Microsoft Advertising has launched the Marketing with Purpose Playbook and course, based on their deep dive into consumer research about the impact of purpose on building customer trust, and increasing brand performance and advertising results. 

It is designed to empower all types of marketers to start a 'Marketing with Purpose' journey with strategies, research, insights, and actionable tactics. By registering for the free course, you get to download additional checklists and resources based on a data-driven strategy.

I caught up with Microsoft Advertising’s irrepressible and insightful Head of Inclusive Marketing MJ DePalma to find out more about their journey, how to do inclusive marketing well and the course itself.

Afdhel Aziz: MJ, welcome. Please tell us a little about what you do at Microsoft.

MJ DePalma: I am Head of Inclusive Marketing at Microsoft Advertising, which means I seek to uncover the very best inclusive strategies, tactics, and insights to empower our advertising clients as well as all marketers at Microsoft Advertising to drive growth while making the world a better place.

But truthfully, from what I see in the data and countless examples from the last century of inclusive inventions, it is my ambition to empower everyone, not just marketers. And I believe these strategies can empower everyone. I’m talking about analysts, engineers, creatives, developers, researchers, scientists, educators, everyone.

There is straightforward evidence that an inclusive approach to brand or customer experiences produces better outcomes, so why wouldn’t it produce better outcomes no matter the relationship? Researcher to subject; developer to code; analyst to data; ad agency to client; teacher to student; company to employee; government to society and the list can be endless.

Aziz: I love that perspective and wholeheartedly agree. So, what makes you proud to work at Microsoft?

DePalma: The one thing that makes me so proud to work at Microsoft is the culture of collaboration that celebrates diverse knowledge and honors the learning that comes with a growth mindset. I love that we strive to have a collaborative learning culture because it supports my inner spirit of wanting to take risks, synthesize new knowledge, and push the envelope of excellence with the goal of empowering others.

It’s a learn-it-all culture rather than a know-it-all culture. This created room for me to dream big and led to the enablement of the advertising industry at the intersection of inclusion, empathy, and marketing with our current work, Marketing with Purpose. I am enormously proud to represent the very first role at Microsoft dedicated to Inclusive Marketing and defining what it means at Microsoft Advertising.

Aziz: Tell us more about this profound experience with inclusion, what was it, and how did it play a role in what you do today?

DePalma: I experienced inclusive leadership at Microsoft Advertising, which helped me produce the absolute best work of my life. At the time in 2017, I was trying to be who I thought I needed to be and look like to be successful in the corporate world, at Microsoft. Rik van der Kooi, Corporate Vice President of Microsoft Advertising addressed all his employees at an annual meeting with some welcoming remarks and then said, “no matter what gender, ethnicity, or sexual orientation you are, you belong here, and you have a role to play.”

In that moment I felt seen, understood, valued – that “this is a company for someone like me” moved me emotionally and intellectually. I felt connected and thought I found my home. Sexual orientation as a phrase was rarely said by leadership at that time, but it led to me not thinking I had to “cover” up my authentic self and shifted into feeling valued at work as my unique self.

Aziz: That is a profound moment indeed and one that I wish more companies would create for their employees. Please tell us a bit more about why the idea of inclusion in advertising is so important for brands to understand?

DePalma: Understanding how to apply inclusion in advertising is important because it shifts brand sentiment towards being a market leader and being trustworthy. Our study also revealed that inclusive advertising increases purchase intent by 23 points and inclusion done authentically in advertising produces two main feelings: joy and trust.

Digging deeper there are nine underlying feelings of inclusion: acceptance, contentment, celebration, zest, relaxation, acceptance, clarity, confidence, relief, and safety. When you couple this with Neuroscientist Antonio Demasio’s discovery that people cannot make decisions without emotion it’s important to understand how your products can authentically make people feel.

Since buying any product is a decision, then brands need to understand how to connect through feelings. Emotional connection is the necessary element for customers to arrive at a decision – To buy or not to buy, that is the question. Inclusive advertising can help unlock the consumer decision journey by applying these insights.

For example, how can a product ad or customer experience demonstrate acceptance, provide clarity, or bolster confidence? A simple product feature ad can get you consideration, but it’s the inclusive feelings advertising conveys that activates a person’s decisions to buy. This is just one reason inclusion in advertising is important. In our course and playbook we share other key.

Aziz: Great insights, thanks for sharing! Please tell us about the Marketing with Purpose Playbook you are rolling out?

DePalma: It’s out! And the playbook has become a course, which has been very well received by the advertising industry as well as the higher education community.  The course is the result of years of studying the effects of inclusion in business and how to build more trusted relationships with customers with the goal of teaching clear actionable steps to adopt. There’s also a scenario-based assessment at the end that allows the learner to earn a Marketing with Purpose badge, verified by Credly like this and it’s very shareworthy on LinkedIn like this.

Aziz: So, what are some of the most important things marketers should keep in mind in dealing with today’s diverse, multi-cultural audiences?

DePalma: One thing must be kept front and center - authenticity. It’s the number one brand attribute needed to build trust with customers. 85% of people will only consider a brand if they trust it and 67% of Ethnic Minorities are more trusting of brands that represent them in advertising. Often, I get asked, “how does a brand become more authentic?” Start with building with customers, which creates authenticity by design.

In other words, “nothing about us, without us”. If you’re designing advertising to appeal to a certain audience, why not try designing with that audience? Secondly, focus on your brand’s purpose. It guides a brand’s ability to be authentic. When your products and advertising align with your brand’s purpose and values, people will experience brand authenticity and that equals trust, brand love and loyalty.

Aziz: Finally, where can people go to for more insights?

DePalma: I post often to my LinkedIn about information and events related to inclusive marketing, purpose, and inclusive innovation, as well as to the Microsoft Advertising blog. Marketers can also catch my Marketing with Purpose keynote at CES (Consumer Electronics Show) and more at our Marketing with Purpose hub.