Grey London asks all clients to sign up to diversity and inclusion commitments

Grey London's clients currently include Carlsberg, Gillette, Coke and GsK.

Laura Jordan Bambach, president and chief creative officer at Grey London, says this charter is “the first example of a big creative agency putting diversity, equity, inclusion and representation (DEIR) at the heart of everything it stands for, and at the start of client conversations.

“By incorporating the charter into our client contracts and agreements, we’re changing the way diversity is considered within the creative industries – and in turn, what representation looks like for the rest of the world.”

However, it is not the first agency in recent weeks to launch a DE&I unit that also extends to clients – VMLY&R recently opened a UK chapter for its ‘Inclusion Experience,’ which “offers a framework that will not only help organizations structure their diversity, equity and inclusion offerings, but tap into the macro trends around consumer demand for brands that are really living up to their purpose,” Debbie Ellison, who is heading up the operation, told The Drum.

Grey London, on the other hand, has been developing its DEIR charter for more than eight months through close dialogue with internal and external subject matter experts, partners, clients and suppliers.

It has so far been endorsed and signed by brands including Pringles, Saputo, Fidelity, Braun and Very.

Jet Cooke, head of UK marketing-end investor at Fidelity International, says: “Diversity is critical, and at Fidelity we focus on inclusion throughout our business. As part of that, we partner with our agencies to help shape the creative work we put into the world, making sure it is representative and inclusive. We fully support Grey’s DEIR Charter and are proud to work with them as a partner to drive real change in the industry and beyond.”

Why is the charter necessary?

The Grey London initiative follows numerous studies highlighting the underrepresentation in advertising of numerous minority groups.

Just 19% of people represented in adverts are from a minority group of any kind, according to Lloyds Bank’s landmark Reflecting Modern Britain study. Some 88% of consumers agree that not enough brands do a good enough job of representing them or their communities (Kantar Inclusive Advertising Playbook, 2021).

Meanwhile, 64% of people of color in the UK would feel more positive about any brand that showcases diverse cultures, and progressive ads are 47% more likely to be effective in both the long and the short term when it comes to performance, 4Sales research found.

What does the charter include?

The charter is made of three sections that lay out the ways diversity, equity, inclusion and representation are brought to life throughout the entire breadth of Grey’s creative process:

• Thinking Diverse focuses on challenging the norms the agency expects to see in mainstream culture; working with designated community partners as key stakeholders on projects and telling stories of diverse groups.

• Making Diverse looks at ways it can diversify the opportunities available to different demographics by judging on aptitude more than experience; upskilling underrepresented people through production; blind casting that leads to more inclusive representation; and when representing a diverse group, making sure those actors are from that same demographic. Grey London has also created a thorough Needs Form for all visitors, partners and shoots – covering everything from pronouns to the specific accessibility needs a person may have.

• Delivering Diverse is how the agency can track its output, through community testing with the demographics it represents; respecting CAP and ASA guidance on codes of conduct and gender stereotyping; and gathering data to track the agency’s progress toward a more diverse, equitable, inclusive and representative future

Bambach adds: “The need is clear, as is the business case. At Grey, we know the collision of difference is how you get to truly great ideas. And so now, when our clients sign up to Grey’s Famously Effective Creativity, they sign up to our commitment to better diversity, equity, inclusion and representation in advertising too.”

The aim is to roll the DEIR Charter beyond Grey London to the global group, and then to the entire industry as an open-source resource. Internally, Grey has ensured all of its employees have undergone training and taken part in an open Q&A forum around the Charter and how it now shapes each stage of creativity. A toolbox has also been created that everyone has access to which includes statistics, articles and other sources to deepen their understanding and access to information around DEIR.