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Building an inclusive marketing panel

Creating work that authentically reflects our world means recognizing the representation gaps on your team and working to bring in new perspectives. To move us closer to where we need to be, we organized a panel of 60 Google marketers in 2018 from a wide variety of underrepresented backgrounds and started a formal process for developing inclusive marketing feedback.

Early, proactive collaboration

To date, this group has reviewed over 200 campaigns, catching mistakes before they made it to the public, including misappropriation of the afro, VR and gaming imagery that over-indexed on men, and showing people with disabilities exclusively in wheelchairs. Our panel’s work has also resulted in many moments we’re proud of, including:

Illustration of a brick apartment building with a LGBTQ+ flag hanging from an open window.

Inclusion of black and brown stripes on the Pride flag for themed Pixel wallpapers. (2020)

A frame of the video Black Girl Magic showing a Black woman on a computer and a search bar on the image with the words "becoming an astronaut".

Inclusion of a strong STEM example in a compilation video celebrating Black women's contributions beyond entertainment. Google’s Brand Studio, “Black Girl Magic.” (2019)

A frame of the video How to Help showing two people wearing medical safety gear, and a search bar on the image with the words "how to help doctors".

Portrayal of Asian and Asian American people in key roles in a “how to help” themed COVID-19 film, to dispel negative stereotypes during a time of increased xenophobia. (2020)

A rollercoaster car going underneath a small bridge through miniature cityscape set in a conference hall.

A wheelchair accessible rollercoaster ride for the Google Assistant CES conference booth. (2019)

How it works

We ask teams to check in starting from the creative brief and at all stages throughout the creative process so that it's easier to make adjustments along the way and ensure inclusion is woven throughout the final product.

The panel is available twice a week to offer in-depth feedback on creative work:

  • We use a shared team email alias and Google Forms for submissions to make it easy to submit work and avoid burdening the group.
  • We standardize feedback, prioritize action items, and provide references to relevant guidelines and historical and cultural insights.
  • Feedback is sent from the group as a whole to help create a safe space for open sharing.

The group also holds weekly office hours for quick, lightweight feedback during early development.

Through their work on the panel, members hone their inclusive marketing skills and take that back to their respective teams. This helps build a culture of inclusive thinking throughout the organization. And, because of these contributions, we aim to ensure their work is recognized and celebrated by their managers, directors, and VPs.