Vodafone helps to create technologies and innovations that improve healthcare, homes, community, commerce and the environment for all. But to make that happen, the company needs a workforce and leadership that reflects the diverse communities it serves. Vodafone’s ambition is that by 2025, 20% of its UK-based senior people will come from Black, Asian, or other diverse ethnicities, with 4% of those being Black. To get to this point, it needed to engage colleagues internally and raise awareness externally that it is an inclusive place to work.

To understand more, it ran focus groups with staff from its Black Professionals network and Multicultural Inclusion network. The insights from these formulated two messaging pillars of belonging (diverse talent wants to be seen and heard) and opportunity (diverse talent wants the opportunity to thrive in senior positions). These personas helped Vodafone and Pink Squid flex messaging for specific audiences, and understand which channels would work best.

The REACH campaign included hero visuals of diverse individuals within the Vodafone living speech mark, and headlines that called out ‘blanket’ statements on diversity and inclusion that audiences felt they heard too often. There were three phases: out-of-home ‘belonging’ stories; more informative LinkedIn and Google Display ads to raise more awareness; and re-targeting the audience with a more active call-to-action to apply. Recruiters and hiring managers received a toolkit and asset bank to use within their own communications. The campaign led to an increase internally in people declaring their ethnicity, while externally, candidates spent far longer on the landing page, reflecting much higher engagement.