Inclusion in media: More than simple purchase decisions

As a Council of thought leaders representing brands, publishers, agencies, service providers and platforms, we collectively believe that Canadian media needs more diverse representation and inclusion. The industry’s stewardship of ad dollars decides which communities are represented, and it is incumbent on us to push for change. It’s not just marginalized communities who need this support – it’s our view that all Canadians benefit from having access to more holistic perspectives.  Without diverse populations telling their stories, as producers, hosts, writers and reporters, we are failing to showcase all of Canada back to all of Canada. We are excluding faces, cultures and opinions.

Why does this matter? People seeing themselves in the newsroom matters, because they know the needs of their communities are being considered. People seeing themselves on a network TV show matters, setting a standard for what is possible. Communities having their own news sources matters, as these provide a space to dive deep, connect and coordinate grassroots initiatives.

When there is representation, it can often be interpreted as tokenism. This a small step forward from the “Do no harm” strategy. Singular actions, like placing a sponsorship logo or including an audience in a one-off media strategy don’t solve the systemic problems that exist in Canadian culture. These actions are not sufficient to mitigate the lack of representation of diverse populations in mainstream Canada.

So what can we do?

Research and education

Agencies and brands have started to look inward at unconscious bias in order to address talent diversity and inclusion. This is crucial. But as much as we look inwards, we should also consider our media investments. We need to assess the true gaps in how people are represented (i.e. stereotypes and microaggressions) and underrepresented (i.e. news deserts for communities) in media. For instance, more than 20 LGBTQ2S+ publications have disappeared in the last decade. Intentional investments could have enabled some of these to survive, and even thrive.

Research is an essential tool to truly gauge the depth and scope of this issue. While companies move quickly to understand the diversity of their workforce, and studies have been conducted on the lack of diversity in newsrooms, who is accounting for the faces in front of and behind the screen? Do we know what the LGBTQ2S+ community feels they are missing since the demise of 20 publications?

Research is only as good as its utilization. Strong leadership is essential --  not only from leaders from within the impacted communities, but also from allies who support inclusive media. Marketing leaders, particularly those not from marginalized groups, should be encouraged to demonstrate willingness to learn about the impact of the lack of diversity and inclusion in media. In turn, this will create a continuous chain of action and education throughout agencies and brands.

Marketing campaigns built on empathy and inclusion will more effectively reach broader audiences, while also creating social impact within their communities. People can show up as their most authentic selves, adding value through diversity of thought.  

As well, the value of diverse content is that it is an expression of culture. Advertising in diverse media environments lets communities know their business is valuable to you, and that you respect their cultural identity.

Media planning refresh

Media planning has generally entailed tacking diverse communities on to plans, almost as an afterthought, for audience growth opportunities. This often amounts to tokenism and therefore is less impactful. It also means these initiatives are the first to be cut. Diverse audiences should be included in the core structure of a media campaign. This requires a shift from chasing mass reach to understanding and targeting behaviours.  For example:

• When we select keywords that are not brand-safe, we need to consider the impact of these decisions. Specifically, these decisions mean media and stories will not be created for certain audiences.  For instance, exclusion of sexual preference key words has a direct correlation to the closure of so many LGBTQ2S+ publications in Canada in the last decade.
• Similarly, our approach to panels determines whether the campaign will be accessible to diverse groups. While a nationally representative sample is important, this can’t be done by weighting alone because we often under-sample diverse audiences. There needs to be a focus on over-sampling the individuals who are not part of these panels to ensure that we have access to quality sample to break down learnings against these audiences.
• We should centralize support for diverse media by having Canadian Advertising Rates and Data (CARD) go further than ethnic newspapers and bring together diversity and inclusion requirements from all media in Canada. This allows planners to easily consider these factors.

It’s also important to remember that progress is made in baby steps and while many of us within the marketing community want to see change occur as fast as possible, leaders should also be encouraged by improvements made in small increments. We believe that it’s crucial that as an industry, we make a commitment to change and start challenging the status quo that exists around us in the Canadian media landscape.

By the CMA Media Council