R. Hernandez is a postdoctoral fellow, Department of Communication, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri; ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4919-5753.
K. Hoffmann-Longtin is assistant professor of communication studies, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, and assistant dean, Office of Faculty Affairs, Professional Development, and Diversity, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana; ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5625-3977.
Acad Med. 2020 Dec;95(12):1807-1810. doi: 10.1097/ACM.0000000000003503.
An institution's marketing materials are an important part of presenting its culture. In 2018, communication professionals in the Office of Faculty Affairs, Professional Development, and Diversity at the Indiana University School of Medicine recognized after reviewing the literature that using images illustrating diversity in marketing materials may have unintended negative consequences and could potentially reflect poorly on the institution. Representations of diversity that are discordant with the actual demographics of an institution can create distrust among faculty, students, and staff who discover an institution is not as diverse or supportive of diversity as their marketing materials suggest. If institutions adopt an aspirational approach to images and depict more diversity than actual demographics reflect, the authors of this Perspective recommend that they both develop marketing materials that present a widely diverse selection of images and demonstrate transparency in their communication strategies.To improve their promotional materials, the authors conducted an analysis of their institution's strategy for selecting images for these materials, identified institutional goals related to the strategic use of images, created training materials for staff, and drafted a public-facing statement about diversity in images. These measures are a significant step forward in cultivating the ethical use of images illustrating diversity. In the future, institutions should highlight their approaches to using images to portray diversity, as well as photograph and document a wide range of events that represent diverse topics and individuals. When these images are used for marketing purposes, it is also important to ensure that they are used in an appropriate context and not selected with the single goal of presenting diversity. Future research should focus on how underrepresented students and faculty interpret the use of diverse images in marketing, as well as their preferences for the use of their own images in marketing materials portraying diversity.
机构的营销材料是展示其文化的重要组成部分。2018 年，印第安纳大学医学院教员事务、专业发展和多样性办公室的传播专业人员在回顾文献后认识到，在营销材料中使用说明多样性的图像可能会产生意想不到的负面后果，并可能对机构产生负面影响。与机构实际人口统计数据不一致的多样性表示可能会在教师、学生和员工中造成不信任，因为他们发现机构的多样性或对多样性的支持程度不如其营销材料所表明的那样。如果机构采用有抱负的图像方法，并描绘出比实际人口统计数据反映出更多的多样性，那么本文的作者建议他们都开发出展示广泛多样的图像选择的营销材料，并在沟通策略中表现出透明度。为了改进他们的宣传材料，作者对机构选择这些材料图像的策略进行了分析，确定了与图像战略使用相关的机构目标，为员工制作了培训材料，并起草了一份关于图像多样性的面向公众的声明。这些措施是在培养道德使用说明多样性的图像方面向前迈出的重要一步。未来，机构应强调他们使用图像来描绘多样性的方法，以及拍摄和记录代表不同主题和个人的各种事件。当这些图像用于营销目的时，还必须确保它们在适当的上下文中使用，而不是仅选择它们来展示多样性。未来的研究应侧重于代表性不足的学生和教师如何解释营销中使用多样化的图像，以及他们对在描绘多样性的营销材料中使用自己图像的偏好。
