Brand Equality

14/12/2022

"This represents a disastrous future for LGBTQI+ young people and a monumental step backwards."

"This represents a disastrous future for LGBTQI+ young people and a monumental step backwards." The cuts in LGBTQ+ education across the UK will have a…

15/11/2022

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/theguyduncan_what-it-means-that-a-historic-number-of-lgbtq-activity-6998218949909749760-Ci11?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

https://lnkd.in/eSajiPf8 An historic number of LGBTQ+ candidates won their elections in the USA - and this is a fact which should not be lost on global...

13/10/2022

“One way we are advancing DEI across our company, in our communities and among consumers, is by using the power and scale of our brands. For instance, it’s widely known that women’s sports don’t always receive the same level of coverage in the media. But few may realize that this is also a critical factor in ensuring female athletes are paid equally.”

Loving the direction AB InBev are taking. But …Let’s hope with their Budweiser sponsorship of the Qatar 2022 Fifa World Cup that this isn’t defensive PR and they take a good look at gender equality and LGBTQ+ persecution in that region.

Our greatest strength is our people, and we support the opportunity for every individual to excel. Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) is a key pillar of our environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy which enables our purpose and commercial vision. Our approach focuses on creating a futu...

16/09/2022

Study: LGBTQ Gen Zers are ditching the ‘boomer approach’ to money and finance

“There’s a long history of being marginalized in the job market,” which has stymied potential earnings. The good news is that things are changing, although for many members of the community, particularly people of color, that change is happening “very slowly.”

How Gen Z are being more financially astute in LGBTQ+ community as we and they learn the history of job market difficulties.

A new survey from digital finance company Daylight found that younger members of the LGBTQ+ community tend to be more careful with how and where they spend.

04/08/2022

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6960919128626884608?utm_source=linkedin_share&utm_medium=member_desktop_web

Getting to the C-Suite of any industry whilst being openly LGBTQ+ is incredibly tough. But achieving this in the aviation industry is unheard of.

Mark Morro did just that.

27/07/2022

What does the + stand for in LGBTQ+? Did you know? And then...what are the meaning of all the letters - find out with http://brandequality.com

22/07/2022

Commonwealth Games 2022 and Pride House tackle homophobia together.

https://lnkd.in/eK4cem-V

As The Commonwealth Games 2022 starts next week in Birmingham UK, they are addressing the issue of homophobia and overseas human rights head-on with Pride House International - and rightly so. This story from a Jamaican athlete stands out in the BBC link below.

"Former Great Britain and Jamaican 200m swimmer Michael Gunning told the BBC he felt lonely, isolated and ashamed for a long time in his career.

'I was ashamed'

Jamaica is one of the countries where there are still prohibitive laws.
"It's a human right, being gay. You shouldn't be segregated. We shouldn't feel so isolated," he said. "I was ashamed of my sexuality.

"The representation of our LGBTIQ+ athletes at Birmingham 2022 will be at least three times greater than at the previous Commonwealth Games, but progress is far from universal for our community in sport."

Other Global Sports Event should take some lessons.

As other global sports event launch in 2022, such as The FIFA World Cup in Qatar, or as with the future choice of Olympics locations by the IOC...the protection of global LGBTQ+ athletes, the safety of LGBTQ+ sports fans and the optics from a global political perspective should be taken into account.

The Commonwealth Games has a long journey ahead of it, and some argue that the institution emerging from a colonial past could work harder, but here the people organising the games in Birmingham next week, ensuring we celebrate sport overall, are taking steps in the right direction with regards to rules and guidance around the future hosting of such events.

The Games' federation says human rights and inclusiveness are ingrained in its constitution.

18/07/2022

Marvel and Queerbaiting - a Problem.

I'm not a massive Marvel fan, nor ever been a comic reader... (maybe Roy of the Rovers), nor super-hero obsessive....but if you're in the media or marketing - you should be into storytelling. And in the LGBTQ+ arena, the emergence of q***rbaiting in storytelling has been a hot topic and we should know why it's controversial.

Queerbaiting is a marketing technique for fiction and entertainment in which creators hint at, but then do not actually depict, same-sex romance or other LGBT representation

It seems Marvel have over-promised on their latest epic about a guy called Thor - and it's upset the LGBTQ+ community, thus eroding trust and causing more angst. Seemingly it's a short-sighted strategy creating complex long-term targeting issues that simply isn't worth the short-term sales at the box office - because the trust won't be there the next time.

In short - not worth it.

***radvertising ***rbaiting

05/07/2022

A succesful Pride 2022. A good month of June. But ...

Pride. Needs. A. Re-design.

My words written last year for the Design Business Association (DBA) remain true - everywhere LGBTQ+ oppression is rising and support fades fast after the month of June. And more than ever they are more critical to heed
- particularly against the toxic mix of a perilous Cost of Living crisis in the UK,
- a divisive Government intent on driving us towards an unwanted culture war,
- and globally the countless more political and legal attacks being introduced to fast-track more inequality, not less, for LGBTQ+ people....All of which will dramatically affect the LGBTQ+ communities both young and old, at the lower end of poverty scales, and those dealing with mental health and physical health problems.

The point is this: Pride continues to be joyful - but brands come in late and drop out with their support super-fast, and of course on the day itself we see that the brands are way too dominant. It's hard to disagree with Peter Tatchell there.

The marketing community and need to re-orchestrate the event, need to redesign it for the people not the brands. The IOC and FIFA control their branded support for the Olympics and FIFA World Cup so that their athletes and their global star football players rightfully take centre stage to entertain us, and they do this for us all year round.

Pride needs the same re-design so that the community can protest and party without the taint of over-commercialism. The extraordinary good that household brandnames deliver the LGBTQ+ communities can be showcased in different ways to the meandering and, let's face it, boring floats adorned with a well-known financial brand or the name of a waste removal company (I kid you not). And those brands need to be signed-up to year-long events with key and notable milestones with overarching 12 month narratives.

Both the marketers and agency worlds, alongside the LGBTQ+ communities - each of them claim they over-index when it comes to being creative, how to tell compelling stories, putting on unbelievable shows and entertainment. But I didn't see much of that on display and centre-stage on Saturday, as the creativity was pushed to the side-lines.

Pride - it's time for change.


Guy Duncan (he,him,his)Status is online
Guy Duncan (he,him,his)
(He/Him) • You
Brand Equality Founder | Business Director & Mentor | Leading organisations through change in global brand content, strategic communications, and marketing projects that drive education and inclusion for LGBTQ+ people.
1yr • Edited • 1 year ago
Some words on LGBTQ+ marketing and branding for Pride 2021 - written up for the Design Business Association

LGBTQ+ inclusivity shouldn’t just be for the month of June

Strategic consulting for engaging LGBTQ+ audiences -a service to demystify the LGBTQ+ landscape for UK and Global marketing, advertising , design & all brands

27/06/2022

As we move into Pride week here in London we highlight loyal Pride brands that have been supporting LGBTQ+ communities for many years. And we can see brands from the fashion world have evolved with their years of experience and with the evolution of the LGBTQ+ community's needs in diversity.

A global power brand like adidas is always challenged into making fashion statements with designs that each year raise themselves to be different and unique, but also relevant and desirable to all LGBTQ+ consumers and inclusive of our allies alike.

The 2022 adidas X Kris Andrew Small Pride Collection is "inspired by the Stonewall Activists of the Stonewall Uprising in June 1969". Together adidas and Australian LGBTQ+ artist Kris Andrew Small offer a collection in solidarity & celebration of the LGBTQ+ community's past & present, honouring the true intersectionality of Pride by showing unique belonging – creating a colourful & diverse graphic message among this inclusive & optimistic collection. This partnership is presented with adidas' two key Global Purpose Partners, Athlete Ally & Stonewall UK.
adidas's vision in the brief can be clearly witnessed: to be beautiful in their diversity and united at Pride time.

Vibrant doodles from Sydney-based artist Kris Andrew Small scrawl across their fabric. And with most fashions today they are presenting trackwear(which adidas calls UNITEFIT) which is an all-gender fit system created with a spectrum of sizes, genders and forms in mind.
Pride-wear in 2022 isn't as simple as just presenting the rainbow on clothing anymore, and adidas is clearly showing many brands the way forwards with their forward -thinking, their strategy and their explosive executions.
#1969

22/06/2022

2022: the rise of positive q***r literature

2022 has been notable for the emergence and significant rise of positive q***r literature targeted at our LGBTQ+ communities, including young adults. At long last not being tarnished with prejudice by mainstream publishers today’s LGBTQ+ Pride post celebrates the demand for q***r fiction and in particular, the publishers who are responding to their needs, and the authors who are writing such beautiful uplifting stories.

Heartstopper

Heartstopper by Alice Oseman grabbed our attention this year – originally a Tumblr comic strip, and because thankfully Netflix took the leap to turn it into a wonderful TV teen love story it gained a deeper and broader audience (including me!). And it turned out to be a pure joy of an experience: boy meets boy, boys become friends, boys fall in love - leading many thousands back into the series of books Alice Oseman has written about the two main characters: Charlie and Nick.

LGBTQ+ RomComs

And this summer, a host of LGBTQ+ romcom novels are vying for our attention, overflowing with innocent and intricate romances and glittery escapism, but stories which actually reflect our lives, and represent us on the page. There’s been a recent shift in the publishing world and reading markets – and there’s now an open recognition that there’s a significant audience out there to read about representation that mirrors their lives.

Laura Kay’s upbeat and positive stories, “The Split” and her latest novel “Tell Me Everything”, are all about q***r women’s everyday lives in the UK (usually such stories have been tragic and downbeat) Yet readers praised the novels for being refreshingly joyful and funny – including a happy ending, which is not that common for a book with an LGBTQ+ plot. Kay also deliberately avoided reference to any trauma surrounding sexuality.

And similar things have been said by another well-regarded author Adiba Jaigirdar whose first two novels, The Henna Wars – which was included in TIME’s 100 Best Young Adult Books of All Time – and Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating, both feature heartwarming love stories between young q***r Muslim women. Until now, people like Jaigirdar had “never been given the narrative of happiness,” she says.

So from 2022 onwards we have the opportunity to seek out new writing from all quarters: Henry Fry and Lily Lindon, Laura Kay and others.

Go bury your head in a book this LGBTQ+ summer!

***rpublishing ***rreading