Advertising

Global first study proving progressive advertising can drive sales and growth, revealed at Cannes Lions

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Andrew Stephen AM, L’Oreal Professor of Marketing at Saïd Business School, has previewed a global first-ever study into progressive advertising.

The initial findings, previewed at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity this week, show brands with progressive portrayals in their advertising perform better commercially, when compared to less progressive adverts. It highlights an improved direct short-term sales uplift of 3.46% and 16.26% for long-term sales. Further, loyalty (intent to repurchase) is 1.29 times higher, with strong purchase consideration 1.43 times higher, and pricing power is 1.52 times higher.

In a first for the industry, leading advertisers and members of the Unstereotype Alliance including Bayer Consumer Healthcare, Diageo, Mars Incorporated, Mondelez International and Unilever provided proprietary data for the study. The Alliance already understood the social benefits of more diverse advertising and predicted return on investment, but wanted to better understand its effects on business performance and sales. 

 

 

We are excited to see the early results of our global study provide strong, empirical proof that diversity and business growth are in perfect alignment.

Andrew Stephen

L'Oreal Professor of Marketing

The initial research findings, analysed by Oxford Saïd, empirically prove its positive impact, both in the short and long term. In total, advertising and sales data for 392 brands across 58 countries was included in the analysis, covering four years (2020-2023) across a wide variety of product categories - consumer health, snacks and confectionary, alcohol and beverages, pet care and consumer packaged goods.

Alongside Sara Denby, Head of the Unstereotype Alliance Secretariat, UN Women, United Nations, Andrew took to the main stage at Cannes Lions to preview Inclusion = Income: The Business Case for Progressive Advertising which he and Oxford Saïd Associate Professor of Marketing, Felipe Thomaz have been working on.

Andrew, who is also Director of the Oxford Future of Marketing Initiative at Oxford Saïd, commented: ‘Understanding the impact of diversity and inclusion in marketing is an important question for many businesses, who want to both do right by their customers and do what’s best for their business. We are excited to see the early results of our global study provide strong, empirical proof that diversity and business growth are in perfect alignment.’

The Unstereotype Alliance was created to drive positive social change through more inclusive advertising and positive representations of our communities. We believe that progressive advertising can act as a force for good and now, we can definitively prove that it is also good for business.

Sara Denby

Head of the Unstereotype Alliance Secretariat at UN Women

The Unstereotype Alliance, an industry-led initiative convened by UN Women, seeks to eradicate harmful stereotypes from advertising and media to help create a more equal world. The Alliance collectively acts to empower people in all their diversity (including gender, race, class, age, ability, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation and more) by using advertising as a force for good to drive positive change all over the world.

Sara Denby, Head of the Unstereotype Alliance Secretariat at UN Women, said: ‘The Unstereotype Alliance was created to drive positive social change through more inclusive advertising and positive representations of our communities. We believe that progressive advertising can act as a force for good and now, we can definitively prove that it is also good for business. I look forward to discussing the initial findings at Cannes, and their significance for the industry.’ 

Since the Unstereotype Alliance launched at Cannes in 2017, the global membership stands at 240 companies, and 12 national chapters across five continents tackle culturally nuanced stereotypes on the ground. The full results of the study will be published in a report launching in September 2024 during the UN General Assembly.