Denya Chinquee – Senior Director, Audience Impact & Intelligence, Paramount Advertising
Michelle Green – Manager, Audience Impact & Intelligence, Paramount Advertising
Representation in advertising is more complicated than ever with brands getting it wrong receiving strong backlash. Denya Chinquee and Michelle Green of Paramount Advertising discussed their latest study on on-screen representation, which evaluated the state of inclusivity in advertising, consumer expectations and effective advertising strategies. They used a multi-phase research approach using mobile ethnographies, in-depth interviews, semiotics, ad database analysis, foresight analysis and a nationally representative survey of over 3,500 consumers. They also went beyond race and ethnicity to include Native/Indigenous people and people who identify as LGBTQ+, differently abled, neurodiverse and those who belong to religious minorities, such as Jewish, Muslim and Hindu. This research helped create The Content for Change Ad Toolkit, which provides guidelines for marketers to build up their inclusivity IQ.
Key takeaways:
- Representation matters in media: 85% of consumers agree that the way people are portrayed in entertainment influences perceptions about them in the real-world.
- It’s also equally important in advertising: 73% of consumers say diversity, equality and inclusion is important in advertising.
- The events of 2020 drove an increase in diverse representation; however, we are now seeing a decline in representation with Hispanic representation having the sharpest decline (9% in 2021 to 5% in 2022) even though Hispanics make up 20% of the total U.S. population.
- Misrepresentation is worse than no representation, according to the majority of respondents. Negative stereotypes perpetuated by advertising impact how people of minority groups are seen by society.
- Sixty-two percent of consumers are more likely to notice brands that represent people like them.
- Inclusion drives purchase intent, loyalty and consumers’ willingness to pay more: 57% are more likely to buy from brands that represent people like them, 53% are more loyal to brands that represent people like them and 45% would pay more for a brand that is embracing inclusivity with their ads.
- Inclusivity isn’t one size fits all. Consumers want storytelling that is of universal or omnicultural experiences to more unique or divergent representations.
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