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| Inactive | Reactive | Proactive | Progressive | Best Practice | |
| Brand Denial /Defensiveness | Brand Defensiveness or Minimization | Brand Minimization or Acceptance | Brand Acceptance or Adaptation | Brand Adaptation or Born Inclusive Brands | |
| Ethnocentric | Ethnocentric | Ethnocentric | Ethnorelative | Ethnorelative | |
| Marketing Department (Cross over to JEDI organizational practices) | There are no structures in place to support more Inclusive Marketing. There is often no diverse representation within the marketing department. Especially in management positions. | Reactionary and/or defensive responses to call-outs internally or externally in the marketing department. Department and/or strategy likely recognizes and tries to include some diversity, but tries to focus on commonalities through the dominant lens. There is often little or no diverse representation within the marketing department. Staff from equity-deserving groups often do not feel safe to speak up and feel burnt out. Management positions are mostly filled with people from the dominant culture. | Putting in place structures and support that will create more Inclusive Marketing Some level of inclusion of diversity behind the scenes of equity-deserving focus audiences. There is often some diverse representation within the marketing department. Staff from equity-deserving groups may face microaggressions, stereotypes, and feel burnt out. Management is predominantly from dominant culture and recognizes there is diversity on the team. | Implementation of structures and support. Consistent dedication toward Inclusive Marketing. Creating safe spaces where power dynamics are considered and equity-deserving focus audiences are able to influence outcomes. There is often more diverse representation within the marketing department, and more diversity in leadership. Staff from equity-deserving groups generally feel like they belong and like the organization is making a genuine effort, although the organization isn’t fully equitable. | Having people with lived experience and an interculturally sensitive lens conducting the work that reflects the focus demographics. Ensure the work in front of the camera is authentically and accurately representative of the culture of your focus demographic without an ethnocentric dominant culture gaze. There is diverse representation within the marketing department, and more diversity in leadership. Staff from equity-deserving groups contribute meaningfully, experience and co-create equitable work, and feel a sense of belonging (never tokenized or pressured). |
| Research | Homogeneous panel / interviewees. Researchers without lived experience interpreting data from equity deserving groups. Questions that “otherize” everyone outside of the dominant culture. | Homogeneous or mostly homogeneous panel/interviewees. Research dominated by those without lived experience interpreting data from equity-deserving groups. Create surveys that include the identities of those who are most privileged along with equity-deserving groups. Questions that “otherize” everyone outside of the dominant culture. | Less homogeneous panel/interviewees. Seeks to interpret the data with an interculturally sensitive lens and/or strong lived experience. May search for commonalities or shared stories in data, rather than seeking to understand the distinct experiences of equity-deserving communities. Create surveys that consider diversity of individuals. Does not “otherize” all equity-deserving groups. | More diverse panel/interviewees. Interprets data with lived experience and interculturally sensitive lens. Create surveys that are inclusive of many equity-deserving groups that also recognize intersectional identities and privilege within them. | Actively seeking diverse panels that accurately reflect the population, including recognition of access to surveys and in-language options. Interculturally sensitive and lived experience researchers involved with creation, collection, analysis and sharing/actionable implementations of the insights aligning with the lived experience of equity-deserving focus audience(s). Interview questions that reveal the diversity of focus demographic without “otherizing” anyone not from the dominant culture. Inclusive surveys that recognize intersectionality and privilege within equity-deserving groups. |
| Strategy | No Inclusive Marketing efforts. Unaware of who is excluded in marketing initiatives. Or aware, but believing the privileged/dominant group is the only one that needs to be considered. Focus audience consists mainly of dominant culture and doesn’t look at the diversity of the audience or their intersectional identities. Done by someone with no intercultural sensitivity or lived experience. | Some Inclusive Marketing efforts, often aligned with significant dates or mass social movements, but without action behind them. Approaches lack the lens of lived experience or sustained commitment. Some awareness of who is excluded, but will continue with dominant culture still centered, or focus on commonalities. Done by someone with little to no intercultural sensitivity or lived experience. | Inclusive Marketing initiative and funding for equity-deserving groups treated as a separate side campaign. Often in-language ads are translated based on an advertisement with a dominant culture perspective. Uses main primary messaging and translated in-language to reach equity-deserving groups. Recognition of a diverse consumer audience, but lacking intercultural sensitivity and, therefore, lack the knowledge to authentically include them. Organizes focus audience and messaging by buckets without recognizing intersectional experiences. Done by someone with less intercultural sensitivity. If done by someone with lived experience, there is often pressure to know or speak for their entire culture, or to misrepresent their culture to align with stereotypes or dominant views. | Primary campaign strategy recognizes and focuses on a diverse audience base. Utilizes nuanced, culturally authentic insights to form campaigns. Uplifts voices of equity-deserving groups in the messaging and supports the cause. Done by someone with higher intercultural competence or lived experience. | Intentional around who is excluded and included. Actively showcase focus audience(s) as complex intersectional identities that go beyond checkboxes. Recognition of nuanced cultural differences in purchasing behaviours and commitments to marketing initiatives to reflect those differences. Lived experience and/or interculturally sensitive lens developing the strategy and approach. |
| Production | Largely dominant culture led team. Little to no recognition of diversity or inclusion in the work. | Dominant culture led team with a few diverse team members who don’t have decision-making power on the final product. Final work is done with a dominant culture gaze and little to no recognition of nuances of diverse cultures. | Diverse, collaborative team and some team members have higher intercultural sensitivity. Diversity shows up in the work that recognizes the diversity of the focus audience(s). Often, this emphasizes similarities between cultures or aspects of diversity that are most aligned with the dominant culture’s values. | Diverse, collaborative team and many members have higher intercultural sensitivity. The work is culturally nuanced and authentic. Showcases complex intersectional experiences and/or needs. | Fully diverse and interculturally sensitive production team that reflects the focus audience(s) of the work. Production team’s lenses and lived experience align with the work. The work is culturally nuanced and authentic. Showcases complex intersectional experiences and/or needs. |
| Video / Photography | Mainly dominant culture led (especially in leadership positions). The dominant culture is primarily shown throughout the imagery. Little to no imagery of people and if so, mainly dominant culture is reflected. When diversity in dominant culture is shown, those with less privilege are stereotyped. Usually no consideration of accessibility. | Some awareness of who is excluded. Some diverse model placement, but with dominant culture still centered. Showcasing equity deserving people through visual tropes (e.g.. traditional clothing) with lack of context or cultural appreciation. Representation is stereotypical. Usually little to no consideration of accessibility. | Awareness of who is excluded and attempts to showcase diverse cultures. Diverse people reflected in photography through dominant culture gaze without reflecting the cultural nuances of each demographic or the individuality of those with that identity. More consideration of accessibility. | Awareness of who is excluded and an understanding of authentic representation. Showcasing people who reflect the diversity of lived experience and are not only reflective of dominant culture’s standards and values only. Photos themselves show authentic nuanced experiences of each individual that shatter stereotypes and generalizations of a culture. Efforts to make different types of content accessible to different audiences. | Awareness of who you’re excluding and full representation – in front of and behind the camera. Photographs and/or video created by lived experience and interculturally sensitive individuals who are free to reflect their culture in the style of the photo(s) and video(s). Showcasing people who reflect the diversity of lived experience and are not reflective of dominant culture’s standards and values only. Photo(s)/video(s) themselves show authentic nuanced experiences of each individual that shatter stereotypes and generalizations of a culture. Content is fully accessible to those with different accessibility needs. |
| Design | No recognition of accessibility barriers or inclusive design practice. No design that reflects the diversity of culture of the people being served. No people on the team that reflect the diversity of the audience. | Plugins or patchwork to help with accessibility barriers. No consideration of inclusive design beyond the minimum accessibility measures. No efforts to test whether accessibility measures work. No consideration of inclusive design. Stereotypical representation in imagery. Few people on the team who reflect the diversity of the audience. No other recognition of the diversity in the work or the people developing the work. | Graphic design elements follow accessibility standards Accessible web content is still patchwork and lacks consistency across all mediums. Lacking an integrated framework for self-determination in user experience. May consider inclusive design, but often more geared toward universal design (one-size-fits-all). Some effort to test whether accessibility measures work (often more as a check-box than to ensure inclusion). Some diverse representation on the team. | Integrated design of accessibility from the foundation up. Follows Inclusive Design guidelines and accessibility benchmarks. Attitude of “one-size-fits-one”, without viewing accessibility as an add on. Inclusion of those with accessibility needs throughout the process in an effort to have accessibility measures meet diverse needs. Interculturally sensitive design team working towards authentic representation and cultural appreciation in the work. | The design is accessible to people from various backgrounds and adaptive to different circumstances. Self-determination of the user experience. Full involvement of those with accessibility needs throughout the process to ensure accessibility measures meet diverse needs. The design is culturally nuanced and accurately reflects the community it’s built for. No level of cultural appropriation, rather the work is designed by someone with lived experience and intercultural sensitivity. |
| Language | Copy is written in the dominant culture language only. No recognition of the dominant lens in language. Complex and hard to understand unless you’re part of the dominant culture. Use of language preferred by the dominant group. Written from the lens of the dominant group. Stereotypes are reinforced and further exaggerated . | Copy is written in the dominant culture language only. Little consideration for accessibility. Recognition of different lenses and diversity, however, still written by the dominant lens with the privileged group intended as the audience. | Copy is written in the dominant culture language only with some automated translation options through plugins. Some consideration for accessibility, usually only in the dominant culture’s language. Diverse stories are shared with good intent, but impact reinforces minimization. Language is still that of the dominant group and mainly written for the dominant group. | Copy is written in the dominant culture language with different options to translate through custom copy and not through automated formats. Choice of languages reflect equity-deserving focus audiences’ needs. Potentially further options along the customer journey that provide ease of customer use where dominant culture language is not their first language. Deep understanding of the nuances of each equity-deserving community and their unique needs to support them in understanding what is communicated. Simple and plain language that considers accessibility needs across languages. Reduced oppressive language including – but not limited to – patriarchal, colonial, ageist, heteronormative, and ableist language. | Copy that speaks from the lens of each community, by those in that community. Written by those with lived experience of the topic or story referenced. Respects community preference (when describing groups) and personal preference (when describing individuals) in the language when referring to people. Does not make any assumptions about people’s identities. Uses of active voice for equity-deserving coverage. Shatters stereotypes and uplifts equity-deserving voices (e.g. Passes the Finkbeiner Test). Does not use any oppressive language and is keeping up with the organic nature of language and ever-evolving nature of community preferences. Use of plain language across all mediums. Doesn’t treat language as categories, rather a spectrum of literacy. Including multilingual communication. Provides options throughout the customer journey for equity-deserving focus audience to utilize their first language to access the product/service. |
| Channel Accessibility | Utilizes channels and mediums most comfortable for the organization and dominant culture. No data or insights on how their diverse audience base may want to access or utilize the product/service. No foundational integration of accessibility on the product/service or understanding of how they are creating exclusion and upholding current oppressive systems. No use of inclusive language. Utilizes most common communication channels. | Defaults to the dominant channels that are most commonly used by dominant culture, but have a crossover with other equity-deserving communities. Takes the path of least resistance, but believes that the wealthiest are likely to utilize those mediums and therefore mainly accommodate those channels. | Utilizes the dominant channels, but attempts to accommodate the needs of different equity-deserving groups through inconsistent in-language options on some of the channels and platforms. Does not have a true understanding of where exclusion exists in their current channel choices. Provides translations from the dominant culture lens and accommodates imagery that represents equity-deserving cultures. May or may not reflect their equity-deserving audiences, rather have general diversity and on occasion some ethnically ambiguous individuals or general erasure. | Has a deeper understanding of equity-deserving focus audience(s) and the wide variety of channels they use and how they utilize it differently from the dominant culture and others. Accommodates the unique needs of those channels and works with cultural appreciation while navigating in this space. Understands where current channels used cause barriers and actively reduces those barriers to provide equitable access. Main campaigns are integrated with inclusion. It is not an add-on or a separate campaign. In-language adverts respect the preferences of the culture for channel choice, but also the topic of the advert adapts to equity-deserving focus audience(s). | Distribution reflects the preferred mediums of the diverse demographic served. Includes providing more than one medium to access. Purposeful about access and mitigating barriers that exclude. Considers traditional and digital mediums and how each focus audience may or may not have access (e.g..paywalls, identification cards, internet access, phone access, user experience/user interface accessibility, etc.). Considers offline and one-on-one translation support for in-language options. Deep consideration and integrated accommodation for targets where there are accessibility gaps. |
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