They’re not my people: When inclusive marketing backfires

Abstract

Brands are under increasing pressure to champion customer diversity, equity, and inclusion, but do customers always appreciate such efforts? Drawing on identity literature, we investigate when customer diversity initiatives (CDIs) backfire and propose strategies to mitigate this. Our research reveals that CDIs targeting a dissociative group more permanently evokes higher levels of brand distancing behaviors among existing customers compared to temporary efforts. This effect is driven by identity signaling threat and perceived betrayal. Aligning the duration of CDI with customers’ relationship types can help mitigate these negative reactions for sincere brands. Moreover, a sub-brand or product customization strategy reduces customers’ identity signaling threat toward a dissociative CDI, whilst highlighting the brand’s pro-social goals partially mitigates threat perceptions for sincere brands. Our findings offer critical insights for managers on promoting diversity without alienating existing customers.