Fiona Wylie
Last month, marketing consultancy Brand Champions hosted Champion Conversations at the Marylebone Hotel. This wasn’t your ordinary industry meet-up, it brought together some of the brightest minds from the worlds of Travel, Women’s Health, and more, for a day filled with talks, workshops, and networking. The choice of date was deliberate, falling not on International Women’s Day, but on the first day of Spring. The idea? To keep the momentum of inclusivity and diversity going all year round.
Fiona Wylie, Brand Champions’ Founder and CEO, emphasised that this day was all about taking the inspiration from International Women’s Day and making it a constant part of how we think about and build our brands.
The lineup of panellists was carefully chosen to reflect this ambition, featuring influential figures like Ruby Raut, CEO and co-founder of WUKA Wear, Ollie Shayer, Omni-Media Director at Boots, Ally Owen, Founder of Brixton Finishing School and ADcademy, and Lizzy Hall MBE, Founder of The Hygiene Bank. Each brought unique insights from their sectors, and plenty to share about how best to integrate inclusivity into every aspect of business and branding.
By combining Brand Champions’ own research and the panellists’ experiences, the day’s aims were to provide real, actionable insights on how to make industry more equitable for everyone, as well as utilising the vast array of talents and experiences out there.
At Champion Conversations, the personal stories shared by the panellists were as impactful as they were diverse, each shedding light on different facets of inclusion and diversity. Ruby Raut’s journey from Nepal to the UK highlighted the stark contrasts in women’s health experiences and the dire need for sustainable solutions in menstrual health. Her story, starting with the use of a sari as a menstrual pad to developing eco-friendly period pants, showed us how creativity and innovation can be applied to women’s health.
Ollie Shayer shared his experiences from working in multinational and multicultural teams, particularly at Booking.com in Amsterdam, and how these environments developed his sense of fairness and acceptance. His account demonstrated the power of diversity in unlocking potential and enriching workplace cultures. Similarly, Ally Owen was driven to action by the stark lack of diversity she observed in the marketing and media industry. She founded Brixton Finishing School to bridge this gap and subsequently has been pivotal in introducing talent from historically underrepresented communities to the sector, and therefore bringing untapped potential in and enriching those businesses with fresh ideas and perspectives.
Lizzy Hall, inspired by a poignant scene from the film “I, Daniel Blake,” where a mother is caught shoplifting toiletries, set out on a mission to combat hygiene poverty by establishing The Hygiene Bank. This charity is concerned with focusing on the often overlooked intersection between poverty and hygiene, emphasising the dignity and basic rights of individuals struggling with poverty.
As part of the discussion the panellists delved into how inclusivity and diversity can be woven into the fabric of marketing, challenging the status quo and reflecting a broader spectrum of human experiences. Ollie highlighted the foundational need to understand and genuinely reflect the diverse customer base in marketing campaigns, stressing the importance of having a variety of voices in the creation process to ensure authenticity and inclusivity. This extended to product offerings, as Ruby discussed how WUKA Wear strives to cater to a wide range of needs, from offering extended sizing options to ensuring representation in their marketing materials, reflecting the diverse range of customers they serve.
Attendees were asked what would have the greatest impact on change, picking between 17 different options, 17.5% of respondents said that starting conversations and re-educating was the most important action to take away, this was closely followed by 12.5% of respondents saying that Charity Partnerships would be the most impactful. Other top choices were Getting involved in communities and volunteering in schools etc, Giving time and space for opportunity and ensuring that job applications and processes were inclusive.
The conversation also touched on measuring the outcomes of these inclusive marketing efforts, with Ollie suggesting that success lies in the resonance of the message with the audience and this is ultimately due to having authentic representation within marketing teams.
Meanwhile, Ruby Raut’s experience of competing with giants like P&G and Unilever shed light on the challenges and strategies of smaller, mission-driven businesses in making their mark against industry behemoths. Creativity in funding and communication strategies was highlighted as crucial for survival and impact.
Lizzy Hall shared ways individuals and businesses could support The Hygiene Bank, underlining the collective responsibility to sculpt a society that understands and acts to help the estimated 3 million people currently living in hygiene poverty. She pointed out that everyone, including businesses, have a role in making societal changes, emphasising the potential for partnerships with organisations like The Hygiene Bank to make a tangible difference in individuals’ lives.
The attendees all made pledges they could action both immediately, and set goals to deliver against in the future. This made guests take action, rather than just getting together to talk about what could be done.
Ultimately, the discussions from Champion Conversations coalesced around a pivotal message: inclusivity and diversity are not just ethical necessities, they can also act as strategic advantages in today’s global marketplace.
“The event was a great success as we heard from many incredible and inspiring voices in the room. They showed us their own experiences, that the more we maximise opportunities for a greater range of voices, the better position brands will be in to be adaptable, authentic and better reflect the audiences they serve,” said Fiona Wylie, CEO of Brand Champions.
“What’s important now though is that we move forward and implement these changes and continue the good work that is already being done by many. It’s so easy to get together for an event like this, and talk the talk, forgetting to walk the walk afterwards. We want to make a change, and the power is within all of us to do so. It was a pleasure to host such an event, but we’d love the opportunity to hear from other brands on how they embrace diversity and inclusion within their organisations. We’re always learning and looking for inspiration so please do reach out. We plan to continue the narrative and be the driving force for change so plan to host further events later in the year, so watch this space!”
For more information, please visit www.thebrandchampions.co.uk.
