GLAAD reposted this
President & Chief Executive Officer at GLAAD - Global media executive of iconic brands
Thank you ADCOLOR Conference and Awards and Tiffany R. Warren for hosting this important conversation focused on why LGBTQ inclusion cannot be sidelined. Corporate support for the LGBTQ community has grown tremendously over the past decade, and that is something we do not take for granted. However, leading into and during Pride earlier this year, the media focused on two companies that caved to backlash and ran with an anti-LGBTQ narrative, suggesting that LGBTQ inclusion was a risk. Meanwhile, my team at GLAAD counted hundreds of Pride campaigns that continued without issue, including the brands represented on stage today. Quickly, we created a corporate rapid response task force that worked behind-the-scenes to arm brand executives with data about where consumers really are. The brands that did not cave to the small, coordinated army of social media trolls did not see drops in sales or stock. Rather, the brands that caved created controversy that upset all consumers, and their CEOs still can’t participate in a media interview without the controversy taking center stage. If you are considering a LGBTQ inclusive campaign, or face backlash to inclusion, CALL GLAAD. We know that LGBTQ inclusion is a future-proof and business growth strategy for brands. Consumers are increasingly within our community, know our community, and support our community. 20% of Gen Z identifies in our community, and they are driving the change in brand expectations that we’re seeing across most demographics. There were so many incredible takeaways from each of the panelists. Here are some of the highlights: “Our identities matter. Our experiences matter. These workplaces have to be connected to what’s happening in the news, what’s happening globally, and have to recommit to what they say their values are. If your values are equity and inclusion, you can’t just leave that mission statement aside. Be about that action and return to that mission.” - Raquel Willis“ It always starts with the action you are going to take, the authentic action. Then you actually can do the advertising. That ad created empathy for everyone else and we saw our brand scores go up significantly.” - Cheryl Guerin “If you follow with your values and your culture then you inherently have a strategy set up. You have to talk to your community – for us that was our internal community and our EBN – but also if you look at challenges. If you don’t have values and strategy in place it’s hard to respond to one moment. When you serve America – everyone is welcome – that has to be the posture. We did face a moment of threat – it wasn’t a question of backing down. Brand safety second and that influencer’s safety first.” – Tariq H. #LGBTQInclusion