diversity and inclusion on top of all marketing and operational strategies ensures authentic connections that are good for your consumers and for your bottom line.

Additional resources

• Marketing through a DEI lens (American Marketing Association)
• Authentically Inclusive Marketing (Deloitte)
• Redefining our understanding of marketing equity & inclusion (Vox Media)