• by Danielle Oster , December 19, 2024

Despite all the headlines this year suggesting a broad “DEI backlash,” and the actions of brands capitulating to demands from far-right fringe figures, a recently released report  suggests a large and growing majority of consumers approve of inclusive marketing and internal DEI practices.

The report -- released this month by the Cultural Inclusion Accelerator and the ANA’s Alliance for Inclusive and Multicultural Marketing (AIMM) -- found that more than eight in ten consumers (83%) are “comfortable or neutral” about inclusive marketing practices. Entitled “Consumer Sentiment on Inclusive Marketing & DEIB” (diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging), the report also found that 56% of consumers reported they would be “supportive” or “strongly supportive” of a brand that represents all groups in its advertising, compared to just 10% who would not support brands who engage in such inclusive advertising.

“Inclusive marketing and DEIB values aren't just social initiatives -- they are critical business imperatives backed by overwhelming market support, clear financial benefits, strong customer loyalty drivers, positive organizational impact, and crisis-resistant consumer backing,” AIMM co-founder Gilbert Dávila said in a statement. “The real business risk isn't in maintaining these values; it's in retreating from them.”

The report engaged 12,412 consumers in a “a fully representative and projectable random digital panel survey” between Oct. 24 and Nov. 4, 2024, with results weighted to align with the U.S. Census breakout of demographics such as region and generation, reflective of a nationally representative sample.

AIMM co-founder Carlos Santiago told Marketing Daily that the report provided “proof that equality drives loyalty,” something he said was “really important” in an environment where there’s “higher awareness” of companies that have been targeted with pushback from anti-DEI advocates on social media. The point companies should take away from such findings, he said, is to  “recalibrate their reactions and stay the course, because consumers are saying they are doing the right thing” by engaging in inclusive marketing and DEIB practices.

The report found that for every consumer who would oppose a brand for its DEIB advertising practices, there are 5.2 consumers who would be supportive –--an increase from 4.6 in last year’s report. An even greater margin of consumers supported equality in the workplace. For every one consumer who said they would oppose brands who treat employees and customers equally -- regardless of gender, race/ethnicity, abilities, sexual orientation, and age- – there were 7.8 consumers who said they would support such brands, an increase from 5.9 in last year’s study. The report also found that 80% of consumers said workplace DEIB practices to ensure diverse representation in recruitment and promotion enhanced the workplace.

In response to a brand pulling back on its DEI initiatives, 70% of respondents said they would either “immediately stop purchasing/using” the brand's product, or continue to do so while seeking an alternative more aligned with social causes they care about, according to the report. While that total does seem to reflect a decrease in comparison to the 77% of respondents answering that way in last year’s report, it still represents a sizable majority of those surveyed.

Santiago called prioritizing diversity and inclusion in brand communications as “crucial to the survival of companies' and brands’ growth.”

“On the flip side, deprioritizing [representation across] diverse segments leaves significant growth on the table, so it does a disservice to shareholders of those companies,” he said, adding that at companies considering moving away from DEI commitments, it was coming “not from the marketing side, [but] from other C-level decision makers afraid of [potential short-term] financial impact on their stock.”