Getty Images and Citi launch Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Imagery Initiative

NEW YORK, Oct. 21, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Getty Images, a world leader in visual communications, in partnership with Citi, the leading global bank, today announced the rollout of the Citi Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Imagery Toolkit that provides actionable resources and tools to advance Citi's goals for diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I). The first-of-its-kind initiative and partnership with Getty Images aims to provide Citi's global marketing teams with training around authentically showing underrepresented communities in visuals to accelerate inclusive change in their marketing and advertising campaigns on a global scale.

For more information, and to download the Citi Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Imagery Toolkit, visit https://custom.gettyimages.com/dei-toolkit/p/1

"At Citi, we firmly believe that when we educate our teams and agency partners to celebrate diversity, we collectively move culture forward – not just our corporate culture, but our broader society," said Nikki Darden, Head of Global Marketing Integration at Citi. "The data-backed, actionable guidance we've created with Getty Images was designed to give our colleagues the confidence to make inclusive and authentic visual choices, and we're hopeful that by further sharing it with marketers everywhere, we can create broader impact and drive toward authentic visual representation in advertising globally."

Leveraging Getty Images' proprietary data and consumer research platform, Visual GPS, the toolkit is designed to serve as a ready-to-use roadmap with actionable insights. It will be rolled out to members of the marketing and communications team at Citi across 10 markets starting in the US market this month, and it will be run alongside bespoke training for each market. Each toolkit iteration will be supported by regional data and insights around consumers, acknowledging both cultural and regional nuances and stereotypes.

The toolkit considers aspects of visual representation such as race and ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, body type and religion. By using the toolkit, marketers and creatives are guided on how to choose visuals that are diverse and inclusive. 

"Our goal from the start of this collaboration has been to ensure that Citi marketers, communicators and creatives feel confident and supported to make inclusive, authentic choices when it comes to the visuals they use and are also empowered to counter harmful stereotypes at the same time," said Tristen Norman, Director of Creative Insights for the Americas at Getty Images. "Authentic imagery which accurately represents the nuanced diversity of the world around us is not only something worth championing, but something consumers care about as well. Getty Images' 2021 Visual GPS survey found that two-thirds of consumers believe that it's important to them that the companies they buy from celebrate diversity of all kinds."

Getty Images and Citi will formally launch their toolkit on stage today during the final day of programming at Advertising Week New York, taking place at Hudson Yards, during a panel called 'Lessons in Authentic DE&I: Thoughtfully impacting branding and advertising, from the inside, out to demonstrate proactive support' scheduled for 2:30 p.m. EST. The panel will be moderated by Wilson Cruz, well-known actor and activist, and include:

• Nikki Darden, Head of Global Marketing Integration, DEI Brand Strategy, and Internal Brand Engagement, Citi
• Tristen Norman, Head of Creative Insights for the Americas, Getty Images
• Gwendolyn Pointer, Executive Vice President, GLAAD Media Institute
• Jamie Tredwell, Managing Director of Brand Partnerships, PRIDE Media

Data and insights from leading research agency Kantar were also utilized during the development of the Toolkit.

SOURCE press.gettyimages.com