The Effectiveness of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Communication on Consumer Engagement on Instagram: A Case Study of the Cosmetic Brand MNML; Haus
Keywords:
Consumer Engagement, Instagram Content Marketing, DEI Communication, Social Media Advertising, Thai Cosmetic IndustryAbstract
This applied experimental study aims to examine the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) communication strategies employed by leading cosmetic brands, namely Fenty Beauty and BLP Beauty, and to compare the effectiveness of DEI communication in influencing consumer engagement on the Instagram platform of MNML; Haus. The study integrates a content marketing framework, particularly a product-centric strategy emphasizing product demonstrations on real skin, with DEI principles to develop three static advertising creatives: Inclusive Representation, Gender Diversity, and Racial Diversity. The target audience was defined through Meta Ads Manager as consumers aged 20–34 years residing in Bangkok who are interested in cosmetics and beauty products. The campaigns were conducted over a 30-day period and evaluated using key performance indicators, including Reach, Engagement Rate (ER), and Cost per Result (CPR). The findings reveal that the Inclusive Representation creative, which incorporated multiple DEI dimensions, achieved the highest effectiveness, with an Engagement Rate of 0.95%, representing a 41.79% increase above the industry benchmark (0.67%), as well as the lowest CPR. The Gender Diversity creative generated the highest Reach (19,672), whereas the Racial Diversity creative demonstrated the lowest performance, with an ER of 0.52% and the highest CPR. The results suggest that multidimensional DEI communication is more effective than single-dimensional approaches, which remain constrained by cultural context. Therefore, Thai cosmetic brands should integrate DEI communication with product-centric content marketing strategies and tailor their communication to the cultural context and target audience in order to foster sustainable consumer engagement.
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