Why High-Quality Data Is Key To A Disability-Confident Marketing Strategy

"The marketing and advertising industry has a significant problem when it comes to disability representation in creative output. This issue can be summarized in one word - fear. The fear of getting disability depiction wrong and facing a public backlash is so consuming that many CMOs choose to take the easy option and give disability representation a wide berth - often excluding it entirely from advertising and marketing collateral."

"This is a shame because, according to the 2024 Return on Disability Group report examining the spending potential of a segment that ultimately comprises 15-20% of the global population, a significant share of $18 trillion is being left on the table. This is underscored by research from the Valuable 500, which demonstrates that 54% of disabled consumers are more likely to purchase from companies that authentically represent disability."

Fear of misrepresenting disability drives many marketing leaders to exclude disability from advertising, leaving representation scarce and responsibility diffuse across the industry. Only 1% of prime-time TV ads feature somebody with a disability, reducing visibility and market engagement. Disabled people constitute 15–20% of the global population, representing substantial spending power—an $18 trillion opportunity. Fifty-four percent of disabled consumers are more likely to buy from companies that authentically represent disability. High-quality, purposefully gathered data and internal reflection enable confident, disability-confident marketing. The Valuable 500’s Authentic Representation Tool (ART) offers a targeted, deep-dive questionnaire to guide authentic representation.

Read at Forbes