Strategic Inclusive Marketing: Lessons from Indie Brands 

Internal Seminar for Researchers

Research Area: Management (Marketing)

Abstract: Although customer diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is an increasingly important and pertinent issue, it is underexplored and managerially unguided in the marketing and branding literatures. Combining institutional theory with a multi-brand case study of 12 independent (indie) fashion and beauty brands, this research answers 1) what is an inclusive brand, and 2) how can inclusive brands be built? First, we define inclusive brands as going beyond tokenism to consider and embrace consumers and other relevant stakeholders (employees, suppliers, brand ambassadors, influencers, etc.) from various races/ethnicities, ages, genders, incomes, body types, sexualities, and abilities. We further argue that inclusive brands exist on a spectrum of inclusiveness rather than a rigid and unrealistic dichotomy of inclusive versus non-inclusive. Second, we find three forms of institutional work utilized by entrepreneurs in building an inclusive brand: 1) collaborating with diverse models, influencers, consumers, partners, suppliers, and employees (which we term brand multiformity), 2) designing inclusive products, services, and stores (brand materiality), and 3) creating inclusive messaging, campaigns, distribution approach, and pricing (brand morality). Lastly, going beyond our positive brand cases, we identify a new form of washing: inclusivity washing, which we define as artificially engaging with DEI in branding efforts to appeal to previously marginalized consumers. We thus conclude with a critical discussion of diversity washing and discuss how our identified transformative institutional work can reshape taste-based, aesthetic markets like fashion and beauty by meaningfully constructing a brand’s multiformity, materiality, and morality.