Global marketing Authority WARC has launched a Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion Hub after 82 per cent of marketers said DEI will be important to their 2023 strategies.
The hub’s content partners include Advertising Association, ARF, CreativeX, IAA, Ipsos, MMA, System1 and Unstereotype Alliance. It will be convened by UN Women.
WARC’s DEI hub will feature a variety of practical reports on how to effectively market to diverse consumers, including LGBTQIA+, multicultural, older adults, people with disabilities, racial and ethnic audiences.
Additionally, the hub offers a wide selection of studies with actionable insights covering topics such as diverse hiring practices, what’s working in diversity and inclusion, does inclusive advertising drive brand growth, and what companies can do to root out omnipresent, but often invisible, bias.
WARC has launched the hub in response to its global Marketer’s Toolkit survey in which 82 per cent of marketers said DEI is important to their 2023 strategy and a further 33 per cent of those said DEI would significantly impact their marketing plans.
Paul Coxhill, CEO, WARC, said: “At WARC, we are committed to our platform being a positive force for change. Following on from last year’s launch of the Sustainability Hub – with Ad Net Zero – we recognised that we need to do more to enable Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to be consistently front of mind for our industry.
“The new DEI Hub is the beginning of that journey and we are delighted to be working with some amazing partners to share brilliant content that will benefit the whole industry. We believe that truly impactful marketing can only be delivered if our industry better reflects the markets and customers that we serve and it’s clear we have work to do. By uniting and pooling insights and solutions, together we can help our industry make a difference to society.”
Sara Denby, Head of the Unstereotype Alliance Secretariat, UN Women, said: “Efforts towards advancing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the advertising industry are critical the world over. The Unstereotype Alliance’s recent ‘State of the Industry II report’ revealed some promising signs of progress, but it’s just a small step toward where we need to be. As an industry, we have a ripe opportunity to create meaningful change. We must embrace collective action and share best practice to get there – there’s no time to waste.”
Launched to mark the start of Black History Month in the US and LGBT+ History Month in the UK, WARC’s DEI hub is available here, and complements WARC’s Sustainability Hub launched last year.
A series of DEI themed WARC podcasts will also follow.
