The news: Verizon announced the results from the adoption of its Responsible Marketing Action Plan (RMAP) one year ago, saying the effort drove change in diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
- The company exceeded its goals for 2021, and will raise its commitment levels for 2022 as a result.
Beginning from within: One Verizon objective was to build an inclusive work environment and retain diverse talent. Data for Q4 2021 demonstrated that among Verizon’s combined marketing and agency teams, 39.3% were people of color and 51.7% were women, increases from 37.1% and 50.9% in Q4 2020.
- Verizon vowed to spend over 30% of its creative supply chain budget with diverse companies in 2021.
- The communications giant exceeded its goals, spending 65% with diverse-owned video production companies, as 49% of video productions used diverse directors.
- The company also spent 46% with diverse-owned experiential production firms and 45% with diverse print production firms.
Zoom out: Increasingly, consumers want to invest in companies that invest in DEI initiatives and are transparent about their success or failure.
- Target recently launched a media fund to grant more than $25 million in paid media to diverse-owned/founded firms by 2025.
- Last week, Pinterest announced an expansion of its Creator Fund to additional markets, all while placing a greater emphasis on LGBTQIA+ creators.
- Ulta Beauty promised to spend $50 million this year on various diversity measures, including an accelerator program focused on helping Black founders build and market their business.
Consumer insight: Over half (51%) of US adults are much more/more likely to support a company that makes public commitments to diversity and equality, outnumbering those who dislike these pronouncements by a three-to-one margin, per ThinkNow.
- The same study found 44% of consumers will go out of their way to patronize a store they’ve never frequented if it makes a commitment to DEI—and 31% will stop visiting a store that does not publicly support such initiatives.
- Black adults in the US rate the lack of DEI as their top reason for being dissatisfied with purchases, per McKinsey.
- Brand DEI initiatives can positively influence consumers’ attitudes toward companies, per researchers at Rice University and the University of Miami.