Is 2023 the year we move from intention to action with Unstereotype Alliance?

We know that inclusive advertising is the right thing to do and it is impactful, powerful, distinctive and effective. So why aren't we seeing more of it? Is 2023 the year we start to see more action? The Australian chapter of the Unstereotype Alliance, a global coalition with UN Women , celebrated its one year anniversary last week, and I had the pleasure of hosting the milestone at Meta, alongside chapter members and allies.

We know stereotypes in advertising and media content are harmful - and they can perpetuate bias, leading to discrimination and marginalisation based on outdated attitudes. The Alliance event focused on the role and opportunities that marketers, creatives and advertisers hold collectively to help tackle these stereotypes by using advertising as a force for good.

Adding to the occasion was 2022 Australian of the Year, Dylan Alcott, who spoke about why representation is so important and what industries can do to address progressive portrayal, ensuring diversity is a priority throughout the entire creative process. Dylan had the audience hanging on his every word, with the brilliant Mim Haysom facilitating the discussion. “The reason you’re doing this is 1) it’s the right thing to do, and 2) it’s good business. Because what am I? A consumer just like you… If 1 in 5 people around the world have disability then you should market to your consumers. It’s a win win. That gives me choice and control to go out and live my life and do what I want to do, just like you. But if we get left out of that economic conversation, it doesn’t happen. Why do we get left out? Lack of expectation of what we can do, lack of understanding. And the best way of figuring that out is through that lived experience.”

Despite progress during the first year of the Alliance in Australia, Kantar’s global monitor of progressive portrayal shows 88% of the population say “not enough brands do a good enough job representing me or people similar to me or my community”. Creative work was still significantly under-representing key groups, including differently abled persons (62%), diversity in gender identities and sexual orientations (39%), diversity in physical appearance (25%), diversity in ethnicity (19%) and diversity in ageing without stereotypes (16%).

These findings tell us we need to be doing more. Advertisers have the ability to adopt an intersectional approach to progressive portrayals of all people, and address the diverse representation of gender, race, ethnicity (particularly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples), ability and age in content. We need to come together to take the step from being not just another thing to watch and agree with, to a valued encounter that gets us all talking and prompts some action.

“To give people the opportunity to see themselves is massive” - Dylan said.

ESG is more than good intentions. It's about creating a tangible, practical plan that achieves real results. Success is not about diversity alone. It’s about embedding these principles in everything – from operations to investment to innovation.

How do you think about moving from positive intention to positive action to mirror the collective rise in the level of consciousness and awareness? Societal needs and business opportunity are coming together to transform the way companies craft strategy, drive performance, and report results.?I would love to hear from you if you’d like to be involved.

Huge kudos to Alex Piercy, Emma Montgomery, Tracey Corbin-Matchett, Serena Moran, Emma Wride, Kirsty Redfearn, Saha Biplob, Kirra Kissane, Simon Drake, Camille Alarcon, Abbie Dubin-Rhodin, Grace Mills, Liana Lisarova from the Inspiring Industry Change workstream.

We worked closely with Bus Stop Films and 4 of their ambassadors Audrey O’Connor, Grammy award winner Ronan Soussa from Love on the Spectrum, Nathan Basha and Gerard O’Dwyer to capture content from this event, and the result was excellent. We'll be sharing more shortly.

And special call out to Lisa Ronson and Alexandra Sloane for the foundational work they did in the first year with this group. We pledge to keep progress moving forward.?

Also a big thank you to the members and allies including Accenture, IPG, Omnicom, Publicis Groupe, WPP and the Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA). Also included is AMEX, Arnott’s Group, Bayer Australia, Bank of Queensland, Bus Stop Films, Coles, Diageo Australia, Google Australia, Ikea, Ipsos Australia, Mars Australia, Mastercard Australia, Optus, Salesforce, Snap Inc, Suncorp, Unilever ANZ, Westpac, Woolworths and Meta working with UN Women Australia .

As Dylan reminded us last week, “We have elements that are getting better. Representation is one of them. But it’s not there yet.” “It takes all of us to keep getting that.”

When asked what Dylan would say to help address progressive portrayal to the marketers and content distributors:?

?“You’re going to get it wrong, and that’s ok. But there are so many resources out there to learn from and get it right. As long as you do the work and invest to do it properly, you’re going to get it right. It’s not as hard as you think, but everyone thinks it is, because you don’t know what you don’t know. That’s ok, because other people do know. And that’s what it’s about…working together and co design. It’s not about us doing it and you following, it’s about us doing it together. That’s the best way to get anything done. To work together so we can all get out there and thrive in what we do.”