
78 episodes

Inclusion and Marketing Sonia Thompson
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- Business
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5.0 • 117 Ratings
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Inclusive marketing is rapidly growing in prominence, as more consumers expect that brands "see" them, be more inclusive in their marketing campaigns, and accommodate a broader base of customers that don't cleanly fit into what is considered "mainstream."
The show is hosted by Sonia Thompson, an inclusive brand coach, strategist, consultant, speaker, and Forbes and Inc. columnist who's helped brands and leaders alike attract and retain diverse customers.
This podcast explores everything you need to know about building an inclusive brand, including customer experience, inclusive leadership, cultural intelligence, building diverse teams, inclusive language and imagery, and more.
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77. 5 Common reasons brands hesitate to engage in inclusive marketing (that are costing them sales)
With a growing number of consumers now expecting the brands they buy from to be inclusive, more brands than ever are making inclusive marketing a priority. But there’s still a number of companies standing on the sidelines when it comes to including people with identities that don’t so cleanly fit into what is considered to be ‘mainstream,’ and it’s costing them sales. Here are the 5 most common objections I hear from marketers about inclusive marketing, along with how to overcome those objections.
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Episode 65 - The truth about 'woke' brands and companies getting political -
76. 'Nothing about us without us' and working with an inclusive marketing agency, with Matthew Tsang
Inclusive marketing isn't quite yet the standard way of engaging in marketing. Although it will soon be. As you work with your agency, here's when to think about bringing in an inclusive marketing agency to support you in engaging underrepresented and underserved communities authentically. We also cover the very important principal of 'nothing about us without us."
Matthew Tsang (he/him) is the Co-Founder of AndHumanity, an integrated inclusive marketing and communications agency with the core purpose of serving people-first brands that want to leave a legacy of belonging.
Matthew's agency AndHumanity
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Code Switching -
75. Inclusive marketers react to campaigns from Barbie, Sainsbury's, McDonald's, and more
One of the benefits of including others are the diverse perspectives you get when looking at a situation. In this episode, I invited my inclusive marketing colleagues Matthew Tsang and Joyann Boyce to the show, and together we reviewed, reacted, and gave our perspectives on several brand campaigns that were published around the world.
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Joyann Boyce at Arima & Co
Matthew Tsang at AndHumanity
Sainsbury's ad
B&Q ad
AI Barbie
"Barbenheimer" controversy
MacDonald's commercials side by side -
74. How to authentically engage Muslim consumers with Mariam Shahab
Twenty-five percent of the world’s population identifies as Muslim. However representation in media and marketing for people of Muslim faith is nowhere near the population. And when Muslim representation does exist, it often isn't favorable and showcases people of Muslim faith in negative stereotypical ways. No bueno.
In this episode, I chat with Mariam Shahab, an inclusive marketer who is also of Muslim faith, to talk through ways brands can ensure the people they serve from this community feel seen, supported, and like they belong. You probably already have customers or people who've considered buying from you who are Muslim, so this is an important listen.
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Study: Erased or extremists: The stereotypical view of Muslims in popular episodic series
Episode 67: Evite CMO shares how the brand grew by including more customers
KitKat Canada Ramadan commercial
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73. How to bake inclusion into your brand guidelines
Every brand needs to have brand guidelines. And those guidelines also need to incorporate your approach and style as it relates to inclusion. This episode we dive into how to make your brand guidelines more inclusive, specifically by focusing on language and visual imagery.
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Inclusive Brand Academy
Episode 15: Getting started with inclusive language with Nailah King -
72. Why brands should practice responsible marketing with Lola Bakare
Responsible marketing, which is very closely related to inclusive marketing, is a term that I heard from the wonderful Lola Bakare. In this episode, we cover why smart brands engage in it.
Lola, who is my guest today, is an Anthem Award-Winning CMO Advisor & Inclusive Marketing Strategist, and founder of be/co, a boutique consultancy that empowers brands and marketing leaders with strategic guidance, coaching, training, and workshops that unleash new levels of success.
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Customer Reviews
This Is The Podcast I’ve Been Waiting For!
Sonia is doing what needs to be done! This podcast offers a truly thought-provoking examination of the importance of inclusion in marketing through a brilliant storytelling like flow.
Not only does Sonia share powerful statistics that really demonstrate the need for greater representation of marginalized groups in marketing - she also provides relevant examples from pop culture as well as her own intersectional experiences to illustrate how inclusion can be used to create better results for all of us and not just (but definitely including) your bottom line.
All in all, this is an absolute must-listen for those interested in learning about how we can make our marketing initiatives more inclusive and effective. 100/10 would recommend.
Every leader needs to listen
We need more people applying the lessons Sonia and her guests share on this show.
Empowering emerging leaders
I have struggled with my identity as an African immigrant while growing up in the American culture these past 20 years. Now that I'm in a leadership role in advertising, Sonia and her guests have helped me grow past my identity insecurities and biases through their stories. I've built an environment for our team where all ideas are welcome and improved how we help our clients connect with diverse communities.