hindsight is 20/20

Aug 8

published 5.22.18

Watching H&M’s messy faux pas and subsequent retraction of the monkey ad, Heineken’s light beer mishap, Dove and Nivea’s beauty product blunders, we can’t help but wonder why brands keep missing the mark when it comes to advertising.

Today, the representation of identity through marketing is closely scrutinized and heavily covered by a wide range of influencers. Every instance of brand expression risks being ripped to shreds before its authors have a chance to understand why.

The most common fix after suffering through a PR blunder seems to be the the addition of a new position: the Chief Diversity Officer. While a smart measure that can positively affect recruiting and retention, one person cannot change the culture of an organization alone — and certainly not foresee all of the potential reactions brand messaging will have.

The realization that biases are not standard across groups and our identities are complex and intersectional, is a relatively new concept for mainstream America. While I may catch something in one ad campaign that you missed, I am far less likely to see my own biases, hence #unconsciousbias.

What does this mean for marketing teams? At qb., we understand no one wants to be stifled by an additional step of vetting or approvals. Designers and advertisers need freedom in order to stimulate creativity and innovation. Having worked on both sides of the table, our approach to flag the seemingly innocuous subtleties that can turn into PR disasters overnight is to embed ourselves on your team and work closely with creatives to ensure these potential snafus are caught early in the process. We act as a “sensitive” and vocal party, representing the myriad of identities present in consumer and stakeholder groups who will call out potential interpretations based on interdisciplinary training, multicultural exposure and academic understanding of minority and underrepresented groups. Our methodology works to identify possible problems before they even get to the drawing board and to provide the final seal of approval based on key stakeholders for your particular business, as well as the overall industry and influencer communities.

If this sounds like something your team might be interested in learning more about, please contact us. We would love to start a conversation.

This article also appeared on Medium.