Source: *Deloitte Insights*
Date of Publication: *2022*
Author(s): *Deloitte Global Marketing Team*
Title: *"2022 Global Marketing Trends: Thriving Through Customer Centricity"*
DOI: *Not applicable β Corporate marketing report*
Subject Matter: *DEI in Corporate Marketing, Demographic Targeting, Purpose-Driven Branding*
- General Observations:
- Promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) as a corporate necessity for future brand success (pp. 18-24).
- Emphasizes purpose-driven branding aligned with social justice narratives as key to retaining Gen Z and Millennial consumers (pp. 10-14).
2. Subgroup Analysis:
- Brands that adopt inclusive leadership and supply chain diversity are projected to outperform (p. 21).
- DEI is framed as essential not just in consumer-facing materials, but in hiring, promotion, and governance structures (pp. 22-23).
3. Other Significant Data Points:
- Acknowledges the demographic shift away from White-majority markets, advising brands to "adapt to inevitable diversity" (p. 21).
- Advocates for authentic community engagement in diverse demographic sectors as a growth strategy (p. 20).
- Primary Observations:
- Corporate marketing strategies are explicitly aligned with social issue advocacy, particularly DEI, climate, and health equity (pp. 10-11).
- Companies that fail to embrace DEI are projected to lose relevance, especially with younger, non-White, and LGBTQ consumers (pp. 14, 21).
2. Subgroup Trends:
- Brands are encouraged to feature minority voices prominently in leadership and advertising (p. 21).
- Purpose-driven brands are now expected to take public stances on social issues, not just remain neutral (p. 14).
3. Specific Case Analysis:
- Survey data showed high-growth brands prioritize DEI in leadership, marketing, and supply chain management (p. 21).
- Deloitteβs own analysis frames diversity as inevitable and recommends brands shift accordingly to maintain market share (p. 21).
- Strengths of the Study:
- Provides clear insight into how corporate marketing has been fully absorbed into DEI ideology.
- Reveals that demographic change is not being debated β it is treated as an unquestionable business fact.
2. Limitations of the Study:
- Offers no exploration of market segments resistant to DEI branding.
- Completely omits potential backlash, fatigue, or rejection of DEI-saturated messaging.
- Treats all diversity narratives as market-positive, ignoring consumer heterogeneity.
3. Suggestions for Improvement:
- Study regional differences in DEI market saturation and consumer tolerance.
- Analyze rejection of purpose-driven branding in conservative or traditional markets.
- Explore long-term brand risk when DEI overexposure alienates core consumers.
- Demonstrates that DEI ideology is now a corporate mandate, not just a social trend.
- Confirms that demographic shifts are leveraged to justify aggressive cultural realignment in branding.
- Provides evidence that corporate power is actively conditioning the public toward normalized diversity acceptance.
- Investigate how corporate DEI strategies have evolved post-2022 amid increasing consumer backlash.
2. Study whether brands with neutral or anti-DEI stances retain or grow market share in specific sectors.
3. Examine the impact of purpose-driven marketing on White consumer identity and buying patterns.