

Inclusion and Marketing
Sonia Thompson
Attract, convert, and retain a bigger, more diverse, and fiercely loyal customer base with inclusive marketing strategies that fuel business growth. Inclusion & Marketing is hosted by Sonia Thompson — inclusive marketing strategist, consultant, and columnist for Forbes, Inc., and HubSpot — and gives you practical strategies to infuse inclusion into every stage of your customer journey, from customer acquisition and conversion to customer loyalty and customer success. Through solo deep dives, expert interviews, and behind-the-scenes case studies with top brands, you’ll learn how to create customer experiences that resonate with underrepresented and underserved communities — and drive business growth. Part of the HubSpot Podcast Network.What you’ll hear:
How to build internal systems that support inclusive marketing — so your campaigns are authentic from the inside out.
How to deliver marketing campaigns, communications, and customer experiences that win more customers — including people from underrepresented and underserved communities.
What’s working (and what isn’t) for brands today as they try to effectively engage today’s consumer.
If you’re asking these questions, you’re in the right place:
How do I deliver authentic marketing that actually converts more customers?
How can I grow my customer base in today’s diverse marketplace?
How do I effectively engage underrepresented and underserved customer groups?
How do I connect inclusive marketing directly to business growth and results?
How to build internal systems that support inclusive marketing — so your campaigns are authentic from the inside out.
How to deliver marketing campaigns, communications, and customer experiences that win more customers — including people from underrepresented and underserved communities.
What’s working (and what isn’t) for brands today as they try to effectively engage today’s consumer.
If you’re asking these questions, you’re in the right place:
How do I deliver authentic marketing that actually converts more customers?
How can I grow my customer base in today’s diverse marketplace?
How do I effectively engage underrepresented and underserved customer groups?
How do I connect inclusive marketing directly to business growth and results?
Episodes
Mentioned books

Apr 26, 2022 • 29min
17. What anti-racism looks like in business with Dr. Nicole Charles
What does it mean to be antiracist?Today we’re going to cover what antiracism is, what it looks like in business, and how you can work to embody antiracist principles on a daily basis. To help us with this, I brought in an expert on the topic, Dr. Nicole Charles. Nicole is a wellness entrepreneur as well as an intersectional feminist and antiracist educator, author, researcher and professor of women and gender studies.We’ll talk about:
The concept of antiracism as a whole, and specifically in the business world
Examples of racist practices that permeate business that are more common than you might think
The importance of investing in and learning from Black, Indigenous People of Color
After making the commitment to antiracism, where do people commonly get tripped up?
The challenges that arise when society and businesses lean towards centering only the most privileged identities
Recommended resources for further reading and learning
Nicole’s delicious recipes at healmedelicious.com (Check out the pumpkin spice cake donuts!)
Nicole's Embodying Equity Course
It’s important to really think about your values and how they can guide your business decisions. As you work on applying what Nicole and I covered today in your own life and business, take the time to think about a specific scenario in your life where you could decenter the predominant narrative.Get the episode transcript hereGet the Inclusion & Marketing newsletter here

Apr 19, 2022 • 21min
16. Navigating the complex world of identity
Business is about belonging, and identity is a critical aspect of belonging. As you work to build an inclusive brand, it’s essential to think carefully about identity and what types of categorizations are necessary. As we dive into this complex topic, I’ll go over challenges, real-world examples and strategies to help you approach your customer’s various identities.Identity matters. Don't take shortcuts with it! The people you serve will reward you when you take the time to get it right.This episode will also cover:
Common questions including the difference between ethnicity and race
The various challenges that can arise when categorizing groups of consumers
How categorizations and the data associated with them can help companies identify equity concerns and gaps
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Apr 12, 2022 • 33min
15. Getting Started with Inclusive Language for Your Brand with Nailah King
Words matter! They have the power to uplift and include, as well as tear down and exclude.In your quest to make your audience feel like they belong with you, it’s essential to use inclusive language. But how do you start creating written content that creates a culture of belonging?Nailah King, founder of The Content Witches, shares insights into how conscious business leaders can learn to craft messaging that helps foster transformative change and create a sense belonging within their communities.My conversation with Nailah also covers:
What is inclusive language and what is its connection to belonging?
Idioms, binaries, appropriation and other examples of language that can be harmful
How can you determine if your content isn’t inclusive or needs an update? How can you maintain transparency throughout the process?
How to use tools like etymonline.com
Essential forms of content governance including inclusive language policies and brand style guides
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Apr 6, 2022 • 19min
14. Are you taking more than you give?
Today we're going to talk about a common type of toxic relationship between brands and underrepresented communities: Extraction.True inclusive marketing is about sharing power and creating belonging. Belonging cannot exist when one party is constantly extracting value from the other. As we dive deeper into the concept of extraction, I will share examples from today’s business world with the hope that by bringing these harmful practices to light, we can all start to do better.This episode will also cover:
The concept of co-creation and the different forms it can take
Best practices for engaging with communities you want to learn from and the dangers of traditional market research
Lessons learned from a popular Disney film
How to start adding value instead of extracting it, so everyone wins
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Mar 29, 2022 • 40min
13. How representative is your brand, really? A conversation with Gradient
We know that inclusive marketing is the future of marketing. As we move towards this future, more and more cutting-edge tools are becoming available to help brands assess their progress.How inclusive is your brand’s visual communication? In this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Raquelle Zuzarte, Founder and CMO of Equity Project for All, and Frederico Salvitti, Tech & AI Specialist. Their AI platform, Gradient, shows brands where they stand on diversity and inclusion through comprehensive data-driven analysis of their visual imagery.Our conversation will cover:
What is the current state of representation and marketing from a diversity and inclusion standpoint?
What are examples of major brands or industries that have been making strides in these categories?
How to build customer intimacy through listening and observation
The importance of authentically and sincerely expressing your brand’s core purpose
How brands can start building stories around people who have traditionally been underrepresented and underserved
How the Implicit Association Test can help you recognize and address your blind spots
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Mar 22, 2022 • 15min
12. We are not the same, so don’t treat us the same
Equality is essential in certain aspects of society. But in some situations, unapologetically treating people differently will help you win the attention, adoration and loyalty of more consumers, especially people that brands often ignore.As a business leader, how can you decide when it's appropriate to treat everyone equally, and when you should treat certain groups of people differently? In this episode, I will go through my 3-step process for identifying these situations, so you can do a better job of consistently making life better for the people you serve while also making them feel like they belong with you and your brand.Get the episode transcript hereGet the Inclusion & Marketing newsletter here

Mar 15, 2022 • 26min
11. The end of the majority and what it means for you with Julye Williams
The Census Bureau projects that by 2043, the US will become a minority-majority. What does this major shift in the makeup of our population mean for your business? In this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with my friend Julye Williams, founder of Project 2043, about how business leaders can start leaning into the power of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.Be prepared to do the inner work! The first step is to acknowledge and accept that our world is changing. After reflecting and setting your intentions, you can begin to think about how you can help your business thrive in a diverse society. My conversation with Julye will also cover:
What does it really mean to be a good ally?
The relationship between inclusion and power
How to exercise your power to help level the playing field within your sphere of influence
Advice for small business owners
How to create more equity, balance and opportunity both personally and professionally
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Mar 8, 2022 • 27min
10. How and why to create inclusive buyer personas
The last thing you want to do as a brand is exclude potentially loyal customers. One of the best ways to make sure you aren’t doing that is by creating a Buyer Persona. In this episode, I talk about how creating a Buyer Persona and treating those that fall under that profile as your friends will create a more inclusive brand that consumers keep coming back to.In this episode I go over:
How creating a buyer persona create a roadmap for your company to follow to bring ideal customers closer to your brand
3 ways that having a Buyer Persona will help your brand create content
How excluding people in your buyer persona if done intentionally can actually help your brand
3 ways to tell if your buyer personas are a repellent to potentially loyal customers
4 steps to include your intended customers into your buyer persona
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Mar 1, 2022 • 23min
9. Why differences are profitable with Gelaine Santiago
Who decides what is mainstream?In today’s episode, I talk to Gelaine Santiago about how she rewrote her script and lead her companies by focusing on her story. Gillian began her businesses' branding by following the conventional idea of “mainstream,” but it wasn’t until she ditched that idea that she saw her customer base grow like never before.Gelaine is the CEO of Cambio & Co, a Filipino jewelry company, and Sinta & Co, a Filipino wedding company. Through running those companies she has learned about the power of storytelling, and now helps small businesses and entrepreneurs reach new audiences through the mastery of storytelling.We also talk about:
How to defy the gatekeepers
What mainstream actually is
How brands can authentically represent differences even if their team are not a part of those communities
Connect with Gelaine:
Her website
Her brands Cambio & Co. and Sinta & Co.
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Feb 22, 2022 • 21min
8. The role of culture and values to build an inclusive brand
An inclusive brand means an inclusive culture. In this episode I cover how to approach building a company culture that is healthy, competitive, and most importantly: inclusive.Some of the points that I cover include:
How building a core document (value statement, company statement, or mission statement) codifies company values and culture for your team
Ways that brands weave their core company values into their social media content
3 high level steps to build and nurture a company culture that is healthy and competitive
Lead by example
The importance of starting the work at the top of the company ladder in order to set a tone for the entire company
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