Inclusive Marketing News #60: Disabled Villains, Stranger Things & Matcha Stains

Welcome back to our weekly recap of marketing news, including exciting social media updates, important disability and inclusion related news, and our favourite marketing campaigns.

In this week’s inclusive marketing news round up, we talk about the latest pop-up that Blank Street organised in New York, some new Instagram features, the Stranger Things immersive experience by Netflix and Virgin Media O2, and more.

If you want to be like some of these brands, and be known for your amazing inclusive work, or you want to start your inclusion journey, contact us today. You can also subscribe to our LinkedIn newsletter to be up-to-date with the latest news.

(1/6) Instagram Adds New App Icons For Teens

This might not seem like the most relevant news to you, but you’re also probably not the target audience for the latest Instagram update. The platform is incorporating six new custom app icons, to give younger users a way to personalise the platform in whichever way they want.

Was this an expected move from Instagram? Yes, and no. While it seems like a very minor and basic move, Instagram is the third most used social media platform among teens, so they might want to increase the numbers somehow. But we’ve also seen Snapchat do something similar with customisations, and we know how Instagram loves to jump on the bandwagon of almost all new updates from its competitors.

For brands, this might mean that your younger consumers will be more inclined to use the app versus other video platforms, but as always, make sure to do your research before launching anything!

Do you know where your customers spend their time and what they want to see from your brand? An insights project might be exactly what you need 📊

(2/6) Virgin Media O2 Creates Immersive Stranger Things Experience

The new season of Stranger Things is coming up and Virgin Media O2 knows how to make the most out of it. They’ve created eight pop-up experiences across the UK to celebrate the launch and give fans a taste of the show in real life. And of course, there are loads VMO2 customers can win, including tickets to an early screening of the season.

This is a fantastic example of a brand showing the benefits their customers can get apart from having a speedy broadband. It creates exclusiveness and eager to participate, which is perfect to gain customers and increase brand awareness.

And if the experience is accessible to everyone, whether they have a disability or not, that makes it ten times better, like the Virgin Media Gamepad at the O2.

(3/6) Horror Films Need New Monsters (and to stop making them Disabled)

At PG, we’ve often spoken about the problem with certain horror films and villains, as they are often portrayed as Disabled. From visible differences like Voldemort, Darth Vader or the Hunchback of Notre Dame, to Professor X in X-Men being a wheelchair user.

The Disabled villain trope is not only outdated, but also incredibly damaging and problematic.

In a recent article for The Guardian, Kathryn Bromwich talks about her experience growing up as a Disabled woman with mixed feelings watching all the classic horror films. She also highlighted the latest Frankenstein film by Guillermo del Toro, where Victor (who ends up being the real villain in the story) becomes increasingly Disabled, by having a prosthetic leg, facial scarring and even amputated fingers.

From brands to film franchises, everyone needs to change the way they talk and portray disability in small and big screens. And a good first step is getting the right people with lived experiences in the room, otherwise you will keep making the same mistakes over and over until you realise you won’t learn what’s right without involving the community.

(4/6) Instagram Introduces Watch History

The latest Instagram update is one that we’ve already seen on TikTok for a long time, where users can find the videos they’ve watched on the app.

Lots of users were probably looking for this, as there are times when you might forget to like or save the video, but you want to go back to it and there’s no way you can find it. Frustrating, I know.

Copycat or not, Instagram has listened to what users want and have introduced this new feature, which could be interesting for brands doing social campaigns on the app, as it might mean users watching the content more than once. What do you think about it?

(5/6) Trend Spotlight: Stop talking dirty to me

@stuffkarensays

Canceling meetings is my love language 💕 #corporate #worklife #workhumor #workjokes #taylorswift

♬ som original – Duda⸆⸉

Don’t worry, you don’t have to make any inappropriate content to be part of the latest trend. Simply, talk about something you absolutely love, like someone asking if they can cancel the meeting on Friday at 4pm.

(6/6) Campaign Spotlight: Blank Street

We loved Blank Street’s ‘errands’ campaign for autumn, and they’ve done it again with their most recent pop-up activation in New York, all about cleaning those nasty matcha stains.

The brand has been handing out matcha stain remover pens, while giving complimentary dry cleaning with drinks 🍵

It’s not just about matcha, Blank Street are really tapping into their customers’ lifestyles in a remarkable way.

Make sure to come back to check our weekly news recap with the latest inclusive updates in the marketing and social media worlds, with a touch of inclusion That’s all for this week, but don’t forget to follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram and TikTok for more news and exciting content.

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