Rainbow-Washing is Hurting Your Brand.
How you can foster genuine inclusivity in your marketing efforts
You’ve probably seen it before. Heck, you might even be guilty of it. Every year around Pride Month, companies adorn their social media page, storefronts, and maybe even their staff with a spattering of rainbow coloring in an attempt to show the world how ‘woke’ they are on LGBTQ+ issues. At the risk of sounding overly optimistic, I’d say that these brands do it with the best intentions. They want to let people know that they’re inclusive and promote diversity and acceptance. However, at the end of the day, a businesses main goal is to profit, and if you’re making money by co-opting a movement that your brand doesn’t actively live by, you’re opening yourself up to backlash that could do more harm than good.
But how do you promote inclusivity in your marketing efforts without coming across as pandering or opportunistic? Thankfully, the expert marketers at GenM are here to help walk you through why rainbow-washing can backfire, and how you can promote inclusivity in your marketing materials while remaining genuine.
What’s the big deal anyway?
We’re not saying that you need to go out of your way to take part in Pride Month. The reality of the world is that LGBTQ+ issues are still a divisive topic and you might not want to alienate a portion of your customer base by being vocal about these issues. However, if you decide to, it’s important that you are doing it for the right reasons or you could end up angering the exact people you are trying to include.
Take Victoria’s Secret for example. This year they tweeted out a photo of a rainbow rebrand of the logo for their Pink brand, celebrating their LGBTQ+ customers. Unfortunately for them, Twitter didn’t forget the controversy they stirred up when their, now former, CMO said that he believes Trans people didn’t fit into the fantasy that is the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.
But even if you didn’t have a major controversy in the past, plastering a rainbow across your socials for a month can come off as disingenuous to many. If you want to promote genuine inclusivity in your brand, it’s a year-round thing. Here are our tips on some ways you can get started.
Tap into the diversity of your team
Even if we don’t have the most diverse social circles outside of the workplace, the office can be a great way for people to come in contact with others who can offer different perspectives and lived experiences. We at GenM don’t hire on a quota system, we look for the best, and oftentimes, ‘the best’ come in all shapes, colors, and backgrounds. If your marketing team isn’t exactly the picture of diversity and you’re running a campaign to target someone of an underrepresented group, don’t hesitate to reach out to a coworker or friend who fits the bill and run the copy/creative for the campaign past them. Even if you think everything is on the up and up, you might not notice something that someone else with different experiences would.
Avoid tokenism and stereotypes
We get it, you have a killer team and you want to show them off. Just be sure you’re doing it for the right reasons. If Pride Month rolls around and you trot out the office gay to be plastered across your Instagram and show off your ‘diverse hiring culture’, you need to take a step back and think about what you’re doing. Celebrating what makes us all different is all well and good, but if you’re pigeonholing someone based off something they can’t control, not only are they going to feel used, but your audience will see right through what you’re trying to do.
The same goes for your marketing materials. Women don’t need to be depicted in traditionally feminine roles, men don’t need to be depicted in traditionally masculine roles and models for products don’t have to be the epitome of physical fitness. Try mixing it up with your ad creative, show everyday people using your product and take it easy on the airbrush.
Try a gender-neutral approach
Want to reach a broader audience? Try making your ad creative gender neutral. According to 82% of Gen Z members, a person’s gender doesn’t define them as much as they used to. Gender neutral marketing is on the rise with the clothing brand Zara recently launching a genderless clothing line, and Jaden Smith modeling skirts for Luis Vuitton.
Try using images of people who don’t fit into traditional gender norms in your next marketing campaign. If you need a resource for gender-neutral stock photos, Vice has a solid collection up on offer.
Respect the pronouns of your customers
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again — direct interaction with your customers is invaluable. Whether you’re responding to an email or giving a shout-out on social media, your followers will appreciate the 1-on-1 engagement. If you’re looking to make this interaction more inclusive, make an effort to use the person’s preferred pronouns. Take a look at their profile, they might have them listed. If not, play it safe and use gender-neutral pronouns like they/them.
Don’t make inclusivity a campaign
You might be thinking to yourself, ‘but those rainbow-colored pride socks I got from H&M had a portion of the proceeds going to LGBTQ+ charities!’. Well, that may be a great tactic to increase sales, at the end of the day, you’re still commercializing a marginalized group. Don’t be opportunistic and start a marketing campaign around inclusivity just because it’s Pride Month. If you really want the LGBTQ+ community to feel like your brand is an ally, it’s something that takes effort year round.
Don’t force it
It’s ok if inclusive marketing isn’t for your brand. Not every brand has to be ‘woke’ on social issues. If it’s not something you think will be a great fit for your brand or not something you can put the time and effort into doing right — don’t do it.
Hold yourself accountable
We all fuck up. It’s about what you do afterward that really matters. If you get some blowback from a genuine attempt to be inclusive it’s not the end of the world. Learn to apologize the right way. If you have to apologize, make sure you do these three things:
- Be specific
- Show remorse
- Outline next steps
Take a look at AirBnB’s masterclass in apologizing for a great example:
Key Takeaways
Inclusive marketing isn’t a one-off campaign — it’s a full-time practice. If you’re going to align yourself in solidarity with a marginalized group, make sure you’re doing it for the right reasons. Remember that social movements don’t care about your bottom line. Know when to speak up and when to sit out. Tell stories and get opinions from those who don’t always have a voice, and know when and how to apologize when you get things wrong.
