Avoiding unconscious bias in marketing

By Josh Smith

A bias is like a shortcut. It allows us to make preferential decisions based on lived experience. This isn’t just a nifty trick, it’s imperative to our survival. Without biases, the sheer volume of stimuli and choices in life would quickly overwhelm and leave us in cognitive paralysis.

But there is a catch.

A bias is the result of deeply ingrained subjectivity. This means that whenever we’re presented with a choice, conscious or not, we’re making a choice that is not representative of others.

Conscious vs unconscious

A conscious bias, or an explicit bias, is when we act on a belief that we’re conscious of. We know we hold the belief, and we’re making a choice based on it.

An unconscious bias, or an implicit bias, is a decision we’re making without thought. At that moment, we’re unaware of the role of our belief, but a choice is being made anyway. As marketers, this is where new practices can have the greatest impact.

Why this is important

Biases can only ever perpetuate existing preferences and ideals. Either we’re making a conscious choice to continue an ingrained belief, or we’re using shortcuts to make decisions in the best interest of our own preservation. In other words, biases maintain the status quo. It’s in challenging them that we can create positive change.

Why unconscious bias matters for marketers

Marketers make decisions all the time. And, because of the public nature of the work, these often unconscious choices reach thousands, if not millions, of people. This can lead to unintended consequences, such as products being unnecessarily gendered or depicting the elderly as tech-averse.

Common biases to be aware of

There are around 150 known biases. The following are just a few examples that have direct relevance to marketing.

Sampling bias (using unrepresentative samples for market research and reach)
Confirmation bias (favouring new information that aligns with held beliefs)
Conformity bias (following popular consensus)
Availability bias (weighting importance based on how easily examples come to mind)
Recency bias (placing greater importance on recent events)
Stereotype bias (making associations based on race, gender, social status and other characteristics).

Any one of these examples can further reinforce negative stereotypes and leave whole parts of society feeling underrepresented, misrepresented and taken advantage of.

The evolving role of AI

Marketers are facing increasing pressure to adopt AI in their practices. But, rather than solving issues relating to bias, AI is perpetuating them. LLMs are trained on online data, and as such are a reflection of our biases. AI tools carry no values when generating responses, as they have no capability to think or reason. They simply follow algorithms that, in themselves, have biases built into them. It is therefore critical to consider, when using AI in research or content creation, the acceleration in the perpetuation of bias.

Practical mitigation strategies

The good news is that there are some practices that you can incorporate to minimise the impact of your biases. This positive action, known as ‘conscious awareness’, is when teams establish practices to recognise their biases and take steps to navigate them.

Many of these strategies have been adopted from universal and inclusive design principles, such as those adopted by Microsoft. The adoption of these practices not only reduces the impact of biases but also creates business benefits as a result of societal feelings of greater and more accurate representation. Some examples include:

Involving community and cultural experts in research, planning and content review
Employing diverse teams to spot biases that homogenous teams miss
Using real data and research to validate thinking, mitigate subjectivity and ensure we’re not unintentionally excluding potentially valuable cohorts
Practising self-awareness by developing your ‘conscious awareness’ to acknowledge biases, to build a ‘conscious will’
Establishing frameworks to ensure teams and individuals have training, guidelines and checklists to follow
Practising inclusivity year-round by moving beyond calendar-based efforts (e.g. only speaking to the LGBTIQA+ community during Pride Month)
Being aware of the biases embedded within AI, and using the above to evaluate its use in your work.

By being aware of unconscious bias, you can turn a social challenge into a strategic advantage. While bias can negatively impact society, actively addressing it helps you stand out as a brand that champions inclusivity. Taking a few thoughtful steps can help you build a stronger community around your brand – one that feels genuinely represented by your content and could become your most powerful source of growth.

Josh Smith is the UX director at Luminary.