AICP’s Demographic Reporting Initiative Expands Categories to Reflect Client and Agency Requests

AICP has announced that an updated template for its Demographic Reporting Initiative is now available. Originally launched in October of 2021, the Demographic Reporting Initiative allows production companies to provide their advertiser and agency clients with insight into the demographic makeup of the people on the crews of their commercials and brand content. 

As with version 1.0, the 2.0 iteration was prepared in cooperation with a consortium of industry payroll companies. This updated version of the Demographic Reporting initiative has greatly expanded the listing of gender identity categories, and added the ability for production staff to include their veteran status in the U.S. Armed Forces. These reports will provide AICP member production companies with anonymous and voluntarily provided breakdowns on these demographic categories, which can in turn be shared with agencies and advertisers upon request. More information on the Demographic Reporting Initiative can be found on the AICP website here.

The updated Demographic Reporting Initiative framework was revised as a result of a continued push from marketers for this information, noted Sheila R. Brown, AICP’s Vice President, Equity & Inclusion. “The demand for demographic information from marketers directly and their advertising agencies continues to grow,” Sheila noted. “As our communities become more diverse, the yearning to know the make-up of the production crews increases. And in our continuing goal to be more inclusive, we also wanted to offer our production crews more options to self-identify. The addition of more gender identity options, and the option to indicate whether an individual is a veteran or not, provides more of the desired details.” 

Regarding gender identity, the updated initiative reporting format has been expanded from female, male and non-binary to include gender classifications such as pangender, transgender, gender fluid and gender neutral. 

As noted when the Demographic Reporting Initiative was first rolled out, AICP member companies were informed that this effort was legally vetted and standardised, resulting in an effective methodology for reporting employment demographic data. It should be noted that filling out the report should not be perceived by employees as a condition of employment. AICP is not privy to any of the data that comes out of the reporting efforts, and aggregated data will only be issued by the payroll companies to their clients, which are the employer production companies, upon request. 

Among the companies facilitating the reporting structure for the initiative are CAPS, Cast & Crew; Entertainment Partners; Extreme Reach; Nashville Talent Partners; Payday; Revolution; The TEAM Companies; and Wrapbook. 

One key aspect of the Reporting Initiative is how it addresses the unique needs of, and restrictions relating to, small employers versus large employers. The distinction is important, Brown notes, in that demographic reporting rules for both are essentially direct opposites: the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC) requires companies with over 100 employees to provide workforce data, including demographic breakdowns of employees, while employers with fewer than 100 employees are barred from collecting this information unless it is voluntarily proffered. 

Hence, as the original AICP member memo launching the Initiative pointed out, “It is paramount that reporting on Production Company employees is done in a manner that is truly the option of the employee, blind to you as an employer, aggregated prior to reporting, and delivered in a fashion that is opaque regarding the individuals that opted to self-identify.”

The development and creation of the Demographic Reporting Initiative has been led by AICP’s E&I Committee. Its full range of programs can be found here.