Telling inclusive stories: Cross-cultural marketing lessons

Is your brand truly connecting or just speaking into the void?

Imagine launching a campaign that seems perfect on paper. It’s visually stunning, well-crafted, and carries a powerful message. But the moment it goes live, the response isn’t what you expected. Instead of engagement, there’s silence. Or worse, backlash.

This has happened to even the biggest brands. Pepsi’s infamous ad featuring Kendall Jenner was meant to celebrate unity but was criticized for trivializing activism. H&M once ran an ad featuring a Black child in a hoodie with the words “Coolest Monkey in the Jungle”, a phrase that was culturally insensitive in ways the brand failed to recognize.

These aren’t just PR mistakes. They’re failures in inclusive storytelling – missteps that stem from assuming, rather than understanding, diverse audiences.

But when done right, inclusive storytelling builds bridges, not barriers. It expands your reach, earns genuine trust, and makes your brand feel like it belongs. And not just in a market, but in a community.

So how can your brand ensure its stories resonate rather than alienate? Let’s explore what it takes to craft inclusive, culturally relevant narratives that truly connect.

The power of storytelling in a globalized world

Every culture has stories that define its identity: narratives passed down through generations, shaping beliefs, values, and traditions. A single story can bring people together or push them apart, depending on how it’s told.

When Airbnb launched its “Belong Anywhere” campaign, it didn’t just market vacation rentals; it tapped into the universal human desire for connection. Instead of showcasing glossy properties, it highlighted real travelers staying in homes around the world, forming unexpected friendships.

By contrast, when Dolce & Gabbana attempted to enter the Chinese market with an ad featuring a Chinese woman struggling to eat Italian food with chopsticks, it felt patronizing rather than inclusive. The backlash was swift, and the brand lost a significant portion of tis audience in China.

Both brands wanted to connect across cultures, but only one truly listened. Airbnb built its message from within the culture, showcasing real travelers forming real connections. Dolce & Gabbana, on the other hand, crafted a story about culture, not with it, reducing a rich, complex identity into a caricature.

Telling inclusive stories

1. Authenticity over tokenism

• Representation should feel genuine, not performative.
• Avoid using diversity as a marketing gimmick. Instead, weave it into your brand’s DNA.
• Don’t do this: Featuring diverse models for one campaign but reverting to non-diverse casting in all other brand visuals.
• Do this instead: Integrate diversity consistently across all brand touchpoint, from leadership teams to content creation.

2. Cultural awareness and sensitivity

• Respect traditions, customs, and language nuances.
• Be mindful of historical and social context to avoid misrepresentation.
• Example: Nike’s approach to Ramadan marketing goes beyond just acknowledging the holiday. It authentically features Muslim athletes and their real-life experiences during fasting and training.

3. Involve diverse perspectives

• Work with people from the cultures you’re representing (writers, designers, and consultants).
• Ensure that marketing isn’t created in an echo chamber.
• Don’t do this: A European team designing an ad targeted at an African audience without input from local voices.
• Do this instead: Hire local talent who understand the culture, humor, and values of the target audience.

4. Language matters

• Use inclusive language that resonates instead of alienating.
• Be aware of regional dialects and idioms – not everything translates literally.
• Example: In 2019, HSBC changed its tagline “The World’s Local Bank” to a more culturally adaptable slogan after realizing that “local” meant different things in different markets.

5. Recognizing and addressing biases

• Audit your marketing materials for unintended cultural bias.
• Challenge assumptions about who your “default” audience is.
• Example: Beauty brands that previously centered only fair-skinned models have started expanding their product ranges and marketing to be more inclusive. But, the key is doing so in a way that’s consistent, not trendy.

Lessons from brands that get it right

Some brands have mastered the art of inclusive storytelling. Not because they got lucky, but because they listened before they spoke.

Coca-Cola’s “Share a Coke” campaign: personalization, not assumption

When Coca-Cola launched its “Share a Coke” campaign, it didn’t just print random names on bottles. It localized the campaign for different cultures, ensuring names and references were meaningful in each region. In Australia, it featured common Australian names. In China, it used terms of endearment instead of first names, respecting local customs.

What Coca-Cola understood was that representation isn’t about making everyone feel the same; it’s about making people feel seen in a way that’s culturally relevant.

Netflix: localization over translation

Netflix doesn’t just dub content for different markets. It curates local stories that reflect specific cultures.

Instead of pushing American shows worldwide, it invests in local productions like Money Heist (Spain), Lupin (France), and Sacred Games (India). Each story is rooted in its home culture, yet resonates globally because of its universal themes of ambition, conflict, and transformation.

What’s the lesson? Localization is more than language – it’s cultural nuance.

Airbnb: real stories, real people

Rather than creating polished ads with actors, Airbnb built a brand narrative around real people sharing their real experiences. Their campaigns feature travelers and hosts telling their own stories, making the brand feel genuine and human.

The takeaway? The best brand stories aren’t created. They’re uncovered. Furthermore, the examples given here don’t just talk to diverse audiences, they co-create with them.

Avoiding cultural missteps in storytelling

Common pitfalls to avoid:

• Stereotyping & oversimplifying. Treating cultures as monoliths instead of diverse, nuanced communities.
• Ignoring local contexts. Using Americanized campaigns in non-Western markets without cultural adaptation.
• One-size-fits-all messaging. Assuming that what resonates in one region will work globally.
• Failing to engage local voices. Not consulting cultural experts, translators, or native creators before launching campaigns.

How to avoid these mistakes:

How to craft culturally inclusive brand stories

1. Start with research and listening

Spend time understanding the people you’re trying to reach. Read about their history, traditions, and cultural context. Follow voices from that community. Your audience should inform your story, not the other way around.

2. Involve local creators and storytellers

Work with writers, photographers, and marketers from the cultures you’re representing. their perspectives will add authenticity and nuance that an outsider can’t replicate.

3. Test and refine with community feedback

Before launching a campaign, test it with diverse audiences. What resonates? what feels off?

The goal isn’t to avoid criticism, it’s to learn from it.

4. Adapt without losing your brand’s core identity

Cultural inclusion doesn’t mean changing who you are, it means being aware of how you show up in different spaces. Maintain your brand’s voice, but adjust the lens through with you tell your story.

5. Make inclusivity a commitment, not a trend

Inclusive storytelling isn’t a one-off campaign. It’s a long-term strategy. Brands that integrate diversity into their hiring, leadership, and decision-making naturally reflect it in their marketing.

The future of storytelling is inclusive

We live in a world where people are no longer just consumers, they’re communities. And communities want to see themselves reflected, respected, and valued.

Every brand tells a story. But the best ones don’t just speak – they listen. Is your brand truly listening?

I’d love to hear from you. How are you weaving diverse voices into your brand’s story? Let’s continue this conversation. Drop a comment below or message me on LinkedIn.

Let’s craft stories that don’t just sell but connect.