Mumbrella360: Brands, stop making empty promises about DE&I
Consumers shouldn’t have to be “forensic investigators” when it comes to uncovering businesses’ diversity efforts, said Azure Antoinette, global corporate DE&I advisor. For those communications to be genuinely compelling, all it takes is for brands to “tell the truth”.
Antoinette, who has advised global corporations like Johnson & Johnson on their diversity efforts, spoke in a global keynote at Mumbrella360 today.
While consumer marketing will always have business repercussions, which is why brands are hesitant to show their cards on diversity, she said cultivating a sense of transparency in communications to consumers is essential.
“I don’t think a lot of brands are to be completely transparent [about diversity],” she told a packed room. “I think that it is a thing that feels obligatory. Because if they do not accept the obligation, they run the risk of getting into actual trouble.”
In managing their DE&I communications, brands face pressure from consumers who will scrutinise every step they take, Antoinette said. In this case, making empty promises is about the worst thing they can do.
“By making these stories and declarations, you’re asking, you’re asking for a callout. Somebody has a lot of time to sit there to read and watch your misstep, so don’t give them the opportunity to do that.”
She spoke of the anecdote of her client L’Oreal and its diversity day, which ironically, only took two hours to finish.
“I asked after, like, did you finish it or …? And they went: ‘Well, we’ve done it. We’ve come together on our day of diversity.’ I’m like, well, semantically, that would be 24 hours, which is a good effort,” she said of the experience.
“You have pastries out front, and now you have brought the five people of colour on the panel, and you will then open up for Q&A, and then everyone gets a badge. But I feel like we shouldn’t do that anymore.
“It doesn’t breed or give me comfort, to see all of the pride flags, to see all of the spaces, because I know that it’s coming down.
“Allyship is the practice and the art of caring about things when they don’t affect you … that doesn’t need to happen for you to know, it is always time to do what is right. ”
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Darcy Song was a reporter at Mumbrella, covering media owners, adtech and social platforms. She left in October 2023.
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