Shelter
Embedding Anti-Racism Into Marketing Through Systems Change
After supporting Shelter and Shelter Scotland with their anti-racism strategy, we partnered to ensure marketing efforts were aligned with their anti-racist ambitions through a robust systems change programme.
The Challenge
Following the development of its organisation-wide anti-racism strategy, Shelter and Shelter Scotland faced a familiar challenge: how to translate ambition into everyday practice.
Marketing was a critical lever - shaping public narratives, fundraising effectiveness, and trust. The question was how to apply anti-racist intent consistently across campaigns, products, and partnerships without over-reliance on individual expertise or good will.
Our Role
We partnered with Shelter to embed anti-racism as a marketing system, not a set of one-off checks.
Building on earlier strategy work, our role was to help the organisation move from principles to practice and creating the clarity, tools, and confidence needed for teams to make better decisions at pace, and with integrity.
What We Delivered
Using our Inside Out Inclusion® Critical Indicators, we followed an Unpack → Untangle → Unlock approach:
Campaign and process analysis
We applied our indicators to 15 past campaigns and existing marketing processes, surfacing where intent was being lost, where risk sat, and where stronger practice could be standardised.Stakeholder insight and co-creation
Interviews with key stakeholders, alongside collaboration with internal specialists and affinity groups, ensured the work reflected Shelter’s lived realities rather than abstract best practice.Anti-Racism Marketing Playbook
A bespoke playbook was co-created to guide the full marketing lifecycle, covering:Clear ambition and principles
Pre-production, production, and post-production guidance
Problem-solving frameworks to support confident, anti-racist critical thinking
The playbook was designed to build capability, not dependency - helping teams know how to think, not just what to do.
Capability rollout and embedding
A train-the-trainer webinar and a series of internal roadshows upskilled a wide range of playbook users—reaching the entire marketing function and supporting long-term adoption.
The Impact
Increased confidence across marketing teams to apply anti-racist thinking independently
Greater clarity on individual and collective responsibility in delivering Shelter’s anti-racism ambition
Consistent standards across campaigns, products, events, and propositions
Stronger alignment with partner agencies and suppliers through shared expectations
Anti-racism shifted from being specialist-led to system-owned, enabling wider inclusion practices to take hold beyond the initial teams.
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“The Unmistakables really took the time to understand how Shelter works. The playbook was built with Shelter in mind—bringing together the expertise of our own specialists and affinity groups with The Unmistakables’ knowledge. You can see that collaboration on every page.”
David Millward, Senior Fundraising Manager, Shelter
What Makes this Case Relevant?
This work shows how Inclusion-led Relevance operates inside mission-driven organisations: by building systems that protect intent under pressure.
It demonstrates how anti-racism, when embedded into processes and decision-making frameworks, strengthens consistency, confidence, and credibility—without slowing teams down or creating dependency on experts.