CUNA Marketing & Business Development Council Conference 2022

Mission Possible: How to Avoid Overcomplicating Diversity & Inclusion Efforts in Marketing

Khalilah Elliott

Gafford Communications, LLC

Our Mission Today Khalilah’s Mission

Your Mission

I.

DEMYSTIFY Diversity & Inclusion in Marketing Communications.

I.

BRING an open heart and mind to our discussion today.

II.

PROVIDE practical applications that go beneath the surface and translate to effective strategies for actively engaging with historically underrepresented consumer audiences.

II.

LEAD with curiosity. Ask questions if you need clarity.

III.

GIVE yourself (and others) grace on your journey as you work to broaden your understanding of others whose lived experiences may be different from yours.

IV.

HOLD yourself and your colleagues accountable to do the work.

V.

CONSIDER where there may be opportunities for you to incorporate what you learn today in your work.

III.

ARM session attendees with specific questions you can ask yourselves to begin to think instinctively about inclusivity as you go through your daily practice as a marketer.

IV.

SHARE tactics on how to identify and lessen your blind spots.

V.

HELP attendees to establish actionable goals to take back with them.

VI.

TAKE what you learn back to your company!

The World is Changing CHANGED

Embrace Being Foolish “...the world is full of zanies and fools…”

- Cinderella

Prompt What assumptions are you holding on to about who your customers are (or could be)?

When was the last time you asked your customers what they like (via a survey, focus group, etc.)?

When was the last time you reached out to those beyond your “typical” consumer base?

What traditionally held beliefs do you have about how your audience likes to communicate with your brand?

What is something you have ALWAYS done - that you could consider doing differently?

What blindspots might you have when it comes to audiences who don’t look like you?

Ignore the Rules “...who don't believe in sensible rules and won't believe what sensible people say…”

- Fairy Godmother

Prompt What did critics miss that the film’s producers & audiences understood about the benefits of diversity in casting?

When you are writing copy for an ad, visualizing a story board, or writing a creative brief, who do you envision delivering the lines or telling your company’s story?

Who do you think will stop and watch your ads when they air?

Who do you imagine visiting your local branches?

What is your “DEFAULT” setting when it comes to imagining your company’s clientele?

Believe the Impossible “...because these daft and dewy-eyed dopes keep building up impossible hopes, impossible things are happening every day!”

- Cinderella & Fairy Godmother

Prompt What is the makeup of the marketers who create your company’s messaging?

What does your team look like?

Is it made up of people from diverse experiences and backgrounds?

Is there freedom to challenge and explore new ideas or approaches to campaigns?

Who is reflected most in the creative of the vendors or agencies you utilize?

Do you struggle to find people of diverse representation for your content/assets?

What would your marketing strategy be if you believed that the impossible was possible?

Breakout Finding Our Blindspots

Spend 6-8 minutes on your own thinking about your role within your organization and your regular daily processes as a professional (and personally). Using the example of diversity in stock footage shared earlier, think about every aspect of doing your job and where there might be opportunities to organically expand your company’s efforts to be more inclusive.

Mission ACCOMPLISHED!

The Takeaway Things to Ask Ourselves

What am I not considering?

Who have I not considered?

Is there a reason why we continue to do it this way?

Is there a reason we cannot try to do things differently?

What potential new audiences/revenue are we potentially excluding from this discussion?

THANK YOU! Khalilah Elliott Founder & Chief Disruptor, Gafford Communications Follow @GaffordComms on FB/IG/Twitter and @kayasinlilah on Twitter & LinkedIn