Reimagining Media: Narratives on the Marginalized and Inclusivity in the Media and Consumption Industries

Theme 1: The Marginalized in Contemporary Indian Media

Social and cultural marginalizations of various types exist in all complex societies, including India; and with the advent of modern public life, many such enduring, yet historically changing, deeply ingrained marginalizations practiced in the subcontinent have been matters of significant discussion. The presence of constitutional and legal safeguards has not however amounted to such consciousness permeating into the social fabric, which continues to promote socially ingrained privileges, while keeping the conversation about discrimination and marginalization on the periphery. Many media industries remained overwhelmingly populated by privileged, educated social elites (Kureel 2021, Kumar 2009) and popular cinema narratives remained aligned to privileged social groups, with few tokenistic representations of lower social groups. The Mandal agitations of early 1990s and the immediately preceding militant anti-caste movements compelled representational space to lower caste and class groups, their realities and specificities. Simultaneously, this is also the moment when Dalit literature burst onto the Indian literary scene as an unavoidable force to reckon with. It is in the longue-durée context of this gradual emergence of representation of caste, gender and the marginalized in Indian public life that we want to situate our discussion of the politics of representation in contemporary Indian media: including in cinema, broadcast media, print and digital journalism, digital content and social media platforms. We especially want to delve into the use of the contemporary mediascape by socially marginalized groups for self-assertion and representation.

Topics (but not limited to):

• Contemporary Media Representation: Portrayals of the Marginalized in News, Entertainment, and Popular Culture;
• The Marginalized in the Digital Spaces: Online Platforms and Social Media Networks;
• Marginalized Groups and Journalism: Study of Caste-based Biases etc. and Reporting in Indian Media;
• Social Media Activism: Assessment of Social Media's Role in Mobilizing Anti-caste Movements etc. and Raising Awareness;
• The Marginalized, Media, and Policy: Evaluation of Policies Addressing caste-related and other issues in the media sector;
• Intersectionality, Class and Caste: Analysis of how these intersect with other identity markers in media representations;
• Marginalization and Hate: Examination of dogwhistling, hate speech and cyberbullying on Social Media;
• Media Initiatives for Social Change: Case studies of media projects promoting inclusivity and social equality.

Theme 2: Inclusivity in Brand Ecosystems: Structural and Marketplace Influences, Representational Narratives, and New-age Brand Philosophies

The integration of social awareness has emerged as a pivotal guiding principle for contemporary marketing strategies and this has led practitioners to shift their branding strategies towards content and communication that cater to varied sub-cultures and socially disadvantaged consumer groups. Despite this, many societal groups remain stereotyped, misportrayed and under-represented, with invasive and harmful imagery continuing to surface in the world of brand communication, media and branded content. Presently, there is a growing body of case studies and anecdotal evidence that show that inclusive marketing practices have a discernible impact across various dimensions of marketing (Thompson 2021). Many scholars specializing in marketing, such as Licsandru and Cui (2018) and Kuppelwieser and Klaus (2020), further developed and enhanced the theoretical framework underlying this notion. Despite extensive global research conducted in various areas such as inclusive marketing, there remains a notable dearth of comprehensive research in the field of inclusive branding and communication within mainstream marketing theory. We would like to enhance the field’s research potentials through the exploration of connections between existing research-based studies on inclusive brand communication and the development of research frameworks which aim at broadening the scope of inclusive brand communication as a practical domain. The track will focus on understanding the role of inclusivity’s contribution to social progress and brand growth, and its influence in shaping effective brand communication.

Topics (but not limited to):

• Exploring the internal and external motivation of brands to leverage inclusive marketing and communication;
• Effectiveness and efficiency of media platform to communicate inclusivity and consumers perception of the same;
• Inclusivity in Corporate Communications, employee relations and stakeholder relationships;
• Role of inclusive marketing communication in Advocacy and Internal Communication stakeholder management etc.;
• Marginalized groups in social and cultural space, Advertising, and Marketing: Exploration of marginalized-centric marketing strategies and their effects on consumers;
• Marginalized, Labour and Media Industry: The stratifications of Marginalized, class, linguistic, regions and caste in the labour hierarchy of various Indian media;
• Factors driving the effectiveness of inclusive advertising campaigns, DEI (Diversity, equity, and inclusion) in the media agencies;
• Role of AI (artificial intelligence) as enabling or hindering advertising inclusivity;
• Discussing the power dynamics between communication industry, government, politics, and consumer activists in promoting, negotiating, or resisting diversity and inclusivity movements.