It’s no secret that every advertising agency and video production company is after the next method or strategy to bring their videos and content to the top and leave a lasting impact on their viewers. But how can they accomplish this in an oversaturated market with short attention spans? Considering women make or influence 85% of all consumer purchases in the U.S., one way to win favor with this influential demographic is to portray them authentically and accurately–as diverse, human, and strong.

Thanks to the development of the Gender Equality Measure™ (or GEM™), video production agencies and advertisers can now identify and develop content that is free from gender bias in media and accurately portrays women. Developed by #SeeHer, the Association of National Advertisers’ global movement for gender equality in advertising and media, and The Female Quotient (TFQ) co-founder and CEO, Shelley Zalis, GEM™ launched in 2016 as a data-driven methodology to identify unconscious bias in advertising and programming.

GEM™ scores represent consumer reaction to how women are portrayed in advertising and programming based on their answers to the following four statements:

  1. I think highly of the way women are presented.
  2. Women are presented in a respectful manner.
  3. It is inappropriate how women are featured.
  4. Women are presented in a manner where they can be seen as good role models for other women and young girls.

GEM™ has become the industry standard for measuring consumer reactions to the portrayal of women in advertisements and is used by marketers, creative agencies and video production companies to refine their media strategies.

 

How GEM Has Made Advertisers More Self-Aware and Increased ROI in the Process

GEM™ hasn’t just helped advertisers and creative agencies remove unconscious bias from their work and make more realistic, relatable content – companies whose commercials had high GEM™ scores also saw an improved ROI. Additionally, brands found their advertisements with high GEM™ scores drove up purchase intent by 26% among all consumers and 45% among women – who make up over 70% of consumer spending – and increased their brand reputation by 11%.

Vodafone recently joined the #SeeHer movement and saw improvements almost immediately. Their Global Brand Director, Sara Martins de Oliveira, said:

“Vodafone is helping to build digital societies where the benefits of technology are available to everyone. Our adverts need to reflect that vision and the insight from GEM™ has made us more aware of new ways we can continue to improve portrayals of women in our advertising as well as improve our ROI.”

Gatorade joins the ranks of many socially-conscious brands utilizing the metric and seeing its rewards. Check one of our favorite videos below:

 

 

#MakeEqualityMoves: What Video Production Companies Can Do

The first things video production companies can do is to run their own content against the GEM™ system. GEM™’s methodology asks consumers to rank how much they agree or disagree with the following statements after viewing advertisements:

  1. I think highly of the way women are presented.
  2. Women are presented in a respectful manner.
  3. It is inappropriate how women are featured.
  4. Women are presented in a manner where they can be seen as good role models for other women and young girls.

At Ezra Productions, we’re always looking for ways to bring inclusivity to the screen while still delivering on brand’s expectations. For example, when producing branded content videos, we work to include women with different skin tones, shapes, sizes, and ages.

 

Find a Video Production Company Committed to Gender Equality

With so many video production agencies Los Angeles, it’s hard to choose one that can synthesize commercial viability with a great message. Marc Pritchard, Chief Brand Officer at P&G has the solution:

“Have diversity both in front of and behind the camera. Make sure there is equality in the creative supply chain of at least 50/50…Look at the data and start tracking to hold people accountable.”

As a woman-owned video production studio and creative agency, Ezra Productions is committed to creating equality on the screen and behind the scenes. Whether you’re looking for a production company in Los Angeles or are building your own global gender equality movement, we’re experts at creating engaging video that promotes your brand and social change. Contact us to learn more about our services as a commercial video production company.