Disability inclusion in advertising can build stronger brand affinity

This is according to research co-authored by Zachary Estes, Professor of Marketing at Bayes Business School at the City St George’s, University of London. Other institutions involved in the research are the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands and Bocconi University in Italy. 

The researchers tested advertisements across a range of products and services, and types of disability in both hypothetical and in-person settings. Six studies involving more than 2,000 participants demonstrate that consumers respond positively to brands that include people with disabilities in their adverts and reveal factors that enhance and mitigate this positive response. 

Participants in two initial studies demonstrated a preference for brands featuring people with a disability in their adverts for shower gels and energy drinks. This happened even when choosing anonymously without social pressures. 

A third study measured perceptions of adverts for a financial services firm, which removed brand ‘warmth’ and ‘coolness’ as potential explanations of the disability inclusion effect. 

Remaining experiments tested the benefits of featuring people with disabilities in contexts which may be viewed as a ‘box-ticking exercise’ or ‘tokenism’.  

When participants received contrasting information about why a fictitious restaurant was including a man in a wheelchair in their advert, there was very little difference in perception of inclusivity – whether the restaurant was perceived as acting voluntarily or to comply with regulations. 

People with disabilities underrepresented in campaigns 

“Around 15% of the world’s population have some form of disability, whether visible or invisible, permanent or temporary. Yet, people with disabilities remain woefully underrepresented in advertising campaigns,” comments Estes. 

“[A survey we did] of marketing managers revealed concerns that including people with disabilities in adverts may alienate ‘mainstream’ consumers and risk accusations of tokenism and exploitation. However, results from our experiments strongly indicate that any consumer backlash for including models with a disability is not only unfounded, but commercially naïve. 

“More than 80% of participants across our studies responded positively to disability inclusion, with strong values for social inclusivity. However, we also [found] that disability inclusion needs to represent people with disabilities as capable advocates for a product or service, rather than vulnerable members of society.” 

Estes says the hope is that this research results in greater and more accurate representation of individuals with disabilities in marketing and helps managers support employees with disabilities more broadly without the perceived risk of consumer backlash. 

You can find out more about the research here.