Consumers are increasingly becoming conscious of how brands invest beyond commercial gains with studies showing that a brand’s diversity and inclusion efforts influence a bulk of customers’ purchase decisions. Getting inclusion right is therefore becoming a commercial imperative as well as a matter of fairness and justice.

For example, global marketing insights and analytics company Kantar in its inaugural Brand Inclusion Index study in the UK found out that just over half of UK consumers (53%) say a brand’s diversity and inclusion efforts, influence their purchase decisions.

When they were able to name a brand, Nike was most often cited, with respondents praising its inclusive advertising and a product range that caters to diverse needs. Dove was also most likely to be selected when prompted with a list of inclusive brands.

At the same time, Heineken (brand value up 10% to USD7.6 billion) has overtaken Corona Extra (brand value up 6% to USD7.4 billion) to become the world’s most valuable beer brand.

Despite the inflationary pressures being faced by consumers, beer brands continue to see brand value growth. Further, Heineken also ranked second in terms of brand strength. This is according to a recently released beer brand report by brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance.

In advertising, LoopMe, a technology company that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to improve brand advertising performance, has announced that it has joined Ad Net Zero, the climate action programme to help advertising tackle the climate emergency by decarbonizing ad operations and accurately promote sustainable products and services.

Dove Pakistan has set a new standard in the Digital Out of Home (DOOH) advertising industry with the launch of a pioneering programmatic campaign. The cutting-edge initiative leverages a unique blend of media, technology, and hyper-accurate weather data to deliver real-time messages that are adapted to local weather conditions, reaffirming Dove's commitment to hair repair from 1st wash.

The global market for Mobile Analytics estimated at $7.9 Billion in the year 2022, is projected to reach a revised size of $31 Billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 18.6% over the analysis period 2022-2030. This is according to a report by Research and Markets.

In appointments, Yahoo has announced the appointment of Tressie Lieberman as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), following an extensive executive search process.

A talented and respected marketing leader, Lieberman brings over twenty years of traditional and digital marketing experience transforming world-class consumer brands such as Chipotle, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut. She will report directly to Yahoo CEO Jim Lanzone.

Elsewhere, a recent Gartner, Inc. poll of more than 2,500 executive leaders, 45% reported that the publicity of ChatGPT has prompted them to increase artificial intelligence (AI) investments. Seventy percent of executives said that their organization is in investigation and exploration mode with generative AI, while 19% are in pilot or production mode.

And Nielsen, a global player in audience measurement, data and analytics, has announced a multi-year data license renewal agreement with Comcast Corporation, a media and technology company.

Under the terms of the agreement, Nielsen will expand its use of Comcast’s return path data (RPD) in its national and local television and cross-media measurement services via its de-duplicated, audience measurement solution, Nielsen One.

Bob Koigi is an editor at Marketing Report One

www.marketingreport.one