Marketing Inclusivity Checks You Probably Don’t Know But Should Do

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I just got home from HighEdWeb 2019, which was an excellent conference on web technology in higher education. I learned a lot about the challenges facing colleges and universities, as well as the creative solutions they’re implementing to overcome them. But even more than that, I learned about what true, meaningful, and thoughtful inclusivity looks like.

I’m not really sure why inclusivity hasn’t come up in marketing channels that I participate in (much more regularly than higher ed ones). This idea of ensuring that everyone, regardless of race, sexuality, gender, disability, or any other attribute you can think of that might separate one person from another, can comfortably participate and engage with your content has no reason to be exclusive to higher education.

In fact, if anyone should be leading the charge, it should be marketers. While higher education organizations have a right and responsibility to ensure that all students and faculty are valued for their knowledge and skills, rather than their physical attributes, marketers and advertisers have the same right and responsibility, coupled with the goal of reaching as many people as possible to spread awareness and generate ROI.