Inbox a bit full these days? Ours, too. Starting today, 'TNT is going bi-weekly to provide a bit of relief!
BLACK INFLUENCERS WANT IN
Earlier this week, black fashion blogger Alicia Tenise tweeted a series of photos with a stark problem: Black fashion influencers and other influencers of color are rarely invited on press trips, which shuts them out of key business relationships and other opportunities. Black women have specifically called out brands such as Revolve and Dote in the past for similar practices.
Tenise’s point isn’t just diversity for diversity’s sake, and it extends far outside of the fashion world. A 2018 Nielsen report showed black Americans contribute $1.2 trillion in purchasing power annually—a number that’ll climb to $1.5T in 2021. Another report showed black women are trendsetters of mainstream culture. What they buy and talk about has ripple effects across the country.
Unsurprisingly, black consumers want to buy from brands who directly speak to them and who’ve put their needs at the forefront of campaigns, not just as an afterthought. But it’s also a challenge to brands who value diversity to ensure to make good on this value throughout all of your touch points. As one respondent to our recent survey on Brands Taking Stands noted, they hesitated to make a purchase from a certain brand because they knew no people of color were on the brand's Board. Add this to the list of why Gen Z is better than all of us.
LET'S TALK PRONOUNS
As Pride Month continues, there’s a lot of abstract talk about inciting change and progress for the LGBTQ+ community. This week though, Lady Gaga gave more actionable advice for how to promote equity and inclusion for the LGBTQ+ community: Ask people for their pronouns, and respect their choices.
A Pew Research Center study from earlier this year found 35% of Gen Z know someone who uses non-binary pronouns, compared with 25% of millennials. Almost two-thirds of teens expect official documents asking about gender should provide more choices than “man” and “woman.”
What can brands and orgs do as the pronoun discussion takes the forefront? In addition to internal pushes to make sure all managers and employees ask about and use people’s pronoun preferences, we also see this as a key know your user takeaway. If you’re looking to engage young people, keeping in mind a more non-binary or gender non-conforming audience is key.
DoSomething Strategic (formerly TMI Strategy) is the data-driven consultancy arm of DoSomething.org. We help brands and organizations engage young people for positive social change.
Want to learn more about how we help clients activate young people?
Reply to this email to meet Meredith, our Managing Director.
Thanks for reading. You're all caught up! 'Til next Tuesday, July 9th!
