Why ‘Happy Holidays’ is the way to go
Since we moved to California, one of the things that’s stood out to me is how inclusive the United States are. I know that may come as a surprise given the news we see from the UK, especially as high-profile public figures publish anti-Semitic and anti-Asian posts, but what I have witnessed here in northern California, in day-to-day life, is that Americans’ celebration of diversity is everywhere: greeting cards show people with different coloured skin partying; there are home-furnishing gifts for religious holidays such as Diwali and Hannukah in mainstream stores proudly displayed; advertisements are in languages other than English.
Does your business celebrate diversity? Do you really know your audience and what they care about? Is ‘Merry Christmas’ the right message for this time of year?
Know your audience
Before you go any further, have a think about your audience. Do you know who buys your products and purchases your services? It’s a good idea to think about this when you start your business so consult your plan from then. It could be that your clients can be strictly defined in every way but it’s more common that there are nuances here and there; your audience, therefore, is not 100% predictable. Assuming this is the case, you need to consider ‘inclusive marketing’.
Inclusive marketing
Inclusive marketing is marketing that embraces everybody and should reflect the diverse communities in which we operate, not only to appeal to new customers but also to reflect the employees or freelancers that you employ. It makes people feel represented and ‘seen’ and it helps to build connections between them and your brand. You want to celebrate individuality whilst also creating community.
How to implement inclusive marketing
Language - think about the language you use in blogs, web copy, newsletters. It might refer to certain cultures or human attributes without you even realising - maybe assuming that parents are a man and a woman; referring to Christmas when your customers could be from multiple faiths.
Speaking of faiths, celebrate them! If Christmas and Easter are your ‘go to’ religious celebrations, make sure you celebrate others such as Hannukah, Diwali and pagan holidays too. This is a good way to represent everyone but in order for it to be a success, you need to make sure that you include every religion in your marketing schedule.
Imagery - use diverse images to represent your diverse client base. Television advertising is now much more inclusive and we can follow its lead. Select models of different skin colours, families that are not the predictable 2.4 children and let’s not forget about attributes that are not so obvious such as neuro-diversity and sexuality. How could you reflect those?
It has really made me smile to see so much diversity here in California and how it is recognised in the everyday. Britain is as diverse but I’m not sure we always realise that or, dare I say, accept that. By acknowledging and reflecting our multi-cultural British Isles, you could make someone feel seen and hopefully, make them smile. So I won’t be wishing you all Merry Christmas but Happy Holidays! Looking forward to ‘embracing’ you in 2023!