Understanding Unconscious Bias in Marketing

“Bring the girlie in. Not a culture fit. But she’s a woman. She’s so full on.”

Marketing strategist Anne Miles (CPM) introduced her talk on unconscious bias and the push for gender neutrality in marketing with a bit of punch. Bluntly, she said brands themselves have an unconscious bias and don’t always recognise their own customers. For example :

– 83 percent of marketers believe their organisations are creating advertising that avoids gender stereotypes

– 63 percent of customers disagree and think advertising reinforces stereotypes.

A big divide, so her question was: how we talk to each gender without polarising the other when the market audience is both?

During a wide ranging and thought-provoking talk, she showed us three car adverts; one overtly masculine, one overtly feminine and one gender neutral, which threw a bit of humanity and subtle role balancing in it. The examples she provided as good practice in bringing humanity into social media had authenticity, obviously stood for something, used gender neutral colours, even a balanced font appealing to both masculine and feminine.

As a consumer, it really struck me what I’ve been missing and what I’ve been accepting. Fascinating and complex topic in a sometimes deliberately biased world.

#storyteller #content #contentcreator #contentmarketing #theartofwhy #theartofwhycommunications #findyourstorybeyourstory #melbourne