Real change starting with your brand

Why the “quiet exit” from DEI is tempting — and why we must resist it At Brand by Me, we recently made a tough call to quietly step back from a programme we’d launched with passion. That decision made us realise how many organisations are doing the same with their DEI work — slipping out the back door without accountability. This blog unpacks why that’s happening, why it’s dangerous, and what your brand can do instead to stay committed to equity and justice for the long haul.

This month, we’re spotlighting award-winning communications educator Ettie Bailey-King, Brand By Me’s Inclusive Communications Lead. Ettie shares her powerful journey into inclusive comms, unpacks why brands still fall into performative equity work, and offers practical advice for making real, lasting change.

Brand By Me is 9! This year, we achieved record growth, launched an AI-powered anti-racist brand platform, and now, we’re inviting changemakers to DISMANTLE LIVE 2025. Ready to create real impact? Join us.

How can organisations stay committed to justice in challenging times? Activist Hannah Litt shares powerful insights on taking action, mobilising communities, and embracing courage.

Lessons from 2024: Why Anti-Racism is a Lifelong Commitment As we close 2024 and prepare for 2025, it’s crucial for brands and organizations to reflect on their approach to equity, diversity, and inclusion. This year brought stark reminders of the persistent challenges in anti-racism and justice spaces—from far-right riots fueled by hateful rhetoric to brand scandals that exposed the harm caused by tokenistic diversity efforts. Despite setbacks, key lessons and trends have emerged. Consumers demand authentic, values-driven action from brands, not performative statements. Anti-racism is not optional; it’s a strategic imperative that builds trust and resilience. In this blog, we explore key moments from 2024, unpack trends shaping 2025, and share actionable priorities for brands to lead with equity and integrity in the year ahead. Partner with Brand By Me to embed anti-racism and justice at the heart of your brand strategy. Together, we can create a future rooted in equity and authenticity.

For UK Disability History Month 2024 (14 November–20 December) we are spotlighting the work of our very own Sulaiman R. Khan, Brand By Me’s Disability Justice lead. ‍Sulaiman is an award-winning Disabled activist, strategist, and creative, whose innate sense of solidarity drives an uncompromising focus on equity and intersectionality in our work. He has helped us, and our clients, understand and embed Disability Justice as a fundamental part of any brand instead of a luxury or ‘nice to have’.In his Substack email newsletter Disability Daringly, Sulaiman publishes musings on (re)imagining every socially conscious organisation into a fully anti-ableist brand, all in aid of collective liberation. Earlier this year Sulaiman wrote a piece where goes into detail about the anti-ableist framework that he uses in his work.‍In this post he answers some questions about each of the seven pillars of this framework. 

Read about our brand new anti-racist brand audit report.

This is the full story of our rebrand. Find out how we built our brand identity around our work building systemic change and social justice into brand strategy.