While All PR Efforts Begin with Research, Inclusive Campaigns Require Special Preparation

Diversity and inclusion continue to be at the forefront of necessary change in the PR industry (and beyond). As such, communicators should be crafting inclusive messaging. Among their considerations should be race, gender and identification, sexual orientation, religion and disability, along with other factors. To create inclusive messaging, PR pros need to look beyond their unintentional biases.

“Often the barriers to representative creative come in the form of unconscious bias,” says Jerry Daykin, senior media director EMEA at GSK Consumer Healthcare.

Fortunately, there are resources that can help communicators. For example, Daykin is also global diversity and inclusion ambassador for the World Federation of Advertisers, which recently released “Diversity & Representation: A Guide to Potential Areas for Bias in the Creative Process.” The guide, Daykin says in its introduction, highlights “some of the simple nudges and critical questions marketers can use to avoid the gaps in representation that these biases can create.”
Resources for Inclusion
In addition, there are agencies that specialize in helping create inclusive campaigns. One such firm, andHumanity, offers tools on its site for potential clients and consumers interested in the topic. Resources include a glossary of DEI terms and a self-assessment tool to measure brand inclusion.

For andHumanity’s co-founders, Matthew and Tammy Tsang, one of the keys to success with inclusive campaigns is preparation and research.