Towards successful diversity initiatives: the importance of building audience connectedness

The past decade has seen an increasing number of diversity initiatives undertaken by brands in an attempt to connect with consumers. While audiences view some initiatives positively, some evoke controversy or backlash, indicating that they have not been successful. Without clear research-based directions for designing diversity initiatives though, marketers continue to struggle. Therefore, this article proposes a framework of how diversity initiatives might achieve success through audience connectedness. The framework includes three characteristics of such initiatives: the marketer’s approach to diversity, the audiences’ perception of diversity, and the level of belief congruence. When all three factors converge, diversity initiatives can evoke a sense of audience connectedness. Through leveraging audience connectedness, marketers can devise and achieve initiatives that target, reach, and resonate with broader, rather than limited audiences.