Recognizing Bias in Advertising: Steps to Reconciling Bias With Strategic Planning

Lately, our society has engaged in much more discussion about the need to recognize bias in ourselves and our culture in how we interact with and represent others. As a primary means of mass communication, advertising has a special role to play in this concern. I want to note, though, that examination of these representations is not an end-result conversation for the industry at large. Rather, recognizing bias in advertising needs the same attention at a personal level, as well as applying it to research and data collection. We have and need to face implicit bias in ourselves and others. Let’s consider why and how to do so within our field and work.

1. The Impact of Advertising Industry Bias
2. Incorporating Bias Awareness in Research and Planning
3. Get Expert Help Recognizing Bias in Advertising

The Impact of Advertising Industry Bias

A recent study by Andrew Tenzer and Ian Murray of Trinity Mirror Solutions has prompted renewed consideration of bias in advertising. In “Why We Shouldn’t Trust Our Gut Instinct,” Tenzer describes his team’s comparison of predominant values and attitudes held by individuals working in advertising with those of middle-income UK residents. The study uncovered “fundamental psychological and behavioural differences” between the populations. These differences are so great, Tenzer warned, unconscious bias could result on the part of an entire profession against the mainstream. They would be selling to—but not relating with—their audience.

Understanding implicit bias

The study consisted of more than 2,400 survey respondents from that “average citizen” population and 150 interviews with media agency employees. Primary trends from those efforts indicated age as a major contributor of unconscious bias. This was evidenced by the fact that 18-40 year-olds comprise 35% of the UK population but more than 80% of the advertising industry workforce, along with similar differences in education level. These lead to definite consequences on many ideological, value, activity and interest planes, Tenzer argues, and are so ingrained as to feel natural. “Cognitive biases,” he writes, “lead us to see the world in different ways.”

This has sparked much discussion within the ad industry about who makes up our workforce and how that population differs from the “average” consumer. It is important to note, though, that this is not just about groupthink and collective (unconscious) bias. It’s also an issue of implicit bias on the individual level.

Overcoming bias through personal reflection

Everyone has implicit bias. Everyone is situated within their surroundings by how they were raised, what they look like, where they live, and innumerable other existential elements. Recognizing that is the first step: analyze one’s own self within the world. For instance: I am female. I am white. I am heterosexual. I am a parent. I have a doctorate. These and any number of other objective elements inherently color my experiences and perspective. They aren’t the same as many others’ and are surely disparate from those of many people the research projects I design will ultimately reach.

Incorporating Bias Awareness in Research and Planning

Look to intersectional feminist theory for an example of such recognition in play: a white woman will have different experiences in the world than a man due to her gender. However, she benefits from some cultural advantages that are not afforded a woman of color. Similarly, an abled person may not be cognizant of the added cultural biases those with disabilities face. Ethnicity, sexual orientation, and other identity elements provide overlapping and divergent ways to experience the world and discrimination. Recognition of such multifaceted experiences widens and illuminates one’s own personal place in and view of surrounding culture.

As Verna Myers phrases it, one’s brain provides a “limited story” through which to interpret surroundings. This is a barrier, but one we can all overcome. The next step in addressing bias is to know what your limited story is and then push further to recognize other lived realities.

Navigating bias in research and data collection

For those in strategy and planning, consider your limited story’s impact on research. Interviewer bias and other effects of unconscious bias have long been addressed in qualitative research. Many methodologies prompt researchers to recognize and acknowledge their own situation within a study. As described by Margaret Wetherell in Discourse Theory and Practice, “[T]he process of analysis is always interpretive, always contingent, always a version or a reading from some theoretical, epistemological, or ethical standpoint.” Being conscious about the status of the researcher as situated assists not only those designing and carrying out the study. It also aids those interpreting the study’s results and translating them into strategic messaging.

So how can we continue to put bias recognition into play? Talking to consumers or target audience members is not enough. Make sure to remember that your inherent bias could also influence that discussion—what questions are we and aren’t we asking? What references and language are we using, and are they the most appropriate choices for the audience? Overcoming bias is not just about recognition, but also reconciliation. This is an essential next step to include in both quantitative and qualitative studies. Bias on the front end of design biases data collected and then analyzed. Data is human.

In summarizing the importance of his study, Tenzer explains: “Our argument is that these biases and traits are manifest in the day-to-day practice of advertising and its outputs. Crucially, this all takes place at an unconscious level. The industry is not out to underserve the modern mainstream. In fact, we are blissfully unaware that we are projecting our mental model of the world onto others.”

Advocating for ethical practices in research design and analytics

Unrecognized and unreconciled biases in advertising and communication at large have the potential to impact significant cultural issues. These include the technology divide, generational understanding gaps, and socioeconomic disenfranchisement. These biases may contribute to various intercultural disparities and discriminations within society. This ought to remind us of the ethical concerns underlying advertising and marketing. We are speaking not only to, but often for others. Look for ethical concerns in research design and analysis. When anyone speaks—regardless of whether they are part of the populations being studied—they are “participating in the creation and reproduction of discourses through which…selves are constituted” (Alcoff, 485-6).

GEt Expert Help REcognizing Bias in Advertising

Strategic planning isn’t value free. It requires paying attention to yourself and your potential impact upon research, recommendations, and messaging. To sum up, there are three seemingly simple steps to start recognizing bias in advertising. They are realizing your own parameters, pushing past them to consider those of others, and incorporating the considerations into your research and planning. More work remains to be done, and this process continues to evolve. However, the initial efforts to broaden your perspective yield benefits beyond improved communication—they also expand the world itself.

If you need help with your strategic planning, give us a call. With in-depth market research following ethical practices, our team can help identify the unrecognized and unreconciled biases in your current plan.