How to Create an Inclusive Advantage: Embedding Cultural Inclusion

How to Create an Inclusion Advantage…and what might be getting in the way

Carol WatsonAugust, 2016

Once upon a time right after the 2010 Census…

Success from strategic organizational development OR

Failure from blind spots and barriers

How are they making it work?Where are the common pain points?

• 20 organizations - $413B annual revenue• Retailers/Consumer Products/Services• General Market/Multicultural Agencies• Brand Marketers/Strategists

• Leadership doesn’t get it• Retailer/Supplier are not in sync• Still making the business case• Creative misses the mark

“There is a drive to figure it out but it is not working well, not a

methodical process”

Retail is the Driving Force in the Ecosystem

• The retailer is viewed as the driving force for cultural inclusion change.

• Retailers have greater access to better data and closer to the culturally diverse end user

• See first hand store performance and sales• Retailers are NOT further along in embedding

inclusion than product/service brands

APIL Effect: The Inclusion Advantage

A.P.I.L.

Analysis: Research/Metrics

Process Recalibration

Inclusion Development

Courageous Leadership

Inclusion Advantage

• Apply the A.P.I.L inclusion drivers as a framework for building capacity

• Embedding Inclusive Actions and Best Practices Improves Performance and Competitive Advantage

“We have to reframe the conversation”

• Data capturing, integration and reporting• Salesforce- local market and competitive• Determine small nuances vs. gigantic differences• Uncover cultural trends – insider vs. outside culture

Analysis: Research/Metrics

• Measure process effectiveness and learning• Reward systems as drivers of change

internally/specific brands, across functions, external partners/vendors

• Budget allocations and ROI is a barrier vs. A drive for efficiency

• Scale and complexity

Analysis: Research/Metrics

How brands are currently measuring cultural inclusion26% not measuring results63% brand share53% use custom metrics47% employee surveys

Analysis: Research/Metrics

“There is no reason that you can’t measure the success of the work.

It should be fully integrated into the process. If you are doing 360 planning and holding people accountable, there is no excuse anymore.

If I can’t figure out how to get a concrete measure, then I have to be more creative”

Analysis: Research/Metrics

• Embed very early throughout the go to market process – 93%

• Encourage more innovation and experimentation• Current process moves too fast, need to take the

extra step to understand the differences

Recalibrating the Process

“We were having parallel conversations in sales and in the marketing groups about how to get at these multicultural consumers and how to get more Hispanic consumers.

At the same time, we have competitor XYZ killing us.

If you have parallel conversations, it does not take a genius to figure out you better do something about that. “

Bias Interrupters

“Asking people to do things differently from how they currently work requires increased clarity. “

• ERG’s/BRG’s– Focus groups, retail use feedback, marketing content

review, product innovation• Shopper Marketing – should be connected and incorporated into the process

• Diverse supplier– Develop supplier sources and relationships for cultural

insight into marketing processes• Specialized sales-force– Local level integration and focus for activation

Leveraging Internal Resources

• Incorporate inclusion as a part of the creative process• Set and become clearer on the expectations upfront

(creative, content and strategy) are mindful of casting and work closely together

• Brand idea is written in collaboration, one creative process, one brief to evaluate the idea

• Disrupt habit of traditional media selection, if brand is underperforming create an intervention

Solutions to the Creative Process

Inclusion Development

• Cultural Competence/Cultural Agility training from insights to the front-line sales team

• Need to develop the “how?” to increase effectiveness

• Incorporate cultural inclusion development into the performance management and overall business process approach

Inclusion Development

“Everyone should be a multicultural marketer”

Help Wanted! Must understand cultural nuance

“It will take a lot stronger marketer and a better marketer than it did in the past…”

87% expressed challenges in recruitment35% use of diversity talent acquisition and retention development tools were used and considered ineffective

“In order to understand that the market has changed from black and white to the 64 colors in the Crayola box; you have to understand a lot more about the consumer types and consumer groups.”

• Senior leadership incorporates into the organization’s core goals

• Challenges the status quo, gets attention• Exhibit’s patience and flexibility• Lead the external partner change process• A shift in hiring needs – cultural inclusion

expertise

Intentional and Courageous Leadership

“I put myself out there before it was fashionable to do it. I put some stakes in the ground. You have to be pretty passionate. The motivation was the business opportunity.”

• Talent – Retailer – intentionally looked for complementary cultural skill nuances

• Analytics– CPG – key growth brand performance included in

sales/marketing/research performance goals• Process

– CPG – Local store and brand strategy– Beauty Brand- Employee Network- Think Tanks

• Leadership– Retailer – layered and intentional communications plan

• Development– CPG – cultural immersion and review of work with key stakeholders

Best PracticesInclusion

Advantage

Questions for Discussion

• How can you better leverage your employee networks or outside sources?

• What bias interrupters can you put in place in your marketing process?

• What training and development is necessary?• What part of your process needs recalibration

to embed cultural inclusion?

Diversity Best PracticesOrganizational membership

Advisory/consulting services, research, live/virtual events, content, tools/resources150 membersWalmartAholdP&GL’OrealEstee LauderKohl’sTJXWalgreens

Tangerine Watson, Inc.Talent SourcingStrategic Recruiting WorkshopsUnconscious Bias WorkshopsExecutive CoachingClient experience: AdCouncilUniworldMcCann WorldwideArnoldWalton IsaacsonSaatchi

Q&A’sThank You!

Carol WatsonCarol.Watson@diversitybestpractices.com

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