“We know inclusivity is the right thing to do for our business.”

Gráinne Wafer, Global Category Director, Beer, Vodka, Liqueurs and Convenience at Diageo, has revealed how embracing belonging and inclusion has successfully driven the brand forward. 

Speaking at the Creative Equals RISE conference in London today, Wafer revealed that inclusion is not a nice to have, it is a business imperative. She shared: “At Diageo we believe that inclusivity drives creativity and business results.”

Wafer continued: “We want to ensure we are building the most inclusive culture and we are making work that makes all our consumers feel included and represented.”

Sharing the brand’s progressive marketing journey, she outlined the business benefits of inclusion, highlighting that brands that don’t consider inclusion are leaving money on the table. She explained: “It is like buying media for a UK campaign and leaving out London.”

Wafer revealed how the brand delivered a world first; the first ever live descriptive audio commentary of a Six Nations Rugby match. 

The initiative was not a one-off stunt, but an ongoing investment. This year, the brand has doubled the number of games with live match audio and successfully expanded stadium accessibility. Wafer shared how inclusion is driving the brand’s approach to sports sponsorship, explaining: “It’s the thrill of watching the match but actually one of the most important things in sport is that feeling of belonging.”

Lucy Edwards, Blind broadcaster, journalist, author, content creator and disability activist, emphasised the importance of ensuring diversity behind the lens.

Edwards, who champions the importance of taking a ‘nothing about us without us’ approach to creativity, shared her experiences of navigating exclusion. 

“Most of the time I feel like I am invited to the party but I am never asked to dance. I didn't stop being Lucy, but I felt that people started to see me differently,” she shared.

She continued: “For me, I have to dig deep inside myself and know I have to change this.” Sharing that while it is getting better, disabled consumers still ‘do not feel seen or heard’.”

In a thought-provoking conversation with Wafer, Edwards shared the ‘euphoric’ feelings that come with being included in marketing. A truth that underlines small changes can make a huge difference. “I’m not a burden, it is the world that needs changing,” she added.

Wafer pointed to the truth that ‘if you are not making inclusive marketing, you are making exclusive marketing’. She underlined the power of inclusion to drive a brand forward, asking the audience: “Who wouldn’t want to be making work that makes 15% of the UK population feel euphoric?”

Sharing the creative experience of working on the art of audio descriptions for Bailey’s ‘delicious descriptions’ campaign, Edwards urged the audience to embrace creativity in their approach to increasing accessibility. “Having someone who really embodies the brand is really important,” she explains. In this way, audio descriptions can successfully become a creative extension of the brand’s tone of voice.

Edwards shared: “When you design for people with disabilities in mind, you recognise that marketing can resonate with other people too.”

She urged the audience to ‘start today’ on their own accessibility journey.

Photo Credit: Bronac McNeill

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