In 2020 and 2021, the ad industry doubled down on the push for diverse representation in both ads themselves and the teams behind them. In working towards transformative change, leaders recognized the need for not only budget, but also prioritization and an industry-wide commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. 

And while there have been significant efforts made to date, there is still a long way to go.

To better understand how teams are evaluating diversity efforts within media companies and what has (and hasn’t) worked to date, Connatix partnered with Digiday to survey nearly 90 brands and agencies in its State of Media Diversity report. Within the report we ask key questions like: 

• How have brands and agencies moved the needle on diversity, equity and inclusion?  
• What have they achieved since the summer of 2020, when a critical moment of attention to DE&I in the workplace — and  beyond — dominated news cycles?  
• In what ways have budget allocation, hiring and ad creative  transformed to create the change people have called for, especially across the preceding two years? 

Here are the top takeaways we found: 

Diversity is a key focus for brands and agencies

30% of respondents in our survey noted that they were allocating spend toward publishers and vendors owned and operated by diverse leadership, with 29% primarily focusing on spending budget to represent diverse groups in their creative campaigns. In a split between the two, one-fifth (22%) of the respondents identified both goals as a combined focus in 2021. As such, 81% of respondents are actively pursuing DE&I goals, leaving 19% just starting to allocate budget to their efforts or not yet investing in diversity initiatives. Notably, most of those respondents said they were planning to start working on DE&I goals in 2022.

Significant budgets are being allocated to diverse partnerships

As stated above, slightly more than half (52%) of the brands and agencies in our survey are either primarily focusing (30%) on allocating business to publishers owned and operated by diverse leadership, or they’re doing so in tandem with seeking diverse representation in their campaigns (22%). The amount of that allocation is significant, according to what they told us in the poll. More than one-third (37%) earmarked 61% or more of their marketing budgets to publishers owned and operated by diverse leadership in 2021 — and more than half (57%) said they allocated 41% or more of their marketing budget in the past year.

Audience representation in creative is improving

Audience is a serious consideration for 51% of the brands and agencies we polled, with a focus on building and sustaining more diverse representation in the ad creative they design and serve. In the past year, these respondents have emphasized representation in areas of ethnicity, race and gender — giving significantly more attention to those categories than any other in the survey.

Internal DE&I efforts are also a priority

When it comes to internal creative leadership and production teams, most respondents said their staffing and hiring choices were creating increasingly diverse workplaces. 80% said their leadership and management were moderately to highly diverse, and 84% indicated their production teams met that criteria as well. 

Another factor that aligns with the progress respondents made in 2021 is that companies have created material statements that are now underpinning their DE&I efforts. In the form of a clearly defined diversity statement, most brands and agencies in the survey (79%) are working with a written mission in hand. Diversity statements are key as they clearly explain companies’ promises and actions regarding hiring, coverage, events, training and education.

It’s clear that the ad industry has more road to travel when it comes to diversifying its ranks and making more permanent changes, however, with commitment and the right allocation of money and resources, DE&I outcomes can improve. The journey is not over, but brands and agencies that commit to the promise are quantifiably on the path to true diversity, equity and inclusion.