Consumers demand more realism in portrayal of cultural diversity
Almost eight out of ten people worldwide expect companies and brands to consistently promote inclusion and diversity in their advertising. But in a realistic way, please. This is shown in a new study by Getty Images.
So far, only 15 percent of people feel adequately represented by advertising or corporate communication. This is the result of the second research wave of the Visual GPS, which Getty Images has developed in collaboration with the international market research company YouGov as an orientation guide for visual corporate communication. It examines the extent to which consumers are influenced by visual content. As a first step, the Visual GPS identified four key forces that play a major role in people's decision-making: Technology, Sustainability, Wellness and Authenticity, with the realistic portrayal of diversity also emerging as a crucial factor.
The latest analysis revealed that six out of ten respondents prefer to shop with brands that were founded by or represent people like themselves. However, for 80 percent of people worldwide, it is not enough to simply include different nationalities and ethnicities in advertising campaigns. Instead, they expect companies to portray people according to the reality of their lives. Getty Images has long been committed to breaking down stereotypes and creating more authentic content. In order to support this, the internationally active picture agency has also published a Inclusive Search Guide which companies can use to ensure more diversity in their visual communication.
"Despite the massive changes resulting from the crisis, the need for more diversity in visual communication has not changed - on the contrary, it has even increased. However, as our Visual GPS shows, there is still a lot of potential for improvement when it comes to the diverse representation of people," says Jacqueline Bourke, Head of Creative Insights EMEA at Getty Images.
New findings on prejudice and discrimination
The Visual GPS summer update also revealed that the majority of people are confronted with prejudice in their everyday lives, with 62% feeling discriminated against as a result. Generation Z in particular is more likely to feel discriminated against, and the same is true for women compared to men. It is also interesting to note that consumers in America are more likely to say they have to fight against discrimination compared to Europe and Asian regions: In North America, respondents said they feel discriminated against primarily because of their skin color (57 percent), and more than any other region considered, discrimination is seen as other people being prejudiced against them based on where they come from (53 percent). In Europe, those who feel they are treated differently because of their ethnicity say this is due to assumptions about their nationality or country of origin (56%).
To counteract this, companies currently seem to be rethinking their approach: an analysis of search queries by Getty Images has shown that the demand for visual material depicting "diversity" and "real people" has recently increased by around 30 percent in Germany. Requests for the term "inclusion" have even risen by 200 percent. Getty Images is not only supporting this development with its new Inclusive Search Guide. Commercial image collections such as Muslimgirl.com, Nosotros, The Disability Collection and Project ShowUs have also already made a contribution, as the press release explains further.
