RevGen Summit Closing Keynote Speaker Sheereen Miller-Russell of Warner Bros. Discovery

As the media landscape evolves, so does the audience that fuels it. A massive influx of genre-specific channels offering bespoke programming have become the norm, and with it has come the seemingly Herculean effort for brands to be able to reach diverse and often overlooked audiences, particularly in the face of the ongoing streaming revolution. However, as we learned at a recent GDS RevGen Summit from Sheereen Miller-Russell, EVP of Ad Sales and Inclusive Content Partnerships & Strategy at Warner Bros. Discovery, capturing multicultural audiences can be done through strategic inclusive partnership solutions. And her expertise comes from spending decades successfully guiding major media brands through it all from the decline of print media to the advent of streaming.

In brief:

• Checking the pulse
• Inclusive partnerships
• Creating authentic opportunities in the face of changing behaviors (and platforms)
• In conclusion: the power of inclusion

Table of contents:

Checking the pulse

To lay the groundwork for the conversation ahead, we polled audience opinion and asked Sheereen for her reaction to the answers. The first question asked was how much our audience agreed that reaching diverse audiences is a key focus for their brand. 90% agreed with this, with a whopping 55% of them strongly agreeing – a statistic that not only didn’t surprise Mrs. Miller-Russell but, as she explained, also helps paint a bigger picture. “It’s clearly critical that we’re recognizing all the audiences. But we need to make sure that if a major brand wants to deliver within their portfolio one of their particular brands that has an over-concentration or over-index of, let’s say, Hispanic audience, how do we come up with all the networks and opportunities to reach those audiences?” The answer, she continued, can be found through rich and dynamic marketing in culturally relevant programming.

“It’s a sense of psychological safety when audiences are watching programs where they see themselves, so it’s important we represent them with accuracy and authenticity and continue that association.”
Sheereen Miller-Russell, EVP of Ad Sales and Inclusive Content Partnerships & Strategy at Warner Bros. Discovery

When done well, with thoughtful execution, the results speak for themselves. For example, as the CROWN Act started gaining traction as a law to prohibit discrimination based on hair style and texture, Miller-Russell and her team at the Oprah Winfrey Network sprang into action. “We aligned a Unilever product, Dove, and Dove’s Hair Care Act – which was all about the CROWN Act – with a great show we were doing with Tracee Ellis Ross [called The Hair Tales] that helped create a conversation. But ultimately, we believe that also led to purchase patterns changing. This allowed a brand like Unilever to be at the forefront of a not only credible but incredible space with audiences who are influential and who wanted to see this type of relatable storytelling.” And was made possible thanks to inclusive partnerships.

Host Sarah Tijou discusses the results of the first poll.

Our next poll really set the stage for Miller-Russell’s experiences and insights, asking what the biggest challenge was they faced in working to implement inclusive partnership solutions. Based on the selections provided, here are the results:

Audience poll: biggest challenges faced when working to implement inclusive partnership solutions.

Since the parity between the first three top selections was by no means surprising, Miller-Russell was able to summarize these statistics by keeping a keen eye on the response with 18%: Overcoming internal resistance or biases within the brand. “We’ve talked to brands and marketers, and they will tell us that they’re still trying to make sure that, internally, everyone understands the opportunity with inclusive partnerships. But there is a natural bias where we see ourselves and create opportunities generated by our own personal testimonies and experiences in life. So, if you have underrepresentation within the office or corporate leaders, that can oftentimes lead to resistance.”

The second poll provided parity, as well as a glimpse into the roadblocks stopping inclusive partnerships.

Inclusive partnerships, the credibility halo, and how to build them

If you are truly committed to reaching a diverse audience, let alone a marginalized audience, it’s clear you need to start internally. From there, however, the secret lies in strategic inclusive partnerships and through creating what Miller-Russell calls the “Credibility Halo.” Now, the term “Halo Effect” had been coined over a century ago by American psychologist Edward Thorndike and, in terms of marketing, was based on businesses associating with other successful brands; an approach that is intended to elicit positive, endearing, impactful thoughts and emotions of high quality, performance, and reputation. Miller-Russell’s “Credibility Halo” digs even deeper into not just the aforementioned partnerships but how credible they can be when trying to reach diverse audiences. And when it comes to building this Halo, as Mrs. Miller-Russell told our audience, a good place to start is with data. “We look at data such as a census, and then look at where we’re headed – and then what 2040 or 2050 looks like. From there, we need to demonstrate a clear linear path to making sure that the brands and partners we work with are able to create a connection. Audiences are more omni cultural than ever, and more and more people are identifying outside of just the standard ways we were used to. Therefore, we look to create for identity and representation that looks really different…so it’s critical to support the brand and be that partner. That’s who we wanted to be at Warner Brothers and who we set out to be at Warner Brothers Discovery. When a brand shows up, they can say that they know that there is some brand safety, and that we’re going to reach the core consumers and customers we’re targeting. They know that we’re going to do it in an environment that is vetted, makes sense, and is created by reflecting those audiences with accuracy and authenticity!”

Sheereen Miller-Russell and Sarah Tijou discuss how to build inclusive partnerships.

Looking ahead: creating authentic opportunities in the face of change

Between the changes in how audiences consume and the way consumers behave, predicting what’s to come and how to react seems like a rather daunting task. For Sheereen Miller-Russell, the best way to predict the future is to look at the not-so-distant past. “When we think about what the human demographics looked like in 2014-15, there’s been a major shift over a short time. The idea, then, is to help brands have the awareness of that shift and the need to have a direct conversation [with the consumer].”

A lot of it has to do with a variety of social and behavioral data, as Miller-Russell adds “when it comes to metrics for us, we rely on a lot of ethnographic studies and psychographic intelligence. When our content creators are creating a new series or a new release of content, there’s testing that’s done so that we have a sense of how well this is going to perform based on how our sample audiences perceived and received the content.” From there, it’s all about leveraging that information to begin building partnerships as Miller-Russell explains “we take this really rich intelligence and use it to make sure that, when we show up with anything we’re creating, it leverages our culture content to match up with a brand or product so that we convey a story thoughtfully.” But it isn’t always that simple, and there are times when the partnership simply won’t work out. Mrs. Miller-Russell admits, “I’ll be honest, there are some times when we’ve had to say no to brand partnerships and advertising because they’ve had a challenged past, culturally, or they are lacking cultural sensitivity and awareness.”

And, of course, there’s the challenge of navigating this while advertising and building partnerships in a streaming age that remains in flux. “When you go back to the history of television in the US and there were the three big broadcasters, CBS, ABC, and NBC, and advertising was as easy as targeting demographics on a network’s programming. Down the line, with the arrival of DVR which allowed viewers to fast forward through commercials, we had to get innovative with how we integrate brands thoughtfully and smartly into content. This time, streaming disrupted the model and forced us to be more thoughtful and creative with how we reach audiences. We really need to understand the data and insights we have on consumer behavior and how things are performing with which audiences – and how engaged they are,” says Miller-Russell, with a keen eye to the future.

Conclusion: The impact of inclusive content

While the financial impact of inclusive content is relatively easy to measure, its social impact is incalculable. Miller-Russell looks to the social unrest of 2020 as a prime example, explaining “it was a very pivotal year where folks recognized a lot of injustices, so we made a commitment to provide more inclusive content and storytelling to normalize the lives of folks who often aren’t seen in television.” Essentially, through strategic partnerships in inclusive content, the more representation and dynamic stories that are out there not only engaged with those folks but conveyed their cultural nuances – and perhaps changed the perspective of those who might not know about another culture.

No matter what, as Miller-Russell infers, “you want your storytelling to come from a place of authenticity, from a place of accuracy. You want to afford brand safety for your partners to be aligned with. Because, if it’s not being told from a view that is not relevant or is from the outside looking in, how can businesses ensure that their partnership solutions are inclusive and really do represent all of the audiences?”

Because, for marketers, brands, and networks alike, it’s not just about inclusivity. It’s credibility.

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