Understanding Transgender Inclusivity in Advertising

Summary:

• While Americans believe they have a good understanding of what it means to be a transgender person, there are some misconceptions and even latent biases.
• Since few Americans have a personal relationship with a transgender person, celebrity culture plays an important role in shaping these perceptions. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Caitlyn Jenner currently stands out as the face of the movement.
• Advertising that includes transgender people is still relatively rare in mainstream media.
• Consumers indicate a high degree of openness to seeing transgender characters in ads, as Americans believe that doing so is appropriately inclusive and simply reflects the diversity that exists in America.
• Transgender-inclusive ads have the ability to build brand equity and break through. Like other strong stands taken by brands, marketers that include transgender people in their ads are much more likely to be seen as brave, progressive, inclusive and honest.
• However, marketers must be careful to be authentic and to make sure the creative executions are on strategy as some are sensitive to feeling that brands are politicizing the issue for their own gain.
• And which brands and categories have permission to include transgender people in their ads? Pretty much all brands do.

Source: J. Walter Thompson Intelligence