Channel 4’s mandate is to champion diversity and inclusion, both on and off screen. It has made it its mission to drive the same standards in the ad industry.

In 2019, Channel 4 launched ‘Mirror on the Industry’, the UK’s most comprehensive longitudinal study of diversity in advertising, to accurately measure how much, and how well, diversity is portrayed in TV ads.

Versiti’s role was to provide core insights to underpin evidence gathering. How do you measure and assess ‘portrayals’ - beyond mere representation? What makes a person, a story line, a context or a connection with a brand feel authentic or tokenistic? What does social class look like in a non-stereotypical way? How do you avoid charges of ‘cultural appropriation’? How have societal expectations also changed over time?

Over the years, ‘Mirror on the Industry’ won multiple awards for tirelessly educating and empowering the industry with the facts and benchmarks to create meaningful progress in TV advertising.

Accolades

2023 I Mediatel Best Custom Media Research Project I WINNER

2022 I MRS Inclusive Research I FINALIST