Global FMCG giant Unilever has backed up the findings of the latest Unstereotype Alliance, which revealed that inclusive advertising campaigns can significantly boost profits, sales, and brand value by increasing sales, consumer preference and loyalty.

A founding member of the Unstereotype Alliance, Unilever affirmed that the findings resonated with the results of inclusive campaigns it ran for for Dove, LUX and Rexona.

Kantar research analysing Unilever campaigns during 2023 showed inclusive ads delivered 123% greater enjoyment of ads, 116% increased ad distinctiveness, 103% stronger brand power, 108% brand difference, 95% improved brand meaning, and 86% greater brand persuasion.

“This report highlights the undeniable business case for more diverse and inclusive marketing, and will prove a powerful tool as the industry strives for even more progressive, impactful work moving forward," said Unilever Chief Growth and Marketing Officer Esi Eggleston Bracey. “Unilever has led the charge in creating bold, unmissable advertising that is progressive, provocative and inclusive for years, from our work with Dove, Rexona and LUX to name but a few key brands.”

The Unstereotype Alliance research analysed ads from 392 brands across 58 countries using proprietary data from members and was conducted in partnership with Saïd Business School at Oxford University.

According to the study, inclusive ad campaigns deliver a 62% likelihood of being a consumer’s first choice, 3.5% higher short-term sales, 16% higher longer-term sales, and 15% higher consumer loyalty. The study examined multiple metrics such as sales, financial performance, consumer preference, loyalty, brand equity, and market competitiveness and found improvements in every area.

Unilever said creating work that is inclusive of people with different lived experiences isn't just the right thing to do, but is a business imperative that drives brand power and commercial results.

Unilever co-founded the Unstereotype Alliance with UN Women in 2017 to eradicate harmful stereotypes in advertising. In 2021, Unilever broadened its ambition to embed equity, diversity, and inclusion across every point of the end-to-end marketing process with the launch of Act 2 Unstereotype.

Examples of Unilever's inclusive marketing strategy include Dove’s 2023 campaign, 'The Code', LUX brand’s 'Smash the Labels' positioning and campaigns in China, and deodorant brand Rexona's 'Just Warming Up' campaign.

Dove's 2023 campaign, 'The Code' raised awareness of the damaging impact AI-generated images can have on female confidence, resulting in over 4 billion organic impressions and more than 500 million organic views, as well as strong results across Dove's key performance indicators - 94% of women agreed the campaign demonstrated Dove wants to ensure a broader definition of beauty is accessible to everyone, and 57% of respondents felt more positive towards Dove after seeing the campaign.

In China, the LUX brand's 'Smash the Labels' positioning and campaigns aimed to empower women to express their femininity with confidence, free from fear of misogynistic judgement. Campaign videos received more than 124 million impressions and 37,000 engagements on social media, and contributed to a consistent increase in market share for LUX over the past three years.

Meanwhile, deodorant brand Rexona (also sold as Degree and Sure) launched its 'Just Warming Up' campaign last year, using the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 as a cultural catalyst to encourage greater inclusion in sport.

The campaign sparked more than 1 billion views on TikTok and over 2.3 billion earned media impressions. Rexona was also ranked the top-recalled brand in Australia and Latin America during the tournament.