Unticking the box

The Unmistakables’ mission is help reach new audiences in order to deliver commercial returns by creating culturally nuanced programmes and campaigns that deliver both within and way beyond the mainstream.

At The Unmistakables we untick the box. Operating at the intersect of business strategy, marketing, and diversity and inclusion, we deliver what we call the 'difference dividend'. This is the bottom-line uplift that comes from increased commerce from previously underrepresented groups not being sold to; better conversations from audiences that were previously ignored; or cultural change that is at the heart of so many brands trying to establish their purpose in our increasingly 'woke' world.

The Unmistakables’ journey

When we started the company in 2018, there were two clear market dynamics at play: 1) brands struggling to reach often underrepresented communities with authenticity, and 2) agencyland failing to become any more diverse or accepting. We set out to address these structural problems.

Just three years later, the level of conversation and interest in diversity and inclusion has piqued: the Black Lives Matter movement has resurged and the global Covid pandemic continues to highlight the structural inequalities many people face in society.

Of course, it’s easy for businesses to talk a good game about 'building back better', but as a relatively new company we are in a brilliant position to be building by design rather than happenstance. To be (or become) a truly inclusive business means to start from the inside - challenging the thought that diversity is little more than a checklist of characteristics to tick off.

Inside out inclusion

We deliver inside out inclusion - embedding inclusive practices internally so that a company’s external image is authentically inclusive. This approach attracts and inspires a more diverse audience to be part of the organisation and to feel like it is one that they can belong to. We are doing this ourselves and are made up of consultants and directors who have experience in brands, communications, design and HR, and are able to belong in a collaborative space where their lived experiences are valued and welcomed.

We advise our partners to take diversity and inclusion out of silos in order to reap benefits right across their organisations - put simply, we make diversity everyone’s business. We’re lucky to be growing rapidly through our work with partners such as Unilever, Penguin Random House and the ECB - organisations that join us on the journey to build a more inclusive world.

Everyone has a 'diversity story'

In the current climate we need to 'untick the box' on ethnicity, sexuality, gender, age and disability by realising that diversity is a majority issue, not for individual minorities to solve alone. Focusing on protected characteristics is a starting point but we need to make further progress exploring and embedding more inclusive behaviours - we need fundamentally to see and respond to the world around us in a more equal way.

Often this comes from an individual’s 'diversity story' (I believe that everyone has one). Someone in their life who has been discriminated against because of an aspect of who they are; someone who has felt 'othered' at some point during their life. For many that isn’t their own story - it could be that of their child, their in-laws or their colleague. That’s often the starting point is to ask: Would that person thrive in your company, and would that person be positively celebrated in your campaigns?

If the answer is 'no' to one of those then give us a call.

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