the Valuable 500’s Post

“According to data analytics and audience measurement experts Nielsen, who looked at 450,000 primetime TV and cabled ads in February 2021, a staggeringly low 1% involved representation of disability-related themes, visuals, or topics.”   In a recent Forbes article, Gus Alexiou highlights the importance of showcasing people with #Disabilities in advertising materials as a powerful way to promote a #Disability-inclusive culture that attracts both talented employees and loyal customers. The data speaks volumes—companies that embrace #DisabilityRepresentation are viewed more favorably and trusted by 84% of consumers surveyed.   Within the article, Gus shared insights from Voya Financial’s Chief Brand and Communication Officer, Paul Gennaro, who shares the company’s journey to increase the representation of people with disabilities in their marketing and advertising. Disability:IN is proud to highlight Voya's commitment to #DisabilityInclusion efforts with the goal of helping showcase genuine representation within the disability community. We recognize that companies like Voya are on a learning journey to achieve full inclusion and equity; it is great to learn from Paul how the company has worked to approach disability-inclusive advertising. Kudos to Paul Gennaro and the Voya team for remaining steadfast on their disability inclusion journey to help lead the way and show the transformative impact of authentic representation! Check out the full article to explore the underlying complexities and potential for positive change at: https://lnkd.in/g4u7vVFk

In 2024, I think we’ll see an increase in disability inclusive marketing. Over the last year or two, brands including Mercedes, Victoria’s Secret, Sephora, Lancôme, Lego, Apple and Google have started to highlight adaptive product, and featured disabled talent and staff, and I predict this trend will continue in 2024. As society becomes more aware of disability and inclusion, it makes sense that brands and the way the represent themselves will reflect that. Here’s a closer look at some of the ways brands started to do it right in the last year or so. Cheers to seeing more of it in 2024. #disabilityinclusion #advertising #marketing #2024trends

Many people are working towards creating personal brands. But their content is not reaching the world's largest minority. Because they are not inclusive. Here are some tips to become a Disability-Inclusive personal brand. 1. Educate Yourself and Your Audience - Learn About Disabilities: Educate yourself on different types of disabilities, language, and the challenges people with disabilities face. - DOs and DONTs for persons with disabilities 2. Inclusive Content Creation - Accessible Content: Ensure all your content (e.g., blog posts, videos, social media updates) is accessible. Use alt text for images, captions for videos, and clear, simple language. - Diverse Representation: Include people with disabilities in your content. Use diverse imagery and stories to reflect the disability community. 3. Engage with the Disability Community - Collaborate: Partner with influencers, activists, and organizations within the disability community. - Listen and Respond: Engage with your audience by listening to their feedback and responding to their needs and concerns. 4. Inclusive Marketing and Communication - Representation: Feature people with disabilities in your marketing campaigns and materials. - Accessible Formats: Provide content in multiple formats to cater to different needs (e.g., text, audio, video). 5. Website and Social Media Accessibility - Website Design: Ensure your website is accessible by following Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). Use accessible themes, provide keyboard navigation, and ensure compatibility with screen readers. - Social Media: Make your social media posts accessible by using alt text for images, providing transcripts for audio content, and using camel case for hashtags 6. Offer Products and Services for All - Inclusive Products: If you offer products or services, ensure they are accessible and usable by people with disabilities. - Customer Support: Provide accessible customer support channels and train your team on disability inclusion. 7. Advocate for Disability Rights - Public Advocacy: Use your platform to advocate for disability rights and raise awareness about disability issues. - Support Causes: Support and promote initiatives, events, and organizations that work towards disability inclusion. 8. Regularly Review and Improve - Audit Your Brand: Regularly audit your brand’s accessibility and inclusivity. Seek feedback from people with disabilities to identify areas for improvement. - Continuous Learning: Stay updated on best practices for disability inclusion and continuously improve your approach. Write to me on [email protected] #DisabilityInclusion #InclusivePersonalBrands

You’d think I’d be thrilled to see the representation of disability in advertising (and other pop culture) heading North right now. After all, I’ve been on my #Accessible soapbox about it over here for yonks (along with awesome advocates like Kelly Wright and AZURE Antoinette). While I love knowing about members of the disability community creating visibility in any way, I’m disappointed because I know what’s yet to come.⁠ Historically, the same thing happens every several years when the Paralympics are on. Suddenly, advertisers, marketers and others find a way to include disability in their content⁠. YAY! Yeah, nah.⁠ Just after the Paralympics ends, the visibility of disability will take a dive. Then, representation becomes too hard, expensive and *insert excuse here*⁠ Sigh!⁠ The advertising #Copywriter in me understands why you'd jump on whatever's topical or trending. I’ve done it myself and created entire campaigns around something in the zeitgeist.⁠ But here’s the thing. Disability is not a faddish trend in the zeitgeist.⁠ The world’s largest minority is not appearing or going away on a date predetermined by the campaign strategy.⁠ ⁠ Nup!⁠ ⁠ Unfortunately, this doesn’t just happen to the disability community.⁠ If anyone watches GruenHQ then you would have seen advertiser todd sampson talk about the increase in advertising content with "darker skin tones" during Black Lives Matter.⁠But that representation ended not long after media coverage did.⁠ So what’s the solution for advertisers and others in popular culture who are creating content? Simple. Consistency.⁠ I've talked about this before, but here we go again! Representing diverse voices, faces, perspectives and more should never be a tick-box exercise or be socially responsible sporadically. Let’s ensure visibility of disability isn’t just something we do when the calendar dictates. ⁠Nobody I know goes by a calendar to choose the days they'll be disabled.⁠ Seamless inclusion isn't impossible and there are people willing to point you in the right direction if you need some help getting started.⁠ Here's to consistently diverse inclusion. #VisibilityOfDisability #InclusiveAdvertising #InclusiceMarketing #AvoidTokenism

Nearly 15% of the world’s population experiences some form of disability. That's over 1 billion people who live with some form of disability – yet historically, the portrayal of people with disabilities in marketing has rendered them all but invisible. While accessible marketing (the idea that marketing should represent and be accessible to all people with or without disabilities) does require more intentional thought (ideally done with a disability consultant - nothing about us without us!), not only is it the morally right thing to do, but it's profitable. Brands with the most representative ads saw an average stock increase of 44% over two years, significantly more than brands with less representative ads. Not only did their stock prices go up, but those same organisations had a 69% business performance improvement, and their brand preference rates increased by 83%. Inclusion and representation has a clear ROI on profit margins. Is your marketing strategy set up to include underrepresented communities? Do your creative frameworks catch biases like ableism? If you'd like to understand how relevant or global your marketing comms are, get in touch. We work to understand your marketing strategy and content through a robust, targeted audit. As an accredited Market Research Society partner, our data analysts and research team will work with you to understand your unique business needs. We'll review your current campaigns, online presence and customer comms with an inclusion and diversity lens. You’ll get a detailed report highlighting your communication strengths and opportunities for improvement. Get in touch to find out how we can help your comms be more inclusive and representative. https://lnkd.in/ekcJkbss ID: Orange background, white text: “The global spending power of disabled people and their families has risen to over $13 trillion annually, globally but less than 10% of businesses have a plan to target the disability market. How inclusive are your comms? Find out, with our Inclusive Marketing Comms Audit" #representationMatters #inclusiveMarketing #makingADifference #inclusionIsProfitable #representationROI #equality #digitalMarketingAgency Source: WFA Global Economics Report of Disability 2020

Employees want more inclusion of #peoplewithdisabilities in brand, communications, marketing and advertising according to Institute for Public Relations data — and consumers will view these companies more favorably; trust them more; and do more business with them according to Morning Consult data.   Unfortunately, #peoplewithdisabilities have been left behind in the collective brand, communications, marketing and advertising focus on inclusion, according to Nielsen data. As we discussed at the Disability:IN conference last month, there is a clear opportunity for those leading #brand #communications, #marketing and #advertising. Voya Financial's experience aligns with the data — disability inclusion lifts the brand.

♿️ Why Your Inclusion Strategy Might Not Be Working Kelsey Lindell from Misfit Media analyzed disability-inclusive ads from the past year and found concerning results: 🔹Less than 1% of advertising is disability-inclusive. 🔹Even among those ads, less than 9% generated meaningful conversations within the disability community. 📍 This translates to a potential 91% return on investment (ROI) loss for brands with genuine inclusion efforts. While some criticize DEI initiatives altogether, it's crucial to address the root causes of low impact. The gap between a company's goals and the lived experiences of disabled consumers can be a significant factor: 🔸A 2019 Geena Davis Institute study revealed that only 2% of characters portrayed in advertising have a disability, despite people with disabilities making up 19% of the global population. 🔸A 2020 Accenture study found that only 29% of people with disabilities feel that brands understand their needs. To bridge this gap and achieve successful inclusion, Misfit Media is partnering with leading disability inclusion experts. They'll share their Strategic Inclusion Framework, guiding you on creating inclusive products, workplaces, and company culture. 🔗 Join their event on April 23rd, 2024, to learn more and ensure your DEI efforts resonate with the disability community: https://lnkd.in/ef4EyWnU #DisabilityInclusion #DEI #Marketing #SocialImpact #AccessibleAdvertising #DisabilityCommunity #Empowerment

To quote Forbes’ Gus Alexiou's article on #peoplewithdisabilities being overlooked in corporate brand, communications, marketing and advertising: “The underlying figures that are available to date on this unique intersection of corporate communication and DE&I make for pretty stark reading.” Data from the Institute for Public Relations, Morning Consult and Nielsen, and discussion at the Disability:IN conference last month, clearly demonstrate that employees and consumers want companies to be inclusive of people with disabilities in brand, communications, marketing and advertising – and they will view these companies more favorably, trust them more, and do more business with them.   A company cannot claim to be fully inclusive from a brand, communications, marketing and advertising perspective if it’s excluding – even passively – people with disabilities. Voya Financial thanks Gus for highlighting this opportunity for all of us to do better.

Hear hear! Thank you Paul Gennaro for sharing this data on the lack of content inclusion of #peoplewithdisabilities in our marketing, PR, and communications today. Data shows consumers want to see it. We ALL know its not a perfect world, why not reflect that, so people can identify with branding? Morning Consult Institute for Public Relations #inclusion #marketing #advertising #pr