*Pride originates from the historical Stonewall uprising and serves as a commemoration of the LGBTQIA+ community’s pursuit of equal rights. It honors their significant cultural, political, and environmental contributions to society while acknowledging the ongoing challenges they encounter.
It’s Pride Month! Which in the video world, serves as a reminder of the importance of LGBTQIA+ stories and the power they hold in fostering connection, understanding, and support. For businesses who advocate for social causes like this it contributes to a safer more vibrant, and happy human society, it’s a real reason people stay loyal to brands and services. Consumers just tend to like companies that genuinely care. Couple that with creativity, especially in the realm of B2B videos and you’ve got something special. Embracing and amplifying diverse narratives with video becomes a catalyst for engaging wider audiences and establishing meaningful connections. Plus who doesn’t love adding some (much-needed) rainbow magic to the navy (grey is a little harsh) corporate world.
Read on to explore:
- How B2B video production services can uplift and engage diverse audiences by showcasing LGBTQIA+ stories.
- B2B brands and companies that are killing it with their support this Pride Month so far.
- And of course, the stats and insights into just how powerful advocating and celebrating inclusivity and diversity is in 2023.
Creating/supporting diverse LGBTQIA+ Stories:
We’re halfway into 2023, and when it comes to the latest tech, AI, and improving efficiency in corporate production everyone scrambles to get on board. Change is so swift we are all getting whiplash. However, our evolving social landscape is also progressing, sometimes we are a little slower than we should be to embrace events like Pride. Even when the insight tells us we shouldn’t be.
Pride Month is meant to be a time of celebration, acceptance, and joy. Unfortunately, many efforts, including the infamous LGBT Sandwich, have left people unsure and skeptical. When June rolls around, companies hurry to add rainbow flags to their logos and sell Pride-themed merchandise, often without genuinely supporting or taking meaningful action for the LGBTQIA+ community. This superficiality is particularly evident in the realm of procurement exchanges, where some businesses may merely capitalise on the Pride Month trend without authentically engaging with the needs and rights of the community.
No one wants to hate on a reusable rainbow tote bag but there are definitely some performative gestures going around. What’s also annoying? Pride gained popularity at the same time it became profitable. Some might even consider it hypocritical. In fact, since 2018, 25 major corporations that sponsored Pride parades and superficially incorporated rainbow symbolism into their logos also collectively donated over $13.2 million to anti-LGBTQIA+ politicians. However, it doesn’t have to be this way!!!
While mistakes sadly live on the internet forever, even if you have gotten rid of them on your company websites, it’s a good thing that we now live in a time where purchasing decisions are now made based not only on what your product or service delivers but also on what you stand for. So it’s important to get representation and support right.
How does creating inclusive stories in your video supply chain have an impact?
- Enhance brand reputation, strengthen customer loyalty, and attract a diverse customer base.
- Media representation is driving acceptance. Authentic representation can establish a sense of empathy, understanding, and support on a massive social scale.
- Cost-effective: in B2B spending, 30% of LGBTQ employees and executives control budgets or purchasing decisions. 60% of those people surveyed say that the reputation of a vendor company for being LGBTQIA+ friendly affects purchasing decisions.
Business to Business companies that are successfully dazzling this Pride:
One business to another: B2C doesn’t have all the fun, and enough ink has been wasted on mentioning how B2B needs to learn a thing or two from B2C marketing tactics…(you’ve heard this before sorry).
It’s not all about consumer – purchase – products, it’s about them buying into you. And some B2B companies are just doing it right.
See Salesforce, showing the power of one company just from raw materials/footage: Tokyo Rainbow Pride 2023｜Equality for all｜Salesforce – YouTube
Don’t forget IBM (named the most gay-friendly company in the world): they release social media videos sharing personal stories of their employees on a whole other Twitter account (7) Life at IBM (@lifeatibm) / Twitter.
Finally, in 2023, Microsoft’s Pride campaign embraces various strategies, like IBM, they also share videos of the insights and personal experiences of LGBTQIA+ employees at Microsoft.
Looking to create video with impact, be it internal videos or social ads we just so happen to be the best video service for you (not bragging, we’ve just been told that SO many times).
Why are these B2B superstars doing so well with Pride and how can you impress your business clients too?
Ditch the stereotypes, avoid being “pink washed,” show the whole LGBTQIA+ rainbow, and again, just be authentically fabulous! Let other businesses stare back at you with wonder.
Insights:
-Customers are placing more importance on where brands stand on social, cultural, and environmental issues, and based on your stance, they will determine if you’re a trustworthy brand to buy from.
-Support for Pride goes beyond changing logo colors. Consumers expect brands to take an active part in enabling change. When brands voice their support for Pride, 46% think those brands are supportive and respectful; 35% say they are modern.
-According to data from Marketing Week, 72% of the LGBTQIA+ community think that the way they are represented in advertising is ‘tokenistic’, but 64% think that it’s positive for the LQBTQIA+ community to be visible in advertising. This illustrates that it’s not just a case of introducing diversity into advertising – whilst that is important, to make a difference and become an inclusive brand you need to go deeper than displaying same-sex couples in your adverts.
-In a survey conducted by Small Business Trends, 83% of Millennials said they purchase from companies that align with their beliefs. And 62% of those Millennials surveyed also believe buying from companies that support their own political and social beliefs is important.
–When questioned about how brands should show support during Pride month, the majority of respondents (45%) expressed a desire for brands to educate the public about LGBTQ+ issues and dispel misconceptions. Additionally, 39% of respondents expressed the need for brands to present a more authentic and affirming portrayal of LGBTQ+ individuals.
There we have it. All the reasons to propel your B2B video production for Pride.
By incorporating diverse narratives, particularly in the B2B video sphere, companies can engage a broader audience and establish meaningful connections. Adding a touch of colour to the corporate world allows for a more inclusive, profitable, and FABULOUS environment.
