Advertising has become more inclusive. Just over half of UK adults “have noticed an increase in inclusive advertising in the past year”. It’s not just the morally and ethically right thing to do, a recent report from The Unstereotype Alliance (The UA) proves, from an analysis of 392 brands in 58 countries, the real business case for inclusivity. This research confirms that brands practising inclusive advertising see greater sales, loyalty, and brand equity. But while inclusivity in ads is growing, are we giving enough attention to inclusivity within the data and insights that shape these marketing strategies? Should the foundation of our marketing—the inputs—reflect the diversity we strive to showcase in the final message?

With so much evidence, it’s unsurprising that clients and agencies are now more open and more attuned to how creative development, casting, and media bookings can all be made to more authentically and positively represent a diverse range of people, including communities that have historically been underrepresented or underserved. Of course, there is still more to be done, despite significant advancements, most 18-34-year-olds (68%) still “think that brands need to do more when it comes to inclusive advertising” and consumers are savvy enough to spot lacklustre tokenism and disingenuous diversity.

One way in which these issues can be addressed is by broadening the role of inclusivity, so that its importance is felt not just in advertising, the output of marketing departments and their agencies, but also in information, the inputs that we use to inform our strategic thinking. Advertising will only become more inclusive and effective if we ensure that the strategic processes and frameworks that underpin it reflect the diverse range of voices that make up society.

Consumer understanding, audience insight and cultural trend analysis have long been informed by ethical guidelines and diversity & inclusion best practices. Inclusivity forms a core part of the UK’s Market Research Society (MRS) mission, best demonstrated by their Inclusion Pledge, which seeks to drive inclusivity in the work, and workplace, of leading research agencies across the country. But research is just one type of input, and the other sources of information that feed into fundamental strategic tasks, like brand positioning, campaign planning and creative briefs are not as well scrutinised.

At Mr. President, our Brand Defining Idea Process takes the complexity of an organisation, and seeks to distil it down into a singular expression. Something with the power to unite a company internally, and bring clarity and cohesion to external communications. In our experience, these potent brand defining ideas are unearthed by carefully listening to the people who know an organisation best: its staff.

Stakeholder interviews are the cornerstone of this process, and they normally take the form of a series of semi-structured chats that cover a range of topics and purposes, from basic fact finding to deep soul-searching, from group therapy to oral history. We’ve had people laugh their way through an entire interview, sharing stories of colleagues past and present, others have broken down in tears, describing the rocky road they’ve travelled to get where they are today. Regardless of their contents, we’ve found that the key to unlocking the most authentic and impactful brand stories comes almost entirely from ensuring that there is an inclusive breadth to the list of those invited to take part.

The brand idea that came to define Theatre Royal Stratford East (TRSE) only came to light because of the range of people we were able to include. Initial conversations with management and marketing focused on the passion within the organisation to create bold, radical shows in a comfortable and welcoming environment. But, only by meeting a full range of staff, from Ushers to Artistic Directors, Marketing Leads to Box Office Assistants did it become apparent that, across all levels of the organisation, what unified people was a mission to destroy the perceived barriers to seeing great theatre. Canny Producers were thinking about ticket prices, so more people could afford the theatre, effervescent Front of House staff prided themselves on their friendliness, because they wanted to change perceptions around theatre’s being unwelcoming, even the box office opening hours were designed to welcome as many people as possible into the building.

Our campaign for Metro Bank offers another example of how inclusive stakeholder processes drive tangible business results. When Metro Bank set out to strengthen its relationship with SMEs, we knew that executives alone couldn’t paint the full picture. Instead, we engaged Local Business Managers—the staff closest to the SME clients—to uncover what made Metro Bank’s service unique. These managers, who build direct relationships with SMEs, helped us understand how Metro Bank’s “people-people” ethos worked for SMEs. Every Local Business Manager was giving the same care and support to small businesses that other banks reserved for large corporate clients, a core insight that would go on to shape the campaign, which reached over 90% of the target audience and increased positive brand perceptions among SME owners nearly threefold over industry norms.

As Metro Bank discovered, inclusive advertising can be a proven driver of effectiveness. The success came from not just depicting diversity, but by building it into the very DNA of strategy.

In order to make that output truly powerful we need to start with inclusive inputs: the raw insights, datasets, and perspectives that can shape the direction of marketing strategy. When we broaden this input process to be as inclusive as possible, we gather perspectives that reveal what really matters to the people the brand aims to serve. This inside-out approach to diversity weaves inclusivity throughout the whole process from start to finish.