Brands and marketers are under an almost constant barrage of challenges. This is the reality that chief marketing officers, chief financial officers, CEOs and other leaders have to deal with.

Welcome to the C-suite! Where each day brings a chance to tackle an ever changing business landscape and social fabric.

The List, the select group of advertising, marketing and media insiders assembled by Ad Age in partnership with Meta, introduced “The Modern CMO Playbook” in September with a wide-ranging look at the myriad issues top marketers are confronting today. Our recent article, “Navigating Creativity in an Age of Risk,” published on Oct. 30, took a deep dive into those challenges.

This month, we’re focusing on diversity, equity and inclusion.

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To address growing industry perceptions regarding the fiscal justification for DE&I initiatives, UM released its October 2022 “Future Impact” study. According to List member W. Joe DeMiero, U.S. CEO of IPG Mediabrands’ global media agency network, the study “correlates investment in DE&I with business outcomes. It’s a key piece of the puzzle to help CMOs convince CFOs and other stakeholders why these investments are essential.”

Among the key findings:

• Purchase intent more than doubles when socially conscious brands engage advertising media partners that share common values.

• When a brand embodies three core values—integrity, sustainability and equity—purchase intent rises by 75%.

• Brands that support sustainability and integrity values alongside media partnerships mirroring the same values provide the most efficient lift in purchase intent.

• Brands that score low on responsibility metrics cannot improve their performance simply by advertising on media partners with higher responsibility metrics; rather, brands must evolve their practices and commitment to social values to see increased results.

Read more on Ad Age.