Respond to two or more of your colleagues’ posts in one or more of the following ways: (150 words or more each Colleague post)
Ask a question about the marketing initiative from the company your colleague described.
Provide an additional or alternative perspective to your colleague’s summary of the impact of their selected company’s marketing effort.
Offer an insight you gained from your colleague’s summary of what positive social change impact a company can have by promoting the ideas of diversity and inclusion through its marketing efforts.
Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to your initial posting. Note what you have learned or any insights you have gained as a result of the comments your colleagues made.
1st Colleague to respond to:
Marketing Initiative That Promotes Diversity and Inclusion
Fenty Beauty, a cosmetic line by Rihanna, was launched in September 2017 (Mayo, 2021). The inspiration behind Fenty Beauty stems from the realization that there is a “void in the industry for products that performed across all skin types and tones” (Mayo, 2021). Rihanna used models of diverse ethnic backgrounds, skin tones, and sizes to promote her brand. The initial launch featured 40 shades, ranging from the fairest shade of #100 to the darkest shade of #498 (Mayo, 2021). The varying shades allowed women to find shades that matched their skin tones without having to mix shades or use unflattering tones.
Impact of the Marketing Effort
Fenty Beauty’s marketing strategy highlighting diversity and inclusion has prompted other cosmetic brands to incorporate diversity and inclusion into their marketing and product lines. “The brand reportedly made $100m in just over a month, Time magazine named it one of the 25 Inventions of the Year, and what is now known as the “Fenty Effect” took hold” (Fetto, 2020) “The Fenty Effect” details brands becoming more inclusive and diverse in their representation by launching a variety as a domino effect created by the success of Fenty Beauty (Mayo, 2021). Aside from the brand’s remarkable success, the strategy sparked the conversation in the cosmetic industry regarding existing beauty standards and how those values should be re-evaluated.
Positive Social Change Impact
The positive social change impact that a company can have by promoting diversity and inclusion through its marketing efforts can be significant. For instance, Fenty Beauty’s inclusive marketing highlights the beauty of women of all ethnicities and skin tones. In a world where colorism, it is essential to emphasize the beauty of all women. It is necessary to demonstrate to the upcoming generations that beauty comes in all shades and sizes and that they should be comfortable and confident in their skin. Rihanna has started an essential conversation and increased recognition of beauty in all shades.
References
Fetto, F. (2020, April 6). How Fenty Beauty Changed the State of Play in the Industry. Retrieved from Vogue: https://www.vogue.co.uk/beauty/article/rihanna-fenty-beauty-diversity
Mayo, J. (2021, November 13). Fenty Beauty and Its Contribution to Diversity and Inclusivity in the Beauty Community. Retrieved from LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/fenty-beauty-its-contribution-diversity-inclusivity-community-mayo
2nd Colleague to respond to:
Describe the company and its marketing initiative that promoted diversity and/or inclusion.
ThirdLove is a lingerie company that aims to make items for all different body types. To enforce this brand message, they show real women of all ages, shapes, and races (rather than touched up, high-fashioned models) in their marketing assets. They also show imagery on its site and social media platforms that show multiple women wearing bras from the company to show off the variations in body types that its clothing can be made for.
In an open letter published in the New York Times, ThirdLove’s CEO and Co-Founder Heidi Zak stated “We believe the future is building a brand for every woman, regardless of her shape, size, age, ethnicity, gender identity or sexual orientation. This shouldn’t be seen as groundbreaking, it should be the norm”. And according to Shopify, ThirdLove’s inclusive brand has been also seen 347% year-over-year sales growth.
Summarize the impact of that marketing effort. Be sure to include what the effort would, could, or did accomplish for the company.
ThirdLove marketing effort was to create lifelong loyalty with VIP tiers. The challenged they faced in the bra and lingerie industry is that people don’t buy a bra every month, they go years before having to make a repeat purchase.in order to prevent customer churn, the need to provide a more consistent value to loyal customers.
Through ThirdLove’s tiered loyalty program, customers are offered perks – such as exclusive product access and shipping benefits – to add tangible value to each purchase. The benefits increase as customers continue to come back for more. According to Yotpo, tiers offer an elegant solution because they are specifically designed to encourage shoppers to spend more over the course of their lifetime rather than in a particular year. The results are so far impressive – within three months of launching the program, ThirdLove account creation increased by 400%.
Summarize the positive social change impact a company can have by promoting these ideas through its marketing efforts. Be sure to include at least one example
The concept of social responsibility holds that businesses should be good citizens, balancing their money-making operations with activities that benefit society, be it on a local, national, or global scale. Social responsibility in marketing involves focusing efforts on attracting consumers who want to make a positive difference with their purchases.
Levi Strauss’s Social Impact
In addition to being one of the most successful fashion brands in history, Levi’s is also one of the first to push for a more ethical and sustainable supply chain. In 1991, the brand created its Terms of Engagement (pdf), which established its global code of conduct regarding its supply chain and set standards for workers’ rights, a safe work environment, and an environmentally-friendly production process. To maintain its commitment in a changing world, Levi’s regularly updates its Terms of Engagement. In 2011, on the 20th anniversary of its code of conduct, Levi’s announced its Worker Well-being initiative to implement further programs focused on the health and well-being of supply chain workers. Since 2011, the Worker Well-being initiative has been expanded to 12 countries and more than 100,000 workers have benefited from it. In 2016, the brand scaled up the initiative, vowing to expand the program to more than 300,000 workers and produce more than 80 percent of its product in Worker Well-being factories by 2025.
Goodwill, B. (2020, January 8). Cause marketing pros & cons. Broadcast Café Newsletter. https://www.psaresearch.com/cause-market-ing-pros-cons/
