Creative Equals is a global inclusive marketing organization that partners with brands to drive inclusive brand strategy, build culture, and enhance growth. The organization focuses on empowering brands to embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion in their marketing strategies.

Creative Equals

Creative Equals is a global inclusive marketing organisation that partners with brands to drive inclusive brand strategy, creative excellence, and cultural growth. They focus on expanding market reach through diversity, equity, and inclusion in marketing strategies.

Creative Equals | 7,006 followers on LinkedIn. Our purpose is to create a fair, equitable society by delivering a return on inclusion for the world&#39;s top brands.  | We are a global award-winning equity, diversity and inclusion (DE&amp;I) consultancy who partner with ambitious companies to build a new ROI: return on inclusion. This ROI matters to our people, business and planet. We focus building inclusive brands with four &#39;C&#39;s: &#39;Conscious Strategy and Systems, Capability Building, Creative Excellence and Community Impact.&#39;

Creative Talent Recruiter | DE&I Programme Manager | Mentoring Programme Director

Rachel Gott

CEO & Founder at IM+C

ALBERTO FERNANDEZ

NED, Advisor, Investor

Melanie Varley

Programme/ Project/ Account Manager Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI)

Anna Hughes

Are campaigns with DEI built in more likely to win an Effie? YES - a whopping 69% of Effie winners and finalists had DE&I embedded authentically built into the brand/campaign platform/proposition. Does this mean inclusive marketing is a driver for growth? YES! In partnership with Effie UK, Creative Equals has released a compelling new report highlighting the critical role of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in marketing effectiveness. Analysing 2023 Effie UK finalists and winners, the report affirms inclusive marketing isn’t just ‘the right thing to do’; it is a key lever for growth. For five ways on how to get this right, get your copy of the report now. Rachel Emms, Managing Director of Effie UK, says: ‘This analysis shows that there’s a clear win/win scenario for brands that deliver inclusion: it’s good for business and good for society. Inclusive marketing isn’t a duty, it’s an opportunity - we hope that this report inspires marketers to do more.’ DE&I played an explicit or implicit role in 22 out of 32 campaigns. More compellingly, 50% of campaigns had DE&I as a core part of the storytelling and narratives. Want to see how they did it, and what you can do for your upcoming campaigns? Download your copy, now: https://lnkd.in/erk2YyZu ID: Orange background, white/red text: 69% of all Effie UK winners from 2023 had DEI embedded within their campaigns. The business case for inclusion. The Creative Equals logo is bottom right. #marketingEffectiveness #inclusiveCulture #inclusiveOrganisations #inclusiveMarketing #DEI #brands #representationMatters #diversityWins #diverseTeamsMakeAdifference #digitalMarketing #diversityIsProfitable #inclusionMatters #marketing #inclusiveBrands #inclusiveMarketing #progressiveMarketing #brandGrowth #businessGrowth #brandMarketing #brandCampaigns #authenticMarketing

We're chatting with our friends over at Campaign about DE&I and marketing effectiveness. Inclusive marketing is a best-in-class strategy that aims to authentically represent diverse voices and experience across a brand’s DNA, customer experience, campaigns and products. The goal is for customers to be seen, respected and valued. We analysed the Effie UK body of work to explore if there was a connection between inclusive marketing and effectiveness to establish a new ROI: the ‘Return on Inclusion’. The results were surprising! Visit Campaign to read more: https://lnkd.in/g_xzGWDN If you'd like your marketing and creative teams to grow creative effectiveness through inclusion, let's chat. https://lnkd.in/evTteaDQ ID: A panel of marketing heavy weights sit on stools, with a TV behind them. In white text, it reads "New Report! Could inclusion drive effectiveness?" #inclusiveMarketing #DEI #brands #representationMatters #diversityWins #diverseTeamsMakeAdifference #digitalMarketing #diversityIsProfitable #inclusionMatters #marketing #inclusiveBrands #inclusiveMarketing #progressiveMarketing #brandGrowth #businessGrowth #brandMarketing #brandCampaigns #authenticMarketing #theBusinessCaseForInclusion #marketingEffectiveness

Dyson are facing intense backlash in their Airstraight marketing spot from their Black audience. The Airstraight is Dyson's new innovation - taking wet hair to dry and straight in one move, without harmful ceramic hotplates. They ran an ad showing how it works on 4C hair (the curliest of curls on the spectrum. Often described as tight, springy, 'Z' shaped ringlets) - this Afro hair category is a common curl pattern of Black people, and because of it's curl fragility with extreme heat, the Airstraight is ideally placed to meet this audience's needs. And oh, dear. The results were less than inspiring - the video posted to Dyson’s official social channels (which has now been taken down) showed a Black model with tight curls demonstrating the Airstrait’s wet-to-dry capabilities. After one pass of the Airstraight on a section of the model’s hair, there wasn’t a visible difference. Maybe if you squint. The backlash was scathing from the Black community. Which, fair. And before you ask, yes - this is was a marketing faux pas. At the launch, Dyson worked with many Black TikTok influencers with 4C hair to show the products works well with that hair type. If other videos can show clearly how the product works (and works well) with 4C hair, how did this spot fail so spectacularly? Why did Dyson market such a subpar result for their Black audience, when the product can do better? If you would like to avoid a similar mishap, we can help you mitigate against similar backlash. Whether that's reviewing content with a DE&I lens before it goes out the door, or whether we're co-creating inclusion checkpoints into your marketing processes, we've got you. Let's make sure your marketing doesn't negatively impact your brand. Find out more: https://lnkd.in/evTteaDQ ID: On the left, a Black women with curly hair runs the Dyson Airstraight through a section of her hair. The background is pink. The Dyson logo is top left. On the right is another Black woman with gorgeous long textured hair, holding the Dyson Airstraight to a segment of her hair. She's in a white shirt, and in Black and white. The Dyson Airstraight is in colour. #marketingFauxPas #dyson #DysonAirstraight #inclusiveMarketing #4CHair #weCanDoBetter #DEI #brandmarketing #representationMatters #diverseTeamsMakeAdifference #inclusionMatters #marketing #inclusiveBrands #progressiveMarketing

Don't miss out!! We're hosting a webinar with the WFA: as 2024 comes to a close, we find ourselves at the intersection of reflection and anticipation. This year, the industry experienced shifts, fuelled by the climbdown on inclusion, innovations, a steadfastness on #creative excellence, the resurgence of #humor in brand messaging and much, much more. Join us for a lookback session, to explore how brands and businesses responded to these shifts and what we can learn to guide us into 2025. Reserve your spot! https://lnkd.in/ePa3K9nn Not a WFA member? Get in touch for your invite: hello@creativeequals.org We'd love to see you there!! ID: Orange background, white/red text: "WFA Spotlight Webinar: Reflections on 2024: Inclusion, Innovation, and the Future of Marketing. November 20, 2024, Session 1: 9am London | 5pm Singapore. Session 2: 10am New York | 3pm London." Bottom right is the WFA and Creative Equals logos #wfa #wfaStrategicPartner #wfaSpotlightWeb #inclusiveMarketing #DEI #brandmarketing #representationMatters #diversityWins #diverseTeamsMakeAdifference #diversityIsProfitable #inclusionMatters #marketing #inclusiveBrands #inclusiveMarketing #progressiveMarketing

Get your copy of the our NEW report, in partnership with the UK's leading marketing effectiveness organisation, Effie UK! Are campaigns with DEI built in more likely to win an Effie? And does this mean inclusive marketing is a driver for growth? Yes. In partnership with Effie UK, Creative Equals has released a compelling new report highlighting the critical role of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in marketing effectiveness. Analysing 2023 Effie UK finalists and winners, the report affirms inclusive marketing isn’t just ‘the right thing to do’; it is a key lever for growth. For five ways on how to get this right, get your copy of the report now. Rachel Emms, Managing Director of Effie UK, says: ‘This analysis shows that there’s a clear win/win scenario for brands that deliver inclusion: it’s good for business and good for society. Inclusive marketing isn’t a duty, it’s an opportunity - we hope that this report inspires marketers to do more.’ The analyst team revealed 69% of Effie winners and finalists had DE&I embedded authentically built into the brand/campaign platform/proposition. DE&I played an explicit or implicit role in 22 out of 32 campaigns. More compellingly, 50% of campaigns had DE&I as a core part of the storytelling and narratives. Download your copy, now: https://lnkd.in/erk2YyZu ID: A group of women of various ethnicities and body shapes sit on some stairs. In green it reads: Inclusion drives marketing effectiveness. New Report! #marketingEffectiveness #inclusiveCulture #inclusiveOrganisations #inclusiveMarketing #DEI #brands #representationMatters #diversityWins #diverseTeamsMakeAdifference #digitalMarketing #diversityIsProfitable #inclusionMatters #marketing #inclusiveBrands #inclusiveMarketing #progressiveMarketing #brandGrowth #businessGrowth #brandMarketing #brandCampaigns #authenticMarketing

You saw what happened to Heinz - it's not enough to have a diverse team if they aren't trained to spot and subvert negative stereotypes . By building an inclusion check into your marketing strategy you can mitigate the risk of backlash before they happen, at a point in the creative process when change is still cost-effective. We run inclusion clinics at a point when it works for you, and at the scale that works for you. Whether that's a quick review of a single asset or a three retrospective - or anything in between! We’ll review your assets with an inclusion lens, so you can integrate inclusion into the product and campaign journey. Our in-house team of inclusion specialists - who will review the work - represent a wide range of lived experience and expertise. Crucially, they relate the assets crucially to the brand within your organisation's framework. We assess the perception of your communications from an inclusion perspective, to demonstrate your audience growth commitments more effectively. These clinics WORK: “The insights we have gained from our inclusion clinics have meant our work is stronger, more inclusive and performing better than ever before with our brand trackers up 16% for the Vanish brand." Efrain Ayala, Global DEI Marketing Excellence Director, Reckitt Now is the time maximise your resonance with your audience and make sure you're setting your future campaigns up for success. Find out more: https://lnkd.in/etgvURBm ID:Mint background, white/teal text: Inclusive Comms Reviews. Surface negative stereotypes with a trained DEI expert. Book now! #inclusiveCulture #inclusiveOrganisations #inclusiveMarketing #DEI #brands #representationMatters #diversityWins #diverseTeamsMakeAdifference #digitalMarketing #diversityIsProfitable #inclusionMatters #marketing #inclusiveBrands #inclusiveMarketing #progressiveMarketing #brandGrowth #businessGrowth #brandMarketing #brandCampaigns #authenticMarketing

This year, as the strategic DE&I partner of the WFA, As 2024 comes to a close, we find ourselves at the intersection of reflection and anticipation. This year, the industry experienced shifts, fuelled by the climbdown on inclusion, innovations, a steadfastness on #creative excellence, the resurgence of #humor in brand messaging and much, much more. Join us for a lookback session, to explore how brands and businesses responded to these shifts and what we can learn to guide us into 2025. Reserve your spot! https://lnkd.in/ePa3K9nn Not a WFA member? Get in touch for your invite: hello@creativeequals.org ID: Under the Creative Equals logo, In pink text it reads "Reflections on 2024: Inclusion, Innovation, and the Future of Marketing. November 20, 2024, Session 1: 9am London | 5pm Singapore. Session 2: 10am New York | 3pm London. In a pink bubble top left it reads "WFA Spotlight Webinar". In the background is the reflections off a row of refrigerators in a store. #wfa #wfaStrategicPartner #wfaSpotlightWeb #inclusiveMarketing #DEI #brandmarketing #representationMatters #diversityWins #diverseTeamsMakeAdifference #diversityIsProfitable #inclusionMatters #marketing #inclusiveBrands #inclusiveMarketing #progressiveMarketing

Where was the 'human in the loop', MANGO ? Here at Creative Equals we feel strongly the first principle of AI should be 'do no harm'. While this kind of body image IS easy to obtain by an AI generated image (there's nothing easier than a bias-filled prompt), for many young women in real-life (their audience), it can perpetuate unachievable beauty standards. This age-old 'fashion' beauty standard is unrealistic, which may contribute to why eating disorders in young women are at an all time high. While some women/teens may have this body type, many don't. Body diversity is beautiful - the average dress size in the UK is a 16 - perpetuating the bias of 'only slim is desirable'. Diverse representation matters for normalising difference and improving tolerance. The big question for us was: what were the prompts? 'Show me a young woman in a leotard...' ...and as a result the historical bias in Mango's AI returned a thin model with unrealistic features (flawless, glowing skin, zero body fat, no muscle tone and an unrealistic body proportion). Should there be an ethical AI 'beauty' standard for the fashion sector? British Fashion Council? Is this one for the Advertising Standards Authority? Noting their findings on body image: https://lnkd.in/e-YRD6ZJ ...'as well as new issues, such as the use of Artificial Intelligence in advertising and its potential to perpetuate harmful body image ideals, as they emerge'. Whatever the answer, campaigns like this shouldn't be the 'new normal' in a world of AI-generated images and highlights the need to urgently train teams in stereotypes and bias as AI strategies like this are deployed.

As much as we dislike it, it’s no surprise that men are are all-too-often given preferential treatment over women (and the nonbinary) in marketing, in the workplace, and the wider world. There is has been a rise in misogynistic comments and behaviours following the US election (where Trump, a twice impeached convicted rapist who has a history of making misogynistic comments was elected to president). It's more important than ever that wherever we can, we educate and work against gender bias. Gender bias does exist in advertising... the Geena Davis Institute found 25% of advertisements feature only men on screen, compared with 5% of advertisements that feature only women on screen. They showed that 66% of women switched off films or television shows if they felt they were negatively stereotyping them, that there are about twice as many male characters as female characters shown on screen in advertisements and that men have three times as much speaking time as women. Unsurprisingly, 85% of women say film and advertising need to catch up to the real world when depicting women. And so they should when the majority of women (78%!) make the purchasing decisions for their household, 91% are responsible for buying new homes, and 70% of travel decisions and payments fall under their wallet choices too... know your audience, and ensure your marketing (and your creative teams!) are devoid of gender bias. If you'd like to resonate with the women in your audience, let's remove gender bias from your marketing process and your creative teams. Find our more: https://lnkd.in/eY_5pc8F ⠀ ID: Orange background, white/red text: Gender Bias. The preference and favourable treatment of men over other genders. The Creative Equals logo is bottom right. #genderbias #inclusiveMarketing #inclusiveComms #inclusiveMarketing #inclusiveOrganisations #DEI #brands #representationMatters #diversityWins #diverseTeamsMakeAdifference #digitalMarketing #diversityIsProfitable #inclusionMatters #marketing #inclusiveBrands #progressiveMarketing #brandGrowth #businessGrowth #brandMarketing #brandCampaigns #authenticMarketing

Do you need to understand diversity, equity and inclusion to be 'in culture'? For us, game-changing creativity comes from sub cultures who exist outside the 'mainstream'. Every time, what starts on the margins is adopted by the majority, which is why Black culture, Queer culture, Girl culture and every type of culture that isn't 'mainstream' is where ideas thrive, originate and get adopted. And, if you don't understand DE&I, there's a high risk of rubbing culture up the wrong way. Here are our key takeaways from the seminal 'Brands&Culture' conference and how DE&I underpins culture. Check it out, your Friday read, from Sebastian P. . Shout out to Leila Fataar Tamryn Kerr and the incredible crew from Brands&Culture for delivering a stellar day.

ORG:CREATIVEEQUALS

Creative Equals