‘Go woke and go broke’. It is a pithy headline and in an age of culture wars and marketing commentators calling ‘peak purpose’ on a loop, one that has gained alarming traction.

Yet new research from The Unstereotype Alliance has successfully shattered the myth between fact and fiction. The global study empirically proves inclusive advertising content, defined as content which authentically and positively portrays a full range of people and is devoid of stereotypes, has a positive impact on business profit, sales and brand value.

The study was conducted with leading researchers from Saïd Business School at Oxford University. It leveraged proprietary data provided by Unstereotype Alliance members Bayer Consumer Healthcare, Diageo, the Geena Davis Institute, Kantar, Mars Incorporated, Mondelez International and Unilever.

The first-of-its-kind research is based on analysis of 392 brands across 58 countries. It successfully proves the positive impact of inclusive advertising on business outcomes in both the short and long-term, and across multiple metrics. It highlights several areas of performance improvement including sales, financial performance, customer preference and loyalty, brand equity and market competitiveness.

The findings confirm that inclusive ad campaigns deliver 3.5% higher shorter-term sales and 16% higher longer-term sales. The study also found that inclusive ad campaigns drive 15% higher levels of customer loyalty and a 62% higher likelihood of being a consumer’s first choice

The results further show this positive impact extends into the longer term, with a higher sales uptick, as well as brand perception and brand value metrics indicating a stronger and more robust brand reputation. The study covered different product categories, such as confectionery, snacks, personal care, beauty, pet food, pet care, alcohol, consumer healthcare, and household products, across geographies.

The inclusion advantage

The research comes at a crucial time for the creative industries. Coverage of backlash to Bud Light’s Instagram post with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney suggests that marketers are increasingly fearful of getting it wrong.

Yet these findings underline that inclusive advertising does not have an adverse effect on business performance. It is a narrative that has been used as an argument against inclusive practices and marketing communications, despite the lack of empirical backing or statistical evidence.

With the publication of the report, the Unstereotype Alliance is calling on the business community to adopt more inclusive advertising practices. The findings highlight the commercial benefits of inclusive advertising and therefore supports the notion that inclusion should be considered a key element of overall corporate strategy and associated communications strategies.

Sara Denby, Head of the Unstereotype Alliance Secretariat at UN Women, explained: “The idea that inclusive advertising content can commercially damage a business has limited progress for too long. The assertion is consistently unfounded – but we needed to provide evidence to the contrary.”

She continues: “This irrefutable data should reassure any business and encourage brands to renew their commitment to inclusivity in all forms, to not only benefit the communities they serve, but to drive growth and financially prosper.”

Esi Eggleston Bracey, Chief Growth and Marketing Officer at Unilever, added “Unilever has led the charge in creating bold, unmissable advertising that is progressive, provocative, and inclusive for years, from our work with Dove, Rexona and LUX to name but a few key brands.”

She continued: “For us, creating work that is inclusive of people with different lived experiences isn’t just the right thing to do, it is a business imperative that drives brand power and commercial results. This report highlights the undeniable business case for more diverse and inclusive marketing and will prove a powerful tool as the industry strives for even more progressive, impactful work moving forward.”

The data will provide marketing leaders with the evidence to push back against the ‘go woke and go broke’ narrative. As Professor Andrew Stephen, L’Oréal Professor of Marketing, Deputy Dean for Faculty and Research and Director of the Oxford Future of Marketing Initiative at the Oxford University Saïd Business School, explains: “It’s crucially important that the decisions we make in business and society are rooted in correct assumptions and scientifically proven facts, rather than anecdotal evidence and unproven truisms.”

The research will be fuel to make the business case for diversity as a driver of business results and creativity.

David Evendon-Challis, Executive Board Member and Chief Scientific Officer Head of R&D at Bayer Consumer Health, urged marketers to bring the ‘whole organisation’ on the journey to drive inclusive content. He explains: “At Bayer Consumer Health we strive for creative excellence and storytelling that includes all, so we embedded tools like the Gender Unstereotype Metric, set new action standards to stop ads airing that underperformed and upskilled our teams with a capability building programme. This not only inspired our teams and partners but resulted in greater creativity and content that serves and represents our customers in their full diversity.”