When Trinny Woodall, founder of Trinny London, sought to explain the importance of diversity in marketing, she chose her words carefully. Her simple words, quotes in Vogue Business echo powerful sentiments which can’t be ignored if you want to be heard in an online world where voices clamour for attention.
She said: “Whether I was 60 or 18, whether I had light skin or dark skin, I could see myself in that brand.”
Her words highlight the ethos of diversity in marketing.
In today’s beauty landscape, diversity has become more than just a buzzword. Leading healthcare and beauty clinics are embracing it as a business imperative.
As clients become more socially conscious, clinics need to meet them at their expectations. Simply, they expect the brands they support to reflect real-world diversity.
‘Diversity in marketing’ for me, means that brand owners need to think bigger, further and wider than what they and their teams are personally familiar and comfortable with. If you want to speak directly to your client’s heart, you have to know what shape their heart is and fashion a message which perfectly fits their inner longings and desires, in all their technicolour.
Do you want to embrace diversity? Then, here’s how to do it, authentically, consistently, and effectively. We have a few suggestions for you:
1 Build Diversity into Your Team
There’s the saying, ‘Practice what you preach’. The same is true for marketing. You can’t counterfeit a diversity message. Diversity starts behind the scenes.
In other words, you need to get it right at a grassroots level, for it to be amplified at a global level.
If your marketing team, creative directors, or consultants all come from similar backgrounds and are just like you, perhaps you need to recalibrate your team. This is because campaigns tailored by teams which represent all groups are less likely to overlook the lived experiences of underrepresented groups.
Clinics should consider involving a diverse group of practitioners or partnering with diverse creative consultants when planning marketing content or website redesigns.
To give an example, beauty brand The Ordinary (owned by DECIEM) has a multi-cultural, gender-diverse team which informs both product development and content creation. This internal diversity translates into campaigns which resonate globally, including with the UK audience.
2 Understand and Segment Your Audience Broadly
You can’t adopt a ‘one size fits all’ approach for today’s beauty consumers. As a marketer, you need to take time to understand the different communities engaging with your brand. These might be mature women seeking aesthetic treatments, South Asian men buying skincare, or Gen Z consumers curious about injectables, for example.
To represent your clients more accurately, consider customer personas in your marketing briefs and ensure you’re researching underrepresented needs, such as keloid-prone skin or Afro-textured hair considerations.
Superdrug’s Studio service offers aesthetics treatments across the UK and markets to a wide age range and skin tone spectrum, rather than focusing only on white, millennial women.
3 Feature Inclusive Talent in Campaigns
The beauty industry is very much focused on visual impact. For this reason, representation matters. Choose models, influencers, and ambassadors of different ethnicities, ages, genders, body types, and skin conditions. Allow individuals to be seen in aspirational yet authentic ways.
As a clinic you can also feature before-and-after results on clients with different skin tones, facial features, and ages to help potential clients visualise themselves in your brand story.
Boots No7 has featured women over 50 in national campaigns and uses models with rosacea, vitiligo, and acne scars. This inclusive approach has helped reposition the brand as more progressive and relevant.
4 Respect Cultural and Regional Differences
What works in central London may not resonate in Glasgow, Cardiff, or Bradford. The UK is culturally rich, and even within communities, preferences and sensitivities vary.
To give an example, Lush tailors some of its in-store campaigns regionally and works with local staff and artists to reflect the unique character of each store’s location.
Always strive to offer multilingual marketing materials where appropriate, especially in cities with large immigrant populations. Be mindful of cultural values around ageing, modesty, or beauty ideals.
5 Use Inclusive Language and Visuals
Language in the beauty industry has historically been loaded with bias. For example, terms such as ‘anti-ageing’, ‘flawless’ and ‘perfect skin’ have been used over and over again. A simple shift to empowering, inclusive language can make all the difference. Choose words which celebrate natural beauty and diverse features.
Glossier UK uses soft, empowering language and campaigns that showcase freckles, scars, and texture, challenging perfection-based beauty norms.
You can follow their lead by making sure your marketing tone is welcoming to all cultures and ages, for example. Avoid unnecessary medical jargon, and speak clearly to people from a wide range of literacy levels.
6 Prioritise Accessible Design and Services
Make sure your website, booking platform, clinic signage, and consultations are accessible to people with disabilities, neurodivergence, or limited English proficiency. You can also consider step-free access, captioned videos, or alternative communication methods for clients who are hard of hearing or autistic.
Look Fabulous Forever, a UK brand for older women, includes easy-to-navigate product pages, large fonts, video tutorials with captions, and practical guides for visually impaired users.
7 Involve Communities in Your Messaging
This is a big one and it’s often overlooked. Don’t just market to people. Get them involved! Invite patients, influencers, and everyday users from diverse backgrounds to share their stories, contribute to campaigns, or test your messaging. Work with influencers, thought leaders, and creators who are actively shaping the beauty conversation, especially those from underrepresented groups.
BECO, the ethical soap brand, co-creates packaging and campaigns with its majority-disabled workforce, turning inclusion into a core storytelling device.
Looking Forward To A Trust Relationship With Clients
These steps are just the beginning of a holistic approach towards diversity. It’s about being accountable, cooperative and innovative. It’s about knowing your client and understanding their heart. It’s also about education and trust-building.
When you have set all of this in place, you will need ways to measure and track your performance. You’re going to want sound measurement systems in place to track how your inclusive efforts are performing.
Different areas to measure might include engagement, customer satisfaction, clinic diversity, and retention.
You will also need to set regular short- and long-term goals and adjust these, through professional guidance, when you fall short.
However difficult this might seem, it is possible with the right support. However, it’s worth it! According to the British Beauty Council’s 2023 Report, 61% of UK consumers say they’re more loyal to brands that reflect their values, including diversity. At the same time, 48% believe many brands are still ‘inauthentic’ in their approach.
If you want your customers to trust you, let diversifying your campaigns be your starting point. When you really ‘see’ your client, they will see you too!
