Better practice guide for including trans and gender diverse talent in your campaigns

Cisgender

Cis or cisgender is pronounced ‘sis-gender’. It refers to a person whose gender is the same as their sex recorded at birth.

Gender

Gender is part of a person’s personal and social identity. It refers to a way a person feels and sees themselves. It can be about differences in identity, expression and experience as a woman, man and/or gender diverse person.

Gender diverse

Gender diverse is an umbrella term for a range of different genders. There are many terms gender diverse people may use to describe themselves. Language in this area is dynamic and always changing, particularly among young people. Some examples include genderfluid, genderqueer, gender non-conforming, agender, bi-gender and non-binary.

Intersectionality

Intersectionality describes how different forms of inequality or privilege can combine and compound each other. This can include the inequality someone experiences relating to their gender, age, class, sexuality or race.

LGBTIQA+

LGBTIQA+ is an acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex, queer/questioning and asexual. The plus acknowledges that these identities are fluid and related identities which do not fit into the other labels. Please note that there are many variations on this acronym that are used across these communities. This one is inclusive and widely accepted and will be used in this document.

Non-binary

Non-binary is a term for people whose gender sits outside of the spectrum of man or woman or male and female. A person who is non-binary might feel like they have a mix of genders, or like they have no gender at all.

A person may identify solely as non-binary or relate to non-binary as an umbrella term. They might consider themselves as genderfluid, genderqueer, trans masculine, trans feminine, agender or bigender.

Queer

Queer is often an umbrella term for diverse genders or sexualities. Some people use queer to describe their own gender or sexuality, as an identity that does not correspond to heterosexual norms. For some people, especially older people, ‘queer’ has negative connotations, because in the past it was used as a discriminatory term.

Sex

Sex refers to a person’s biological sex characteristics. This includes their sex chromosomes, hormones and reproductive organs.

Trans or transgender

Transgender refers to someone whose gender does not exclusively align with their sex recorded at birth. Not all trans people will use this term to describe themselves.

Please note: Terminology does change, and there are terms you may have used in the past that are not safe or inclusive. This list is broadly approved terminology.

For other useful terminology, you can consult the Victorian Government LGBTIQA+ inclusive language guide.

What, or who, we see in a campaign reflects our community and our values. Because of this, it’s important that campaigns represent our rich diversity. This includes diversity of culture, ethnicity, sexuality, gender, and age. It shows people that they are seen, heard and valued.

Trans and gender diverse people make up an important part of our communities, however they are often excluded, misrepresented or portrayed negatively in the media. This can be because of:

• a lack of understanding and awareness of LGBTIQA+ communities
• discriminatory attitudes and behaviours.

When you include trans and gender diverse talent in your campaign, you can help combat this misrepresentation. It is a great way to show your brand’s authentic commitment to inclusion.

And the research says it makes great business sense too.

• Over 45 per cent of consumers under 34 say they are more likely to do repeat business with an LGBTQ+ friendly company according to a study by Google [1].
• Ads perceived as progressive are 47 per cent more likely to be effective in both the long and short term when it comes to campaign performance [2].
• LGBTQ+ ads, and progressive ads in general, are likely to outperform generic ads when it comes to brand recall and positive engagement from consumers [3].

Producing inclusive campaigns with diverse talent also means you are likely to attract diverse talent to your teams. Diverse teams lead to better campaigns, consumer insight and innovation.

This guide focuses on trans and gender diverse people, who often face significant challenges and discrimination even within broader LGBTIQA+ communities. The average Australian is exposed to many ads every day while outdoors, taking public transport, on social media, on Google and in their homes. It’s important that the ads they see accurately represent the intersectionality and diversity in our communities.

Why we created this guide

Victoria is a proud leader in celebrating and embracing our state’s diversity. Every Victorian, without exception, deserves to be safe, supported and equal. We can all work together to minimise the harm and stereotypes that trans and gender diverse people face in our community.

We wrote this guide in consultation with LGBTIQA+ organisations, networks and advocates in Victoria. It has been designed for use by people in both the public and private sectors, to impact change in a wide range of industries. This includes marketing, campaigns, and communications.

Resources like this guide will help us meet the objectives of Pride in our future: Victoria’s LGBTIQA+ strategy 2022-2032. The strategy is a roadmap to ensure all Victorians feel safe, have equal rights and live wholly and freely.

Why trans and gender diverse people?

LGBTIQA+ stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer/questioning, asexual, and others. It represents diverse communities, each with unique experiences, challenges, and needs.

While the term LGBTIQA+ brings these groups together, it is important to know that each community faces distinct issues and has different advocacy needs.

In this guide, we focus on trans and gender diverse people. This is because these communities often face significant challenges and discrimination in the media, and even within broader LGBTIQA+ communities. This is sometimes referred to as transphobia. Transgender women and feminine presenting people can also experience an intersection of transphobia, sexism and misogyny.

By highlighting the value of their inclusion in campaigns, we hope to acknowledge broader LGBTIQA+ communities’ importance and value.

Please note: The terms we use in this guide are from the LGBTIQA+ inclusive language guide. Trans and transgender are generally accepted, and interchangeable terms used in the community.

We use the term gender diverse to include people who are genderfluid, genderqueer, gender non-conforming, agender, bi-gender and non-binary. When you can, it is best to be specific.

How to use this guide

This guide can help you include and empower trans and gender diverse talent in every stage of your campaign, including:

• campaign development
• campaign production
• campaign in market

A checklist for both small and large campaigns is at Appendix 1 – Checklists.

Who is this guide for?

This guide is for you if you work in:

• marketing
• campaigns or advertising
• media
• media buying
• social media
• film and TV
• public relations and talent agencies
• communications
• community engagement
• government
• not-for-profit.

Trans and gender diverse people can be in any campaign

Trans and gender diverse people are part of our community and live rich and diverse lives.

There is still no official data on the exact number of trans and gender diverse people in Australia. But we know that the number of people who publicly identify as trans or gender diverse is increasing. Unfortunately, 3 out of 4 trans and gender diverse people have been treated unfairly because of their gender identity.

Like all of us, trans and gender diverse people work, have families, access essential services, buy products and contribute to life in our community. They can work in emergency services, healthcare, and customer service. They are teachers, accountants, lawyers, CEOs and many other professions.

This means we can include trans and gender diverse people in any campaign. We can show them taking public transport, spending time with their friends, playing sport and shopping online. This can profoundly impact the way we see trans and gender diverse people. It emphasises they are mainstream, valued and essential members of our community.

A note on intersectionality

Intersectionality can help us understand how common systems in our society either include or exclude people depending on their identity. For most people, it describes how they experience the world and the advantages or disadvantages they have. When you experience multiple disadvantages based on your identity, it can create compounding challenges in your life.

When we work with talent, and when speaking to our audience, we should recognise that not everyone in LGBTIQA+ communities are the same. When we do, it helps widen the reach of our campaign even further and demonstrates to the community that people are not just one ‘thing’. Each person has unique experiences, challenges, and needs.

For example, a trans person might also identify as being bisexual or have a disability. Trans women and feminine presenting people can experience intersections of transphobia, sexism and misogyny. Like cisgendered women, they can be seen as a direct threat to societies that put men and maleness at the centre. Trans and gender diverse people are also up to six times more likely to be autistic than cisgendered people [4].

An intersectional approach challenges the ideas and structures that create discrimination. Your campaign can do this by including trans and gender diverse people of different ages and backgrounds. You could make sure your campaign is accessible, so everyone has a way of engaging with it regardless of their abilities.

Footnotes

[1] https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/future-of-marketing/management-and-cult…

[2] https://digitalethos.net/the-importance-of-pride-month-in-marketing-how…

[3] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/339461111_LGBT_AD_FORMAT_EFFEC…

[4] https://theconversation.com/transgender-and-gender-diverse-people-up-to…

When you start developing your campaign:

• think about your message
• write an inclusive brief.

You may also want to consider:

• your team
• how to be an advocate
• co-designing with the community.

Think about your message

What is the message of your campaign? Is it a product, service or event that trans and gender diverse people would like to engage with?

To ensure your campaign authentically includes trans and gender diverse talent, it’s important that your message is one of genuine inclusion. It will also mean your message will be positively received by the community and have a greater impact.

Examples:

• All parents want their children to have the best start to life.
• Our fashion is for everyone.
• Everyone is welcome at our music festival.
• Enjoy faster travel into the city with our new regional train stations.

You should also think about how your brand is perceived by the wider community when it comes to diversity, inclusion and representation. You may receive negative feedback, so it is important to have a plan to address this when developing your campaign.

See Appendix 2 – Issues response template.

How to write an inclusive campaign brief

Be clear about your values, your desire to work with a like-minded agency and your commitment to working with diverse talent.

There are several ways you can do this:

• Be specific about the talent you are looking for: When we say we are looking for diverse talent, it’s hard for agencies to know what this means. It’s helpful to explain that you are open to talent that best fits the brief. This can be people with a culturally diverse background, people with a disability, LGBTIQA+ people and different ages and gender identities. Be specific.
• Ask for examples: You can ask the agency you are briefing to give examples of campaigns where they worked with a diverse talent pool. This can help you decide if they share your values. You can also explain that it will help their pitch in the tender process.
• Make it safe to disclose: Have a way that talent can disclose their gender identity without fear of risking the opportunity. It is important to say you are open to LGBTIQA+ talent. You can also use non-gendered language in your brief like ‘parent’, ‘partner’ or ‘child’.
• Be clear about your message: It should be clear why you are asking for trans and gender diverse talent to be included in your campaign.
• Show your values: Consider adding an LGBTIQA+ flag alongside your logo in your email signature, to demonstrate your brand’s values. You can also include your pronouns.

When you write your brief, it is also important to be clear about:

• how long your campaign will be live for
• what channels you will use
• how the person will be portrayed.

Some trans and gender diverse talent may decide not to be involved in a campaign. This could be because they have concerns for their safety or do not wish their gender identity to be public information. It is important you have their consent for this. Some trans and gender diverse people may also not want some parts of their bodies focused on, including their chest, groin, hands or feet. It is best to be clear about what the campaign will show.

You can also share who you are partnering with to deliver the campaign. This can help show that you have consulted with other organisations or communities, and that you are committed to the campaign’s values.

It also makes clear that you are working with trans and gender diverse talent in a professional capacity, as an actor or model. They should not feel like they need to speak on behalf of their community.

See Appendix 3 – Example brief.

Your team

How does your team reflect your audience?

The best inclusive campaigns are produced by a diverse team. You should consider including trans and gender diverse people in front of and behind the camera when you are creating your campaign.

Inclusion is not just important for casting your talent. You can help create a safe space through every stage of your campaign by building a diverse team that represents different perspectives and experiences. This will ultimately strengthen your campaign because it means you will truly reflect the experiences of the community

Your team can also build their capacity by investing in diversity and inclusion training, and allyship training. This is a great way to grow your team’s skills to create better, more inclusive campaigns.

Resources:

LGBTQIA+ Inclusion and Awareness Training - Transgender Victoria [3]

ACON Pride training [4]

The Equality Project [5]

Inclusive Workplaces – Minus18 [6]

Rainbow Tick [7]

Be an advocate

It is possible that casting trans and gender diverse talent in your campaign will be met with reluctance or negativity.

The decision makers in your organisation may believe that your campaign will receive public backlash. This is a real possibility, so it is important to address this directly.

• Address the risk. Show your decision makers how the risk will be managed in a way that preserves the integrity of your brand and keeps the talent safe. If you address the concerns before they are raised, it shows that you have considered all possibilities. Refer to the issues response template at Appendix 2.

Be prepared to advocate for the talent you have chosen to include. We have already mentioned some of the ways you can address concerns, like being clear about your message and demonstrating your organisation’s values. You can also:

• use data to back up your decision. Research shows that consumers are more likely to have a positive response to a brand’s decision to include LGBTIQA+ communities in their advertising. A small minority may not feel the same way, but they are not the audience that aligns with your brand’s values.
• focus on what is relatable: If you know what is important to your stakeholders, clients or audience then it will be easier to show the importance of including trans and gender diverse talent.
• tell a story: People respond to narrative, including decision makers. Explain how this campaign fits into the broader story of your organisation, your work and the impact you hope to have.

Resource:

LGBTQ Inclusion in Advertising & Media – GLAAD report [8]

Co-design

Co-design, or co-creation, is the gold standard when creating a successful campaign. Co-design can help you create a campaign that has a bigger impact on your audience. It brings together:

• professionals in the sector
• people with lived experience
• other subject matter experts.

If you want to co-design your campaign, it’s important to bring people in early. Some communities will need to develop trust in and a relationship with your organisation first. It can help to meet in informal settings, with food and open conversation. It can also help to have a third party facilitate these conversations, who have a connection to the community.

While co-design is one of the better ways to create a campaign, it is not always possible with time or budget. Try to incorporate elements of co-design into your campaign development in a way that fits your resources.

You could:

• speak to your Diversity & Inclusion team – if you have one in your workplace, it can be a helpful way to get input from experts who have worked with people of diverse backgrounds and experiences.
• test your approach – People of all professional backgrounds are eager to advocate for the visibility of trans and gender diverse people. They can often be a good sounding board for your campaign. They can give you advice based on their lived experience, or experience working with LGBTIQA+ communities.
• educate yourself – there is lots of information online and examples of best practice. Take the time to do your research.
  Resource: Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society [9].

However you engage with community or the sector, it’s important to pay people for their time and contribution. You also need to be honest about the scope of what they can influence – do not ask for feedback on your campaign if you can’t make any changes.

Finally, it’s important that your engagement with the community does not end after the co-design process. Be open to feedback at any stage of the campaign and prepare to adjust your approach based on that feedback.

A note on casting

When a trans and gender diverse actor or model is hired for a role, they can feel pressure to represent their community based on their own experience. But there are many different definitions of what it means to be trans and gender diverse and how people would like to represent themselves.

When casting for your campaign, you could:

• hire multiple LGBTIQA+ actors, or people who have intersectional identities. This can help show the diversity of our community in an authentic way.
• consider older actors. Often trans and gender diverse people in the media are younger, but older trans and gender diverse people exist too.
• include trans and gender diverse people in the ‘background’ of scenes. For example, you might include a trans DJ in a nightclub, or a non-binary nurse in a hospital. This is an important part of advocating for visibility.

Be aware that gender is fluid, identities are fluid, and the identity of the talent you are working with might change. If it does change, make sure they are still comfortable with how they are portrayed in the campaign.

Important note: There is a history in LGBTIQA+ communities of being represented in film and television by cis, heterosexual people. This can be offensive and excludes the talented trans and gender diverse people who are able to do those roles.

Transphobia is often rooted in the idea that trans people are pretending or tricking people. It is therefore important to hire talent who can represent their own identity authentically.

Resource: Unstereotype Alliance 3Ps framework [10]

Footnotes

[1] https://www.vic.gov.au/inclusive-language-guide

[2] https://www.stonewall.org.uk/list-lgbtq-terms

[3] https://www.tgv.org.au/training

[4] https://www.pridetraining.org.au/

[5] https://www.theequalityproject.org.au/

[6] https://www.minus18.org.au/workshops/workplace/

[7] https://rainbowhealthaustralia.org.au/rainbow-tick

[8] https://glaad.org/inclusion/

[9] https://www.latrobe.edu.au/arcshs/work

[10] https://www.unstereotypealliance.org/en/resources/research-and-tools/3p…

Working with talent during filming or photography

There are some questions you can ask talent during production, to ensure they feel comfortable and safe in their environment. You can ask:

• What are your pronouns?
• What do you need from us so that you feel safe and comfortable to do the work?
• Is there anything we should consider for your costume, setting, or script?
• Do you have any accessibility needs? For example, are you going to need seating between takes?

A simple way you can be a more inclusive team is to wear pronoun badges on set.

Avoiding stereotypes

When trans and gender diverse people appear in the media, they can sometimes be portrayed with stereotypes. There is no way to ‘act’ trans or gender diverse, and you cannot ‘know’ that someone is gender diverse or trans by looking at them. Stereotypes are often harmful and may limit the effectiveness of your campaign.

Stereotypes can be based on:

• appearances: Avoid assuming that all trans and gender diverse people look a certain way. If you can, it’s best to represent a diverse range of appearances to reflect the true diversity in the community.
• behaviours: Avoid portraying trans and gender diverse people as always being in conflict, struggle or activism. Trans and gender diverse people are not always at a Pride March. It can make a big impact to show them in various roles and contexts.
• stories: Focus on a wide range of stories beyond just the transition journey.
• relationships: Often trans and gender diverse people are shown as a lone person in the world. It is important to show trans and gender diverse people in families, friendship groups, faith and community gatherings and events and show them as someone who is a giver or a leader, not always as the receiver or service user.

This can be the strength of an inclusive campaign. The more natural and authentic the setting and script is, the better. There are also subtle ways to signal to the community that someone is trans and gender diverse that other people may not notice. For example, a visible scar on someone’s chest. This indicates when someone has had reconstructive chest surgery (commonly referred to as top surgery).

It may be powerful to include people who are less likely to ‘pass’ as being cisgendered to encourage their safety and acceptance in public spaces. Gender non-conforming people experience a lot of stigma because they do not appear as traditionally masculine or feminine.

For example, it could be powerful to show non-feminine presenting people or non-binary people as someone who has given birth and is a parent. This challenges both a stereotype of:

• trans and gender diverse people: We assume they don’t have families, give birth or access maternal child health services.
• stereotypes of motherhood: We think only feminine women can be mothers or give birth.

Casting a socially ‘acceptable’ person is also known as positive stereotyping. It can erase the experiences of people who do not fit this image.

Be authentic

During your campaign development, we suggested thinking about your message. Think about why including trans and gender diverse talent is important in delivering that message.

When a campaign includes diverse talent as a box-ticking exercise, it is obvious to both the audience and the talent involved. Your campaign is less likely to be successful and to resonate with the community.

When you are producing your campaign, there are many subtle ways you can acknowledge the community authentically:

• Colour: This can be a great way to show your solidarity in a less obvious way. You could use the colours of the trans, genderqueer or non-binary flags. This indicates that you are speaking to the community and including them in your audience.
• Normality: Often trans and gender diverse people are portrayed in a negative light. This could be showing them as depressed, isolated, as a joke, or even as the villain. By showing trans and gender diverse people leading happy, engaged lives, you are challenging this narrative. It can help others in the community feel seen.
• Gender-neutrality: A gender-neutral campaign is more inclusive. It means your campaign is likely to have wider reach and doesn’t make assumptions about the gender identity of the person who engages with your campaign. You can do this by using gender neutral words like ‘parent’, ‘partner’ or ‘child’ in a script, in alt text, and in audio descriptions. You can also make subtle reference to someone’s pronouns in casual conversation.

Remember, it does not have to be obvious that the talent in the campaign is trans or gender diverse. While visibility is important, subtle references also make a big impact. It is likely that people who are part of that community will pick up on those references, while other people may not notice. This helps make the campaign feel authentic and can protect the talent from backlash.

Consider telling real stories

When you are casting for your campaign, it is great to work with a talent agency to help you find the right people to tell your story. You might also consider casting real people to tell their own stories.

A story shared by a trans and gender diverse person, about their own lived experience, can resonate a lot more with the community than a fake scenario. If you find you are struggling to find the right cast, consider working with people in the community who want to be involved.

By focusing on human stories and personal experiences, you can encourage empathy and understanding from people. This can send a powerful message – trans and gender diverse people are part of our community, and always have been. Their stories deserve to be heard.

Contracts and consent

You should be clear to the talent in your campaign that their safety is important and explain how the content of the campaign will be used. Safety is individual – it is best to discuss with the individual what their safety concerns might be. This is especially important if you are working with ‘real’ people from the community.

For example, if someone from the community is sharing their story in your campaign, they may not want to be identifiable. They may want to choose how they are represented in the campaign, what clothes they wear or whether their face is shown.

If someone transitions after your campaign goes live, they might want to rescind their permission to use their image or name. Many people who transition change their name, and do not wish to be referred to by their old one. It’s important that your contract outlines a process for rescinding permission if needed.

The cultural and political landscape is always changing. Sometimes a trans and gender diverse person might no longer feel safe being in a campaign, or to be identifiable. You may want to review your organisation’s consent forms, so talent can ask to be removed from a campaign. This is important if you’re using the content for another campaign, product or platform.

You could also consider a sunset clause for image use. This means there is a set period that campaign materials (including images and videos) will be used by the organisation. This can help address concerns about ongoing use.

You can find more information about this at Campaign in market – Keep talent safe.

Clothing

The clothes that trans and gender diverse people wear, or are asked to wear in a campaign, can reinforce stereotypes. Someone in drag is not a trans person, and clothes should comfortably express and affirm the person’s identity.

Many trans masculine and non-binary people wear chest compression garments or binders. You may need to consider this for wardrobe and microphone placement.

There are also creative ways you can subtly acknowledge someone’s identity in their clothing or costume choices. If your campaign is in a healthcare setting, you could show staff wearing pronoun badges. If you have a larger cast, you could consider gender-neutral clothing for everyone.

Remember that darker skinned actors often require adjustments to lighting or makeup. Some religious people might have modesty requirements. The clothing worn by trans or gender diverse people is a personal consideration just like any other talent.

Important note

If your ad has a voiceover, make sure that the voice reflects the gender of the trans or gender diverse person. For example, if you are depicting a trans man, you might make sure the voiceover is a male one. This is also important to remember when working with non-binary actors. You may want to use the actor’s own voice to be authentic.

[1] https://www.transhub.org.au/passing

What if there is backlash?

When you launch your campaign, some people in the community may be uncomfortable or angry about the people you have chosen to include. These voices can be very loud, especially on social media, but often represent a minority view in the community.

There are different ways that you can choose to respond to these situations. Regardless of how you respond, it’s important to stay true to your brand’s values, commitment to diversity and confidence in your campaign. If you remove your campaign, it could even increase the amount of negative attention you, the campaign, and the talent receive.

If you stand firm in your values, your audience is likely to support your organisation and campaign even more. This means they are more likely to be loyal to and trust your brand.

Prepare your responses

One way you might choose to respond is to re-state your commitment to diversity. This should be supported by a strategic social media policy, so you know when to report a comment or response that is in breach of your guidelines. You can share your community guidelines with the whole project team, and on all your social media channels, so everyone is on the same page.

You can turn off or hide comments on social media, but you might consider replying in a public way. This can be an opportunity to reiterate your brand’s values, and to support the message of the campaign. The best way to respond is to:

• be direct: Let your audience know you are committed to inclusion. You can restate the purpose of your campaign.
• keep it simple: Less is more when it comes to replying to people on social media. Do not be tempted to respond to everyone or have a conversation. Let your values speak for itself.
• redirect: If you are not comfortable replying to offensive comments, consider replying to positive ones instead. This can be a subtle way to show your pride in your campaign.

You may also want to disable comments from the start of the campaign if comment engagement is not necessary to its success. Monitoring social media can take a toll on your team, so if you leave your comments on make sure they have support.

Keep talent safe

The political landscape is constantly changing, and the safety of trans and gender diverse people is often directly tied to this. You will need to be aware of this landscape as it might impact how your campaign is received. This should be done early, so talent know exactly who they can go to for support when the campaign is live.

If your organisation has free mental health support for employees, you could extend this to talent involved in your campaign. Even if they never use it, it signals to them that you care about their experience and safety beyond production.

Before you suggest a service, it is good practice to check that they have experience with LGBTIQA+ people.

You may also want to give your agency regular updates about when the campaign is scheduled to go live. If it’s a large campaign, it can help the talent mentally prepare themselves and their friends and family if they need.

Resource: eSafety Commissioner - How the Online Safety Act supports those most at risk

Media buying

The way your brand engages with LGBTIQA+ communities can take many forms throughout your campaign. One way you can engage the community in-market is with your media buying strategy.

You can research LGBTIQA+ Pride events in your area to partner with, or other festivals and celebrations from the community. If your campaign is in Australia, you can also reach out to:

• LGBTIQA+ radio stations like Joy 94.9
• Archer Magazine
• Out Magazine
• The Star Observer.

Future use of content

It is likely that your campaign will create lots of great content for your brand, and you may use some of that content in the future. Make sure you have approval from talent to use the content for other campaigns, or marketing materials associated with your brand.

This is important as the message or tone may change from the original campaign. It might not be appropriate to have a trans and gender diverse person be the face of the new materials. It could also expose the talent to another audience who might be hostile. This can happen when there is a rise in anti-trans and anti-LGBTIQA+ sentiment.

It is also important that talent are correctly identified and not misgendered in future content. This can sometimes happen and causes distress for people in the community. You should notify talent if the campaign is relaunched, so they have control over the use of their image.

A great way to be inclusive in the use of your content would be to allow talent to rescind permission to use their content if their identity changes. For example, someone who identified as non-binary at the time of the campaign might transition and not wish for the older content to be used.

Important dates

There are important dates and events in the LGBTIQA+ calendar. You can check these dates to see if they overlap with your campaign. It can be a great time to include trans and gender diverse talent.

It’s important to remember though, that this should not be the only reason you include LGBTIQA+ talent in your campaign. For example, during Pride Month many organisations and brands feature LGBTIQA+ communities.

This is called ‘pink-washing’. It refers to when companies only focus on LGBTIQA+ communities when there is profit to be made, or a direct benefit to their organisation. It is a less authentic way of engaging with the community.

A calendar of significant dates is at Appendix 5 - Calendar.

More resources

There are thousands of resources available online, to educate yourself and your team about trans and gender diverse people, and broader LGBTIQA+ communities.

We’ve put together some links to key Australian organisations and useful resources, which can help you in developing your campaign.

• Transgender Victoria
• Transcend: Resources for allies
• Gender Equality in Advertising & Communications Guidelines for Local Government
• ACON safety resources
• Australian Association of National Advertisers Code of Ethics
• Unstereotype Alliance
• Braving the Backlash: We are Social
• GLAAD Media Reference Guide
• The Trevor Project’s Guide to Being an Ally to Transgender and Nonbinary Youth

Small campaign

• Train your team: Consider investing time in diversity and inclusion and allyship training for your team – it makes for better campaigns.
• Address risk: Include risk management in your campaign development, so your decision-makers have confidence in the inclusive nature of the campaign.
• Think about your message: Will your message resonate with trans and gender diverse people? Inclusion of trans and gender diverse talent without purpose may seem performative.
• Gender-neutral language: This is a great way to model inclusion regardless of your campaign. This can be included in your brief and script.
• Real stories: Have you considered having real people in your campaign?
• Do your research: Know your audience and make sure the talent in your campaign reflects that audience.
• Create a social media strategy: Be prepared with how you are going to address negative responses to your campaign from the community. If you have a small team, make sure they know where to go for support if there is backlash.

Large campaign

• Train your team: Consider investing time in diversity and inclusion and allyship training for your team – it makes for better campaigns.
• Address risk: Include risk management in your campaign development, so your decision-makers have confidence in the inclusive nature of the campaign.
• Co-design or co-create: Have you consulted with experts yet? They can help ‘test’ your campaign to see if the message lands. You can also involve trans and gender diverse talent from the start, to guide your creative approach.
• Hire a diverse and intersectional cast: If you are working with a large cast, consider including more than one trans or gender diverse person for a more authentic representation of the community.
• Monitor social media: A larger campaign is likely to attract a different response from the community. In case of backlash, it is best to be prepared with approved responses, or to share your community guidelines on social media channels.
• Check the calendar: Can you align your campaign with an important time of celebration for the community? Or does your launch date coincide with a period of community mourning? Know what dates will work for your campaign and which ones you want to avoid.

See Appendix 5 - Calendar.

Social media monitoring

Outline how social media accounts will be moderated during business hours and after hours.

If your team can’t monitor social media after hours, you might consider turning your comments and engagement off.

Response table

The table below demonstrates level of incidents from general queries (0) to escalating issue (2) that requires a coordinated approach.

Talent support

Outline how talent will be supported should any issues arise. This may include extending workplace mental health resources.

Resource: eSafety Commissioner - How the Online Safety Act supports those most at risk

Our values

We value inclusion and hope to partner with a like-minded agency. We hope to reflect the diversity of our community in the talent who are part of this campaign. This includes people with a disability, with a culturally diverse background, LGBTIQA+ people and people of all ages and gender identities.

Background

What is the background of this campaign?

How do trans and gender diverse people fit within this context?

Do trans and gender diverse talent engage with your brand?

Have you partnered with any stakeholders to deliver this campaign?

Objective

What do we want our audience to do because of this campaign?

Task/key message

What is your message? Will it resonate with trans and gender diverse people?

Target audience

Who is your audience?

What are their cultural or religious backgrounds, ages, gender identities, or experiences like?

Do they know your brand is for them?

Desired customer perception

What should customers think and feel after seeing the campaign?

Will a diverse cast give people a better understanding of who your product or service is for?

Tone

Is the tone serious? Is it appropriate for a trans and gender diverse cast?

Casting

Consider asking for blind casting, which is casting without consideration of skin colour, body shape, sex or gender.

You might want to suggest queer talent agencies that can be contacted to source talent.

Australian queer talent agencies:

• Zebedee Talent
• Queer Agency
• Untold Fable

You also can purchase LGBTIQA+ stock images from organisations like The Gender Spectrum Collection.

Desired outcome

What is this campaign trying to achieve? Awareness? Behaviour change?

Campaign objectives

Be clear about how this campaign will benefit trans and gender diverse people.

Current state

What is the current state of the environment for trans and gender diverse people?

Are there any other social, political or cultural influences or competing campaigns in the market at the same time that could either enhance or contradict your campaign message?

Call to action and user journey

If the call-to-action leads people to a website, consider the user journey – does it lead to a relevant campaign webpage?

Does the target webpage offer content in multiple languages?

Audience segmentation

Who is the desired target audience? Does it include trans and gender diverse people?

Be as specific as possible: What is the total size of this audience? Where do they live? What languages do they speak? What are their interests? Where do they work or go to school?

Can they be reached with mainstream advertising, or is it better to engage community leaders and ambassadors?

Risks and issues

See Appendix 2 – Issues Response Template.

Research and evaluation

Do you have budget for campaign testing? Can you include people with lived experience?

Have you run this campaign previously? What were the results?

Can you explore different or unique marketing channels than you would normally use?

Tactics and touchpoints

Where does this audience engage with you? Instagram? TV? Outdoor advertising?

What other channels are you using to support your advertising? PR? A dedicated website? An app?

Think about your audience journey and what they will see at each touchpoint – this will enhance your message.

International

Australia