Including people with disabilities in a business’ marketing efforts and brand messaging requires tact and authentic messaging to avoid perpetuating stereotypes.
-By Jeremiah Prince

People with disabilities have largely been excluded from the mainstream economy. They have had difficulty finding employment, have limited or no access to various venues, and must overcome cultural bias.

The Special Olympics games have become a catalyst for changing biases toward people with disabilities, but that is only recently. The Special Olympics were first held in 1968, and 50 years later businesses are only now beginning to regularly include people with disabilities in marketing campaigns.

The challenge is developing marketing campaigns that have accurate and authentic messaging rather than messaging that includes cultural stereotypes. There have been hits and misses already, and businesses can learn from both.

Ostomy Bag and Insulin Pump
In the U.S. culture, people with disabilities have been stigmatized as "cannot do" people. Marketing strategies have been slow to include people with disabilities because they did not fit the image of successful, beautiful people who can afford to buy products and services.

That is slowly changing due to the leadership of some companies like American Eagle Outfitters brand and its sub-brand Aerie. They have set a leading pace for inclusion in several ways and by choosing to include models with disabilities in ads and photos that are not retouched. One way that they have set the pace is by featuring women who are modeling "real women" items, like undergarments which do not hide physical deformities. The company is also now including women who have medical conditions, not just women with physical disabilities, by including women with an ostomy bag, an insulin pump, and chronic diseases that are not visible, like fibromyalgia. In other words, the marketing campaign is authentic.

In 2014, American Eagle's Aerie brand made a bold marketing move and introduced #AerieREAL, a body image campaign that strives to empower women. The campaign theme is real women's physical positivity and inclusivity.

Aerie is a lingerie brand, making the inclusion of women with disabilities a decidedly bold move. The advertising includes women of different racial and ethnic backgrounds and body types who have disabilities or one of a variety of medical conditions. One model is in a wheelchair while another uses crutches. Various models have fibromyalgia, Down syndrome, Vitiligo and other conditions.

No Touch Up
The social media response was appreciation for including "real women" and not professional models who are seemingly perfect.

One aspect of the Aerie ads that make them unique is the fact the images are not touched up. These really are real women who are proud of themselves just as they are. In the past, the only time a person with an obvious disability was presented more like an object to inspire people without disabilities to try harder to meet their goals, presenting the disability as something to overcome. Aerie changed the tone by presenting women with physical and mental challenges as people who are simply proud of who they are and as they are with human imperfections.

In February 2018, the Gerber company selected Lucas as the "Spokesbaby of the Year." Lucas has Down syndrome, but like Aerie's models, he is not presented as a person to pity. Instead, Lucas epitomizes Gerber's inclusivity core value of "Every baby is a Gerber baby."

It can be difficult for marketers who do not have any type of disability to understand how to present marketing campaigns that have a focus on inclusivity versus objectification. It is a major reason that people with disabilities should be included on marketing teams. They can help the marketers avoid the "I feel sorry for that person" messaging and help others understand how to reach the market.

Include Authentic People in Marketing Planning
Other sources of information for marketing professionals include local disability organisations, social media groups, online resource groups, and local government initiatives focused on issues like accessibility and healthcare.

If a company is truly diverse and inclusive, there are people with disabilities and chronic medical conditions in its workforce and supply chain. They are also sources of information for designing successful marketing strategies. Reaching the target audience requires identifying the appropriate social media groups on various platforms like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

People with disabilities are the people who are experts on living with a disability or chronic disease. Millennials are one group of consumers driving change. They want to see marketing materials that is authentic.

The Canadian Tire company produced a commercial called "Wheels" that was first broadcast during the Rio Olympics. In this ad, the boy in the wheelchair is invited to play a game of basketball and everyone playing is sitting in some type of makeshift wheelchair. Eva Salem, the company's vice president of marketing, shared the process that led to "Wheels." First, the story involves youth because that is where long-term social change begins. Second, the marketing team collaborated with Rick Hanse, a Canadian Paralympian. Canadian Tire developed another ad called "Outsider" and a social media programme that highlights the company's core value of inclusion. Salem offers a reason for the enormous success of the marketing effort. The ads and other materials reflect the real-life stories of people with disabilities. They are authentic.

Corporate marketers are still learning what authenticity means in terms of presentation. Even the language needs sensitivity. For a while, the term "differently abled" was used, presumably to send a message that people with disabilities are still able. The disability community did not like that term because it suggested the word "disabled" conveys a problem rather than a reality. Companies just starting their marketing campaigns that include or target people with disabilities can learn from the past mistakes and successes of other companies.

The disability community has a philosophy of "Nothing about us without us." The message is that people with disabilities and medical conditions need representation when companies are developing products, promoting products, and creating inclusive marketing strategies. It is all about authenticity.