DEI Metrics Made for Marketing

Six years. That’s how long She Runs It has been working to make our workforces and workplaces more inclusive and diverse through #Inclusive100. We first launched in 2017 with the support of Seramount, and we encouraged leaders in our industry to complete the Diversity Inclusion Index Tool to measure their progress on inclusion, representation and culture. We also welcomed their leaders into lively and illuminating roundtable conversations to share ideas, dissect nagging barriers, and package the actionable practices and policies that could migrate from one successful company to another one seeking solutions.

We’ve learned so much in six years, including how to approach measurement in a way that makes progress more accessible, prescriptive and achievable.

Next month we will once again introduce an industry first. In December 2023 She Runs It will launch a new, customized #Inclusive100 tool powered by Seramount. This will be the first of its kind benchmarking tool designed specifically for the marketing, media, and adtech ecosystem. Informed by six years of intel and feedback, it will include survey questions that get at the heart of what matters most, works best, and continues to challenge our industry. It will surface best practices and case studies that others can implement to achieve their own progress. It is also streamlined for easier completion. As in the past, there will be no cost to participate.

Perhaps most important, the new survey will give us the ability to segment the data by industry sector – e.g. media companies, agencies, ad tech firms, pr firms and marketers – assuming we get at least seven companies in each sector to participate. In other words, it will deliver an apples-to-apples view of how participating companies compare to the industry overall. Rest assured, any company-specific info will be anonymized or shared only with the participant.

We believe in the power of #Inclusive100 to help our entire industry, which is why She Runs It funded the initial annual investment (as we have for the past 6 years), but as a 501C3 dedicated to affecting positive change, we are also seeking support from the industry. For as little as $5,000, companies can help fund the new tool at a Believer level. At a time when economic forces and technological transformation are distracting corporate leaders from DEI commitments, $5,000 is a statement that exclaims to the industry, “DEI still matters to us.”

Believers participate in the survey, receive a 10-page industry summary of the data and what it means, logo placement on the She Runs It website and at key events, social media shout outs, recognition at events and Inclusion in #Inclusive100 press efforts.

There are multiple levels of support:

• Advocates who invest $15K receive the above plus visibility opportunities and exclusive networking events.
• Champions who invest $25,000 will additionally receive published thought leadership content and participation at an industry tentpole event (CES, Possible, Cannes, or Advertising Week)
• Heroes who contribute $40,000 or more will additionally receive a fully programmed, bespoke event on the sponsor’s premises

The successful quarterly roundtables will continue. Past topics have focused on Inclusive Leadership, ESG – Where does the S in ESG fit into DEI, DEI’s impact on business results, and most recently AI & DEI from the lenses of Workplace, Workforce, Marketplace & Community.

We will augment our off-the-record executive roundtable meetings with thought leadership conversations open to the entire industry. These sessions will continue to focus on winning practices and tried-and-true approaches that have enabled companies to succeed against their DEI objectives.

Involvement with #Inclusive100 gives participants a better understanding of what’s going on in our ecosystem. They learn best practices in inclusion, representation and culture. They proudly display the #Inclusive100 badge in new business pitches and as

a demonstration of your dedication to current and future employees and business partners. Most important, they send a signal to the marketplace that they are committed to advancing this work and refuse to let DEI commitments fall by the wayside.

Want to learn more? Send an email to Nadia@sherunsit.org and we will send more information or schedule time to talk you through the program.