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As I described last week, German online retailer Zalando only started paying attention to diversity in MarCom quite late. But then they really went wild. From dazzling online campaigns to activations at events, and from support for oppressed groups to special products.

2021: Activists of Optimism

In 2021, they launched the ‘Activists of Optimism’ campaign to celebrate people who inspire positivity. After a year of global lockdowns and restrictions, the campaign wanted to celebrate and spread optimism by simply making people laugh.

The campaign gave people a platform to express their feelings, embrace positivity and spread joy. It consisted of 22 videos of activists, all made as 15-second clips, which were then woven into a lively TV commercial. There are several LGBT people in the videos – including a drag queen whose wig falls off (although a drag queen is not necessarily LGBT!).

The campaign video is accompanied by a series of photos that represent positivity in their own unique way. On social media, 11 activists, including Dutch influencer Rianne Meijer and French dancer Salif Gueye, known for their optimistic content creation, brought the campaign to life.

The launch of the campaign was supported by a 360° marketing initiative – the ‘Festival Of Optimism‘, a series of events and pop-ups across Europe designed to inspire people to smile, dance and sing, culminating in a virtual celebration of togetherness on June 21, the longest day of the year.

2021: Live Loudly

It was a busy year, 2021! Live Loudly was set up for the Pride festivals in Milan, Barcelona, Paris and Berlin, also to make up for the damage from the year before.

2021: International Expansion – #MyCityMyStyle

Zalando celebrated the start of their ambitious expansion into new European countries: launching in Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia in early summer, in Croatia, Latvia and Estonia in late summer 2021 and in Hungary and Romania in 2022.

The launch in Slovenia was celebrated by combining street fashion with famous landmarks. Zalando paid tribute to local culture and tapped into local talent through the #MyCityMyStyle campaign. In the Slovenian clip we see international celebrities, including queer people.

2022: What’s in my bag?

In the 2022 series ‘What’s in my bag’, Zalando puts various artists in the spotlight. In episode 6 we see the queer artist, dancer, actor, photographer and screenwriter Lie Ning, who spontaneously gives us a glimpse into his bag.

2022: Make your own moment

The Fall Winter ’22 campaign empowered people to celebrate and promote their own personal fashion moments. They show that if and when you get together with the right people and share an activity you enjoy, sparks are bound to ensue. The campaign included a wide variety of people, including gender fluid people, people with body types that do not conform to the mainstream fashion norm, and seniors.

In 2021 and also last year, Zalando Marketing Services, a special division in the group, created a Pride campaign for the American brand GAP, respectively. ‘Story of Pride‘ and ‘Sharing Pride‘.

2022: Limitless Fashion

In summer 2022, Zalando launched an exclusive gender-neutral collection, designed by Danish designers Han Kjøbenhavn, Martin Asbjørn, Double A by Wood Wood and the Finnish Makia. The 32-piece capsule collection was brought to life with the 360° campaign ‘Limitless Fashion’.

This marketing campaign consisted of still images and a series of films that are simple but beautiful. The campaign consisted of images and films shot in Sweden that reflect on gender issues in the fashion world.

2023: size-inclusive shoes

Last year, Zalando launched a ‘size-inclusive shoe collection’ in collaboration with seven designer brands in sizes 35 to 46. The statement collection is available in all 25 European markets. The idea arose from a conversation with Helsinki Pride, of which Zalando has been a sponsor for several years. It led to the realization that many people in the queer community, such as trans women or drag queens, struggle to find shoes in their size, especially when it comes to statement shoes. The collection is an example of how Zalando wants to celebrate and represent the diversity of its customers. Other recent initiatives include the introduction of adapted fashion collections for people with disabilities, genderless fashion and the aim to increase the number of black-owned brands on Zalando. The collection is accompanied by a marketing campaign called Walk a Mile.

Numero Netherlands wrote: “In a world of green-washing and fabricated inclusivity promises, Zalando’s ‘Walk a Mile’ is a breath of fresh air.”

2023: Let me tell you about…

For last year’s Pride(s), four prominent representatives from the rainbow community were brought to the fore:

• Black curvy trans model Ceval Omar
• Andrea Benítez, a professional skateboarder, Olympian and content creator
• “MQBMBQ” (My Queer Blackness, My Black Queerness), a digital project that explores the different facets of black queer identity
• LGBT+ activist Juan Carlos

Photographer Vic Lentaigne: ‘We created this campaign with the community, and for the community – to show that there are countless ways to be yourself and be part of the LGBT+ family.’

Conclusion

Although the company is relatively young (2008), and truly a ‘sign of the times’, it took them a long time before they paid attention to the rainbow consumer. This started in 2018, even years after it became trendy (2015, the SCOTUS ruling in the US). However, the campaigns they have done since then are versatile, original and striking. This also includes casual LGBT diversity, which is always a bonus for me. They make it a point to create inclusive content together with their brand partners and work with charities. The downside was the late start, but Zalando scored an 8½.

Alfred Verhoeven is a marketer and is in the final phase of his PhD research Marketing the Rainbow.
He previously wrote for ILOVEGAY about Zalando goes from controversies to hidden stories, Spain has 6.8 billion reasons to love rainbow tourists, How Spain markets itself as rainbow destination, Everyone’s gay in Amsterdam, I Amsterdam, Gay Capital, The Ideal Traveler, Diversity & Language, Playing with Pronouns, Abercrombie & Fitch : The Rise & The Fall, Play the gayme: about SIMS and Candy Crush, Diversity in Toys, LEGO does the rainbow, Barbiemania, Bud Light and the 4 bln dollar woman, Dutch retailer HEMA loves everybody, Pronouns, About those rainbows, Alphabet soup, M&M’s and the lesbian invasion, Magnum and the lesbian wedding, Marketing the Rainbow: the process and all that came before it, Sport and (un)sportmanship,  Why you need a supplier diversity program, BeNeLux LGBTIQ+ Business Chamber (BGLBC), From B2C and B2B to B2G and G2G (oh, and G2C), The Men from Atlantis, The other kind of cruising, Booking.com, Home Deco, Haters and trolls: the ‘letter to the editor’ of the 21st century, 5 Bizarre LGBT Videos, TRANSparency, Transgender persons as a target group, Matchmaking, 5 videos that went viral, From Representation To Respect, Cultural sensitivities and social involvement in marketing, 4 reasons to practice diversity and The Rules of Market Segmentation.