From theory to practice: a conceptual framework for mitigating historical racial prejudice in marketing campaigns
Simone Thomas, Pieter Steenkamp, Holger J. SchmidtPurpose
The purpose of this study is to employ a historical research perspective to contextualise marketing practices within their broader environments and draw on Critical Race Theory to explore strategies for reducing racial prejudice in marketing campaigns and to advance the development of diverse marketing campaigns from a practitioner viewpoint.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative research strategy is used, using a systematic literature review and in-depth interviews with key informants, including marketing directors, marketing managers, advertising account managers and brand managers and they applied a reflexive thematic analysis method.
Findings
This research offers a structured, practitioner-orientated, four-strategy framework for developing diverse marketing campaigns to reduce historical racial prejudice in marketing campaigns by increasing diversity in key roles and empowering marketing practitioners through education and training. Moreover, their findings support recent research indicating that higher education lacks pedagogical adaptation, underscoring the need for further research.
Research limitations/implications
This research uncovers how marketing historically has been underpinned by exclusionary practitioners and practices and expands current marketing thought. Furthermore, this research challenges current frameworks on boardroom diversity and leadership diversity, focusing on promoting racial and gender inclusivity to leverage the advantages of diverse voices in the boardroom. It addresses the lack of diversity in key decision-making roles and seeks to improve organisational approaches to diversity, equity, inclusion and representation and how marketing campaigns are produced. This research calls for revising how segmentation, targeting and stereotypes are approached to ensure they are free from bias, stigma and ill-informed historical typecasts.
Originality/value
Existing research primarily focuses on consumers’ experiences of racial prejudice in marketing; however, strategies to reduce it remain limited. Their research offers a multi-industry practitioner-orientated operationalisation of Critical Race Theory in marketing campaign development across multiple nationalities and industries. The study proposes a historically contextualised framework for prejudice-reduction strategies in marketing campaigns, addressing a critical gap in branding, marketing and diversity research.