7 Ways to Support Diversity Marketing with Video

This blog on the best production types for diversity marketing videos is part of our new series focused on practical tips on how advertisers and video marketers can make diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) central to their brand identity.

The protests that arose in the wake of George Floyd’s death in the summer of 2020 caused a colossal cultural shift in the United States. Not since the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s did the country see such a surge of grassroots activism, raising a banner against police brutality, racism, and an inequitable justice system.

The movement forced organizations and their leaders to take a long, hard look inwards at the roles they’ve inadvertently played in perpetuating systemic inequality, from the gender pay disparity to the lack of media representation for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) individuals. Activists pushed brands to hold themselves more accountable for the image they project so that their brand identity wouldn’t preserve historic societal injustices.

No one can be a passive bystander anymore, and if you want to combat racism, you must be actively–and proudly–antiracist. This threads into every facet of any industry, but the clearest way you can express your own commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI), and being an anti-racist ally, is through diversity marketing video content.

LEARN MORE: Inclusive Language: What You Need to Know When Casting

We can understand why you might feel some trepidation putting your diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives at the center of every piece of video marketing content you produce. It’s always risky putting your own ethical values out into the world, especially when voiced through your brand or organization. But this is a risk you should be willing to take. Not only because promoting DEI is the right thing to do, but because diversity marketing videos are increasingly becoming good for business too.

Top Design Firms conducted a survey that found 64% of consumers are more likely to make an immediate purchase when they are delivered an ad that is representative of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

To get your wheels spinning on the inclusive, diverse marketing content you should be producing, we’ve identified seven video production types you can leverage to convey your commitment to making our country a more equitable place.

Learn More: Social Media Video Ad Specs & Placements Guide

Best Video Types for Inclusion and Diversity Marketing

When it comes to representative ads, you’ve probably heard the term “virtue signaling” thrown around. It’s typically used when someone expresses a viewpoint on a controversial subject, but only to promote their own moral character, rather than a genuine desire for change. 

Authenticity is key if you want to make an impact on your audience. When devising how you can make your video ads more representative and inclusive, you should approach it with an earnest desire to dismantle inequities, and not simply as a new tool to build goodwill for your brand.

That doesn’t mean you can’t run an educational commercial expressly detailing your brand’s commitment to creating inclusive spaces! But whether it’s an animated explainer or a customer testimonial, these diversity marketing videos must feel relatable and–most importantly–genuine to effectively build customer trust and loyalty.

Keep these production types in mind as you strategize how to thread your commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion into your video advertisements.

1. Brand Commercial

The most traditional type of marketing video is the Brand Commercial. This is the best video type to shine a spotlight on your brand’s commitment to cultural diversity. You can express the value you offer the world while growing awareness and increasing favorability.

This ad that Ajax created with QuickFrame uses a complex narrative to illuminate the everyday microaggressions that a woman of color faces, be it in the professional world, or simply walking down the street.

By telling this story, Ajax is seamlessly layering in their own perspective on misogyny and the challenges all women must endure in today’s world. This type of video inspires brand trust, as you know you can look towards Ajax to be a part of this vital cultural conversation.

Of all the types of video, Brand Commercials are often the most polished and will probably cost you the most to produce. But depending on the length of the commercial and the platforms where you choose to run yours, you might be surprised by how affordable it can be to get one made.

2. Customer Testimonial

Customer testimonial videos are a perfect way to communicate a story with a people-first narrative. Think of it like an Explainer video, but with customers as the storytellers. Customer Testimonials can be extremely effective to help your audiences visualize the personal benefits of your product offering.

This ad from Prose uses diverse talent that their target audience could find immediately relatable. They then iterated on this ad, creating different versions with different on-screen talent that represented the diversity of everyone who uses their products. 

While this isn’t expressly a UGC-style video, Prose still uses hallmarks of that video type, like directly addressing the camera and using first-person narration, to make a deeper connection to their audience.

3. Social Media Marketing

This video ad example of a social media marketing video from Stoli was made to honor former Senator and gay rights activist Harvey Milk with a special collectors edition bottle celebrating Pride. 

On-screen text and motion graphic effects give an added layer of visual dynamism to reinforce Stoli’s commitment to the late-politician’s charitable Foundation and its mission to empower organizations to embody his story, style, and collaborative relationship building.

RELATED: 6 Best Visual Effects That Will Elevate Your Marketing Videos

You can tell by the 9×16 aspect ratio that the ad is optimized for mobile devices. This ad could run on a variety of channels, from TikTok and Instagram to Snapchat, or even be re-edited for YouTube or CTV/OTT ads.

4. How-To

A How-To video is a great tool to provide your audience with step-by-step instructions on how to use your product. You can also use How-To videos to address common customer questions about your offering. They can also be a unique way to express the diverse array of consumers who can benefit from using your product.

For their How-To videos, HASK Beauty uses on-screen models with a variety of hair types to appeal to a spectrum of consumers. With relatable talent, and how-to narrative that flows, this is the perfect example of how even product-focused videos can be used to reinforce diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.

5. Educational

Educational videos are great for expressing your organization’s point of view by educating your audience on a specific topic, and then building your reputation around that idea. 

This diversity marketing video type from billie educates their audience on some of the history behind women’s shaving products and how they’ve rarely been designed with women in mind. The “female-first body brand” also prioritizes body positivity in the video by showcasing all types of bodies. .

Your brand values will still be prominent in Educational Videos, but the focus should be solely on teaching. While billie does use educational components to promote their product, that doesn’t mean you have to. Often with educational video production, the product or service may not even be featured or referenced, especially if you are producing education videos for content marketing or thought leadership.

Need help making videos? See how our video production platform can help your business.

6. Minidoc

The most ambitious type of video for marketing is the Mini-Doc. The Mini-Doc is exactly what it sounds like—a mini-documentary that can encompass voiceovers, interviews, visual photography, as well as b-roll and stock footage to tell a compelling narrative. 

This is a sleek way to share your brand values while building awareness through dynamic content that is particularly shareable, especially with a topic as important to the zeitgeist as diverse representation and inclusivity.

This Mini-Doc—created with QuickFrame and featured on ABC’s Good Morning America—relies solely on animation and repurposed assets to tell a compelling narrative about a Civil Rights leader their audience may be unfamiliar with, Dorothy Height. It’s the perfect example of how your video content can be used to establish the historical significance of a continuing commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

KEEP READING: 4 Ways to Repurpose Assets for Video Marketing

7. Culture Video

Culture videos can be an impressive way to highlight your brand’s values by focusing on your employees. This video type can be used for marketing purposes like employee recruitment, or internal purposes like building out your brand culture.

These types of videos are a unique way to excite potential customers and partners to join your team, but they’ve also become the perfect avenue to express your brand’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

This video–created with QuickFrame by Cruise–racks focus on their internship program. Cruise is able to seamlessly convey their commitment to an inclusive culture, without expressly discussing DEI topics, simply by showing the diverse talent pool that makes up their brand’s DNA.

From an audience’s perspective, looking at the business culture from the inside-out automatically makes the brand feel more honest, trustworthy, and accessible. Cruise humanizes their brand by focusing on the people that make their business run.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Video Marketing: The Takeaway

Digiday recently published an article discussing the changing attitudes towards media buying as cultural diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) continues to hold our national focus. As Kirk McDonald, CEO of GroupM North America told the publication, “It’s time for advertisers to step up. We’re shaping culture in terms of what people find important so why wouldn’t we use that influence to also remind people about their commitment to sustainability or diversity, for example.”

You can step up to that challenge by refocusing how your video marketing campaigns typify your brand’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. . 

No matter the size of your business, these seven types of diversity marketing videos can ensure your brand’s voice and identity embody its core values. 

ARE YOU A BIPOC CONTENT MAKER? Learn more about grants and resources that can help you get ahead!