Last week we hosted our first ever event, 'Make Waves'. We set out to bring together ‘Wave Makers’ in the creative industries. By doing so, we want to bring a fresh perspective to the conversation around ‘change’. Here are a few top gems and unique insights directly from some incredible creative disruptors.
Whilst change is heading in the right direction, much more work is still needed…
To show real understanding, cultural intelligence and respect for different audiences, brands should look at how to properly represent them and reflect the brand - otherwise, the audience feels disengaged.
It's crucial for brands to cast people true to their disabilities. For example, when telling a deaf person's story, there must be a deaf person behind the scenes.
Brands must prepare themselves for criticism from their audiences - feedback can be strategically used to better serve their community and avoid future missteps.
When you work with a creator, you must consider that you're also employing their values and views, which they will likely have a vocal stance on.
Creativity needs to be better respected and credited to original creators. Brands must start valuing the producers, not just their productions and appropriating this.
A brand becomes a place of passion, authenticity, and value by employing diverse groups of individuals, not just for marketing but for board member and decision-making roles.
There's a lot of focus and fear around "cancel culture". However, it can be advantageous for brands to listen and provide opportunities for constructive conversation that make their audience feel their voice is valued.
Information for the deaf community is still really poor, primarily due to education and inaccessibility. Simple considerations such as closed caption and subtitles make a massive difference. There are many simple ways brands can make marketing and comms more accessible.
Consulting and involving a broad range of individuals to support marketing will help deliver messages meaningfully.
Change cannot just be done for the sake of it; for it to be effective, it MUST be authentic.
Learn more about insights and expertise to help you connect more meaningfully with diverse audiences.