Adobe Survey: One fifth of Australians have boycotted brands that do not represent them
Adobe has today released the Diversity in Advertising survey, revealing that diversity in advertising is important to most Australians (62%). Nearly a quarter of consumers are more likely to purchase products and services from brands with diverse advertisements, with 21% of respondents saying they have boycotted brands that don’t showcase diversity.
The report surveyed more than 1,000 people from across Australia and found that representation is critical for brands wanting to engage consumers. 56% of people surveyed say that lack of diversity would impact their perception of a brand and 29% of Australians are more likely to trust brands that have more diverse ads.
While progress has been made – with 58% saying that advertising is more diverse than it was three years ago, and two thirds of consumers agreeing that their race or ethnicity is represented in the ads they are served – there is still a long way to go. Australian consumers advised that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, and African and Middle Eastern ethnicities are the least represented in ads.
Says Phil Cowlishaw, APAC head of advertising cloud at Adobe: “In an increasingly competitive digital landscape, consumers are demanding personalised and authentic advertising, experiences and engagement from brands. What this research shows is that while diversity in advertising is obviously improving, the real opportunity for brands is to make their customers feel like the brand knows and cares about them through representation.”
The research found that consumers believe network TV is perceived to have the most diverse advertising today, however only 9% of respondents felt that digital ads were representative.
The 25 years of Digital Advertising report, also released this week, details how digital advertising has progressed, and how it has become the single most impactful platform for advertising today. What is overwhelmingly clear is that technology is enabling brands to deliver more curated, contextual and personalised advertising through digital platforms but that there is still progress to be made in terms of representation.
Says Cowlishaw: “This research, alongside our partnership with the Centre for Inclusive Design, is part of our wider commitment to encourage a diverse range of voices and perspectives within organisations, to reflect the diversity of the Australian population in products, services, and content. We know that if brands really want to tap into this huge market of emerging consumers, they need to leverage digital, and share content that represents and inspires their audience.”
Sectors polling better when it comes to diversity in ads are travel & hospitality, retail, and media & entertainment; while the automotive and financial industries had some catching up to do.
5 Comments
GO the 80%
Of course diversity is good, and it’s smart to enlist it, but I wonder how many people reject tokenism. I cringe when I see work with multicultural casts; quick shots of the token Asian, the token African, the token Muslim, oh, and lots of females, of course, sometimes all in the same ad. Not only is it totally unrealistic, it is utterly patronising and I suspect it’s seen that way.
Diversity of ideas? That it ain’t. Maybe diversity of division?
A sample of a 1000 people?
What a joke.
Why do we even give these research people voice after the polling debacle of the last election.Not to mention polling in other countries.
The game is up research peeps.
You have been found out.
Goodbye.
The problem with this kind of research is generally people, when asked, will say they support diversity, the environment, Australian made etc etc. But when they are all alone, walking down the crowded aisles of Aldi, fighting another likeminded soul over a $30 ski jacket, it all, unfortunately, goes out the window. Just ask pretty much any FMCG brand manager. The masses buy on price. Full stop. And that won’t change anytime soon. We can only hope that the big brands take it upon themselves to do what is right for people and the planet, which they are starting to do.