https://nielsen.wistia.com/medias/ubvsgmawk5?embedType=async&videoFoam=true
Living with a disability is increasingly a part of everyday life. โโWhether the disability is seen or unseen, more than a quarter of the U.S. population has one, and many of us who arenโt disabled are likely to know someone who is living with one. We know that media has the power to shift the narrative around disability by better reflecting the real lived experience of people with disabilities. So, while film and TV content have made progress in depicting stories of disability, as evident in the surge of programming inclusive of disabilities and related themes over the last 10 years, advertising featuring people with disabilities lags far behind. With a $21 billion market potential, advertisers cannot afford to miss the opportunity to engage with the disabled community and their allies.
Kehadiran Disabilitas dalam Kreatif Periklanan
Most of the time, disability is absent from advertising, except when itโs focused on products that treat disabilities. Rarely do ads show disabled people in everyday life, such as working, parenting, household chores or enjoying activities. In a custom analysis of Nielsen Ad Intel data, we looked at nearly 450,000 primetime ads on broadcast and cable TV in February 2021. Of those ads, just 1% included representation of disability-related themes, visuals, or topics.
Dengan mempertimbangkan target konsumen yang aktif ini, peluang yang terlewatkan untuk memasukkan penyandang disabilitas ke dalam pesan merek sehari-hari dapat berakibat fatal. Ada peluang bagi merek untuk memasukkan penggambaran dan pengalaman hidup penyandang disabilitas dalam pesan dan desain produk mereka tanpa harus berpusat pada mereka. Industri media, pemasaran dan periklanan memiliki peluang untuk membantu meruntuhkan stigma sosial terkait disabilitas dengan membuat penyandang disabilitas lebih terlihat.
Pengeluaran iklan untuk iklan inklusif disabilitas
Hollywood telah membuat kemajuan dalam menggambarkan disabilitas, namun masih banyak yang harus dilakukan untuk memberikan lebih banyak kesempatan kepada penyandang disabilitas. Analisis kami menemukan bahwa belanja iklan yang melibatkan penyandang disabilitas dan tema-tema yang berkaitan dengan disabilitas pada bulan Februari mencapai hampir 57 juta dolar AS, namun hanya 3% yang digunakan untuk iklan yang menampilkan penyandang disabilitas atau yang melibatkan tema disabilitas dalam materi iklannya.
Dan obat-obatan, perawatan kesehatan, alat bantu, dan sejenisnya mencapai hampir 50% dari total dolar yang dihabiskan untuk iklan yang inklusif bagi penyandang disabilitas. Meskipun pengobatan dan pengelolaan perawatan merupakan aspek penting dalam hidup dengan disabilitas, namun penting juga bagi penyandang disabilitas untuk melihat kehidupan mereka sebagai sesuatu yang lebih dari sekadar resep. Pengiklan memiliki kesempatan untuk menampilkan penyandang disabilitas dalam kehidupan sehari-hari, terlibat dengan produk dan layanan yang ditawarkan oleh merek.
Ketika iklan lebih inklusif, iklan akan berdampak pada semua audiens, tidak hanya mereka yang hidup dengan disabilitas. Namun, inklusivitas berarti peningkatan representasi dalam iklan di seluruh spektrum kategori, tidak hanya di bidang Farmasi. Terlalu banyak jenis representasi ini dapat memperkuat stereotip penyandang disabilitas. Ketika merek-merek dari industri yang lebih luas lebih inklusif terhadap penyandang disabilitas dalam materi iklan mereka, maka hal itu akan membantu menyeimbangkan narasi dan menormalkan kehidupan penyandang disabilitas.
Melakukannya dengan benar
Highlighting the impact that living with a disability can have on consumers’ experience with a product reinforces a sense of belonging. It also has the potential to drive dramatic change in peopleโs daily lives. But to be authentic in targeting, advertisers must have the right team to craft an informed and inclusive message. Christina Mallon, influencer, activist and Global Head of Inclusive Designer and Digital Accessibility at Wunderman Thompson is at the forefront of raising awareness, increasing accessibility and innovating with brands for people living with disabilities. Not only is she an expert in her field, but sheโs also clear about how brand messaging and products impact her own life every day as a person with a physical disability.
โMany brands are embracing the need to engage and include people with disabilities. But when they include people with disabilities in creative content, we need to be seen for who we are โ beyond our disabilities โ without ignoring the fact that we have one.โ
Christina Mallon, Kepala Desain Inklusif dan Aksesibilitas, Wunderman Thompson
Christina Mallon leads Inclusive Design at Wunderman Thompson, where she consults with brands on implementing inclusive design practices into their business strategies. She is at the forefront of an important movement toward inclusivity in design and advertising. At the start of Christinaโs professional career, her arms slowly became paralyzed. The transition to โdisabledโ was challenging, but has never slowed her down. As a young digital marketing professional starting her career with a disability, she felt under-represented as a consumer. Rather than being discouraged, she recognized the opportunity to build awareness and make a measurable impact within the industry. This realization inspired her to start an inclusive design practice at Wunderman Thompson. Read more about Christinaโs work here dan here.
A recent Nielsen survey found that people with a disability are more likely to feel that there is insufficient representation of their identity group on TV. The lack of representation in linear TV and advertising, which reaches more than 80% of the adult U.S. population, may be why disabled social media influencers and creators often carry the weight of rewriting the narrative around the media’s presentation of disability. From educating on inclusive language to the proliferation of captions for video segments across TikTok or Instagram, disability representation and inclusion topics are advancing at the grassroots level while more traditional media catches up. Influencers like TikTokโs @Scarlet_may.1, Instagramโs @Chelsiehill, @blindishlatina, @Christina_disarmed, among others share their personal stories through relatable content. Influencers are stepping in to share product hacks and recommendations of inclusive brands to diverse followers including people with disabilities, their loved ones and alliesโall consumers open to spending on brands that take action on causes they care about.
Bertindak sekarang
While progress is being made to increase the visibility of disability, there are immediate steps that the advertising industry can take to accelerate it. Engaging with organizations that are leading the charge to improve representation in media, such as RespectAbility and ReelAbilities, can help brands fine tune future strategies, especially as many look ahead to 2022. When it comes to creative development, brands can cast more disabled people and develop more inclusive storylines, while being careful not to slip into โinspiration porn,โ which is often used to motivate non-disabled people at the expense of the disabled experience. When planning a campaign, brands must include various formats and accessibility features to accommodate a variety of people living with different disabilities. Brands can also improve representation in their organizations by hiring more people living with disabilities, like many organizations that are part of the Valuable 500.
Hidup dengan disabilitas adalah kenyataan bagi jutaan orang dan merupakan bagian dari beragam identitas yang ingin dilihat orang secara otentik dalam konten yang mereka konsumsi dan tercermin dalam merek yang mereka beli. Baik disabilitas yang terlihat maupun tidak, perspektif unik dari seseorang dengan penyakit kronis atau disabilitas lainnya dapat memperkaya upaya inklusi merek dan pengalaman konsumen penyandang disabilitas. Mengakui penyandang disabilitas sebagai bagian penting dari target konsumen Anda berarti memahami bagaimana produk atau jasa Anda secara unik memberikan nilai tambah bagi pengalaman mereka.
