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Weaving inclusion into post-production

Post-production is a crucial phase when it comes to inclusion. Your work will either sink or swim depending on the choices you make in editing, color correction, sound mixing, music production, and voiceover. Here are some tips to ensure the steps you take in post-production enhance rather than negate your earlier inclusive choices.

Music

  • Make a deliberate effort to consider artists from underrepresented groups.
  • Understand if your music is associated with a particular group and whether it reinforces stereotypes (e.g., defaulting to hip hop for Black audiences).
  • Know whether the music under consideration is known to be culturally appropriated from another group. If that’s the case, play the original.
  • Understand the public discourse surrounding the music’s artist and lyrics. These choices could have negative effects on the story you're trying to tell.

Editing and retouching

  • For photo retouching or video color correction, make sure skin tones and body types are represented accurately in your final picture.
  • Keep in mind that video editing decisions, such as duration and ordering of shots can impact how audiences perceive inclusion. For example, giving little screen time to women — or keeping the most impressionable first 30 seconds of your video male-only — will reduce the overall representation of women.
  • Consider the overall speaking time of different groups. Adding historically underrepresented people without giving them meaningful speaking roles reduces the overall level of inclusion.

Accessibility

Marketing cannot be inclusive if it’s not accessible to everyone.

  • For video deliverables: Include subtitles, closed captions, audio descriptions, and text color choices for clear visibility.
  • For websites: Enable screen reader compatibility; avoid blinking, flickering, or moving content; provide transcripts for all audio and video content; and ensure sufficient color contrast.
  • For copy: Use descriptive headings and subheadings; avoid jargon-packed sentences; be mindful of abstract language, sarcasm, metaphors, and jokes; re-examine language with direction or sensory characteristics.
  • For events: Ensure pathways are wheelchair-accessible, add CART (Communication Access Realtime Translation) captioning, provide sign language interpreters, and provide audio descriptions for content. See more about inclusive event design.

RESOURCE

To learn more about how to make your marketing more accessible and inclusive to disabled people, check out our latest principles and guidelines.

Testing

Testing your creative pre-launch shouldn’t be the first or only time you seek input from diverse perspectives.

  • Identify the people and groups you should reach out to for feedback.
  • Tailor the testing audience to the specific demographics or identities being represented in your creative, or that you intend on reaching with your campaign.
  • Think about how to test your creative based on the groups you’re representing.

EXAMPLE

If Latino users are your audience, consider testing in Spanish and be aware of nuances in Spanish from country to country.

CONSIDER

Consider using ANA’s #SeeHer Gender Equality Measure and AIMM’s Cultural Insights Impact Measure.

Make sure your request for feedback is thoughtful and respectful.

  • When you connect, give plenty of advance notice and offer to pay for their services.
  • Don’t assume the person has the bandwidth; ask for alternative contacts if they are not available.
  • Be mindful of tokenizing or over-burdening the same people or groups, and be sensitive to the emotional impact of discussing someone’s lived experience.