Action over Chatter - Let's operate ESG First (Part 2)

Preface:

Are we doing enough? Are the right people involved?? Are we moving at the right speed? Have we taken all the relevant elements into consideration? Are we clear on the destination? … the short answer is no, but everyone has a role to play to ensure we protect the world and its biodiversity of today and tomorrow.

The United Nations has set out sustainable development goals (#SDGs) to address global challenges such as climate change, inequality, and poverty. It's clear that a seismic shift in our practices within #digitaladvertising can play a significant role in helping to achieve these goals. However, it requires all of us as individuals to care about the topic and take action.

After attending VideoWeek Horizons last week, I pulled together some thoughts from the sessions, as well as thoughts I’ve been collecting over the last year on what we should, could and must be doing to drive forward. I planned to write it as a simple LinkedIn post, that ended up more like a blog and the more I wrote, I’ve realised that its more a 3-part series covering E,S and G separately. Those who know me well, know I’m not a keen writer, so apologies in advance! However, please please do share, comment, discuss and input your ideas #WinningBigTogether

Part 2: S is for #society

The impact of digital advertising on society is a highly debated topic - the reality is that we have a high degree of influence in our hands, and this is ever increasing with more and more people becoming connected online and the advertising space becoming further cluttered with brands wanting to be the louder voice to cut through the noise, whilst consumers become highly conscience about the brand they engage with (#authenticity is key). In the digital space, we hit #diversity, #equity and #inclusion from so many touch points - this can be inclusive representation, AI bias, makeup of teams, engagement with partners and even the negative impact that advertising can have on vulnerable groups.?

Diversity encompasses so many traits that make us all unique, yet connected as global citizens - it can be race, religion, sexuality, physical ablity, gender, neurology, ethnicity, socioeconomic, culture, lifestyle, interests and experiences. Furthermore, it impacts those we engage with as well as those we collaborate and work with on a day to day basis. As an industry, we have a responsibility to address these concerns and ensure that our advertising practices are ethical, transparent, and socially responsible.?

A WFA study found that companies with diverse teams are 1.7 times more likely to be innovation leaders in their market and McKinsey & Company found that companies with diverse teams are 35% more likely to have financial returns above the industry median. I’d agree with both pieces of research, as I can proudly say i'm insanely proud to have a digital team that is 50%+ female (60% of the digital mgmt) and representing mutiple nations around the world (60%+ international talent), however, we all still have amples of room to grow and improve.

So, what can we do to ensure that our advertising practices are socially responsible:

• Ensure your media buying practices are inclusive: Review the media environments you are leveraging, and question if they representative of the diverse audiences in market? Are they behaving ethically? Are they being responsible with their platform? Also, look at the technology you are leveraging, is there #AI Bias at play? Are you using negative keywords that make your buying non-inclusive? Are your brand safety/quality parameters marginalising audiences?
• Look at the intelligence used for media strategy & planning – are your audience insights actually representative of real populations and real audiences, or are they skewed? Invest in integrated marketing communication frameworks and models of collaboration, where media and creative are working in tandem throughout the process of ideation, build and delivery to ensure that messaging and media are harmonised.
• Create Inclusive Media Marketplaces: It is important to ensure that our advertising routes are diverse and #inclusive, and represent people from all walks of life. However, what we see happen a lot is that these inclusive environments can be under-valued environments or deemed to be long-tail. To counteract this, you can create your own inclusive lists and marketplaces that ensure that diverse audiences are always part of your media buying tactics. Otherwise, you can work with service partners like Diversity Media Inc (UK & EMEA) (UK Limited Company) that can provide routes to reach diverse audiences.
• Invest in minority owned businesses: In many cases I hear, oh but the publications that serve audience X just don’t have the scale, or is a low quality environment, we should just not bother. However, this is the wrong attitude, we should we partnering with these businesses to help them grow further. But its not always about reaching diverse audiences, we also have a duty to ensure we are supporting businesses across tech, media and data that are owned by minority business owners and organisations like Group Black .
• Ensure that we’re taking active steps to protect vulnerable groups: Our advertising should not have a negative impact on vulnerable groups, such as children and those with mental health issues. Of course, the basics are to abide by law like #COPA, but we also should be mindful of what actions we are encouraging and driving with our audience and/or what the platforms we are investing in are promoting. A great example here are the steps that TikTok have recently taken to set 1h limits for their app usage for teens – we know that increased screen time and the rise of social influence is having a detrimental impact on society, especially young adults.
• Look at ways to educate the consumer: 联合利华 x Hellman’s have an amazing case study from 2022, where they incorporated brand promotion and the issues around food wastage. As well as the 特易购公司 UK campaign that aligned OHH messasing with those celebrating Ramadan. These is a great example of how you can add social good messaging natively into your brand and its mission. Questions to ask ourselves are… Are what we promoting sustainable, ethical and having a positive impact on society? Or do we have a powerful platform that can drive positive change, if so, are we leveraging it in the right way?
• Establish internal DE&I initiatives: Look at creating a team to identity and address issues related to DE&I within your organisation. Furthermore, evaluate the current state of DE&I within the company by conducting an audit of hiring practices, company culture, and employee demographics. You should also be ensuring that all employees are given training and resources to better understand and recognize issues related to DE&I, including unconscious bias, microaggressions, and privilege - this isnt just the responsiblity of your HR teams. This could be partnering with services like Media For All [MEFA] to ensure that diversity isn’t just talked about, but also lived within the organisation. Our organisations should be encouraging and living a culture that values diversity and inclusivity, including supporting employee with resources, groups and creating opportunities for open communication.
• Interrogate your hiring practices and ensure we’re future proofing the leaders of the future for our industry: Are your hiring practices inclusive and equitable? Are you using diverse interview panels and eliminating biased language in job descriptions? Are you supporting diverse talent to get into the media industry? These are all elements that are important for us to not only build the right culture, but also to ensure that we are attracting and retaining great talent. Employees care what you and your business stand for, and now more than ever are willing to call out organisations that do not walk the talk. A shout out here goes to Brixton Finishing School and the great work they are doing in our industry to ensuring we are keeping our future talent pools inclusive and diverse.
• The theme of collaborate, collaborate, collaborate continues: We should collaborate with other stakeholders, including government, non-governmental organizations, and consumer groups, to ensure that our practices are socially responsible and have a positive impact on society. This can also been working closely with some of the awesome networks within our industry like Bloom UK and The Women in Programmatic Network , whether it be being a part of the organisations or being an ally. A positive step we are noticing are the greater diverse panels at industry events – which is a fairer representation of the industry we are wanting to foster and build, as well as a equal representation of the diverse audience base we connect with.?
• Speak Up: We all have a resposnblity as global citizens, so if you see an opportunity for improvement, injustice or inequality occuring (whether it be in practices or in how those around you are behaving), call them out on it.

In conclusion, the impact of digital advertising on society is a complex and multifaceted issue. However, by adopting socially responsible practices and working collaboratively with other stakeholders, we can ensure that our advertising practices have a positive impact on society and contribute to a more sustainable and equitable future.

Now, there are so many other things we can be doing, and I’ve just hit lightly on a few key buckets and themes. Please drop your thoughts on other steps we can be taking (or better yet, steps you’ve taken!), it would be great to have these in one location as an easy reference point for ideas.

Next time, we’ll have a look at Governance as the key theme, stay tuned.