In public relations, image is everything—but authenticity is everything else. Today, more than ever, brands are expected to reflect the diversity of the world around them. Audiences are savvy. They can spot performative campaigns and superficial inclusion from miles away. And while diverse faces in ads or social campaigns are a start, the real impact comes from diversity behind the scenes.
From strategy meetings to content creation, the people shaping the message are just as important as the message itself. Without representation at the decision-making table, PR campaigns risk missing the mark—or worse, reinforcing harmful stereotypes. Let’s dive into why behind-the-scenes diversity is essential to truly inclusive, effective public relations.
The Illusion of Representation Without Inclusion
Many brands have learned the hard way that featuring diverse talent in front of the camera isn’t enough. Think of ad campaigns that have gone viral for all the wrong reasons—tone-deaf messages, cultural misappropriation, or stereotypes that alienate the very audiences they hoped to reach.
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Why does this happen?
Because inclusion wasn’t present during the planning stage. Without diverse voices guiding ideation, review, and execution, blind spots abound. Representation without inclusion is surface-level. It looks good from a distance, but it collapses under scrutiny.
Diversity behind the scenes is what prevents these mistakes. It creates a space where nuance, cultural intelligence, and authenticity can thrive.
Diverse Teams Bring Broader Perspectives
A team composed of people with similar backgrounds is likely to produce homogenous ideas. In contrast, a team rich in cultural, racial, gender, and experiential diversity brings a wider range of insights to the table.
This diversity of thought helps in several ways:
Understanding audience behavior: People from different communities interpret media differently. A diverse team can anticipate and address varying reactions before a campaign goes live.
Avoiding cultural insensitivity: Representation behind the scenes helps identify language, imagery, or themes that might offend or misrepresent.
Creating relatable stories: Inclusive teams craft narratives that are rooted in real experiences—not assumptions—making the campaign more impactful.
In short, diverse teams help brands speak to—not at—their audiences.
Inclusion Enhances Creativity and Innovation
In public relations, creativity is currency. And diversity is one of the strongest catalysts for creative thinking.
When people with different lived experiences come together, they challenge each other’s assumptions. They offer alternative viewpoints, question dominant narratives, and push campaigns beyond the obvious. This tension—when managed with respect—leads to bolder ideas and more compelling storytelling.
Research backs this up. Studies from McKinsey and Harvard Business Review have shown that diverse teams outperform their less diverse counterparts in innovation and decision-making. In PR, where the goal is to capture attention and inspire emotion, that creative edge is crucial.
Avoiding the Pitfalls of Groupthink
Groupthink—the tendency for teams to conform to a dominant viewpoint—can be a silent killer in PR. It leads to safe, repetitive, and often ineffective campaigns. Worse, it blinds teams to risks and potential backlash.
A homogeneous PR team may not recognize when a message sounds patronizing, when a visual seems tokenistic, or when a word has offensive connotations in another culture.
Diversity behind the scenes introduces friction—not the destructive kind, but the kind that sparks discussion, sharpens ideas, and challenges assumptions. It acts as a built-in feedback loop, reducing the chances of missteps and increasing the potential for meaningful impact.
Real-World Examples: The Cost of Not Including Diverse Voices
1. Pepsi’s Kendall Jenner Ad (2017)
This infamous ad tried to tap into the spirit of social movements but ended up trivializing them. Critics noted the lack of authentic voices in its creation—particularly voices from the Black community. The backlash was swift, and the ad was pulled.
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2. H&M’s “Coolest Monkey” Hoodie
An ad showing a Black child wearing a hoodie with the phrase “coolest monkey in the jungle” sparked outrage. Had there been more Black professionals involved in reviewing the campaign, this offensive oversight might have been avoided.
These missteps weren’t due to malice—they were due to monoculture within the creative and PR teams. They remind us that diversity behind the scenes isn’t just beneficial—it’s essential.
Building Diverse PR Teams: Beyond the Numbers
Creating a diverse PR team doesn’t mean filling quotas or hiring for optics. It means building a workplace culture where:
People from marginalized communities feel safe, respected, and heard.
Diverse perspectives are not only included but valued and integrated.
Decision-making power is shared across identities.
This requires more than inclusive hiring—it demands inclusive leadership, mentorship, and career development. It means asking:
Who gets to pitch ideas?
Who leads client calls?
Who signs off on the final message?
Equity in power and voice is what turns a diverse team into an effective one.
Clients and Consumers Are Paying Attention
Clients increasingly expect PR agencies to reflect the audiences they serve. Many RFPs now include diversity metrics, asking agencies to disclose the makeup of their teams and leadership.
Consumers are also watching. According to a 2021 Edelman Trust Barometer, 86% of people expect brands to take action on social issues. But they also expect those actions to be authentic. If the people crafting the brand's message do not reflect the communities they aim to reach, trust erodes.
A diverse PR team isn’t just a social good—it’s a competitive advantage.
What Brands and Agencies Can Do
Here’s how to move from intention to action:
Audit your team’s diversity: Where are the gaps—in race, gender, ability, sexuality, class, etc.? Acknowledge them without defensiveness.
Invest in inclusive hiring and mentorship: Hire with intention. Create pathways for underrepresented talent to grow into leadership roles.
Bring in cultural consultants: If your team lacks certain perspectives, bring in experts with lived experience to shape messaging.
Create inclusive workflows: Ensure feedback and input come from a variety of voices throughout the campaign—not just at the end.
Be transparent about your journey: Inclusion is a process. Share your goals, progress, and challenges openly. Audiences respect honesty.
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Conclusion: Representation at Every Level
In PR, storytelling is everything. And to tell authentic stories, the people crafting those stories must reflect the audiences they’re trying to reach. Diversity behind the scenes ensures that messages are not just inclusive in appearance, but in essence.
It’s time we recognized that who’s in the room matters just as much—if not more—than what ends up on the billboard, screen, or press release. By embedding diversity deep into the DNA of our PR strategies, we don’t just avoid mistakes—we elevate the entire industry.
When the storytellers themselves are diverse, the stories they tell are richer, braver, and infinitely more powerful.
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