Neurodiversity is an umbrella term that was first coined in 1997 by Australian sociologist Judy Singer. It refers to the concept that the brain can work and interpret information in varied ways and highlights how people naturally think about things differently. There are various conditions associated with neurodiversity - including autism, ADHD, dyslexia, Tourette’s syndrome, dyscalculia and dysgraphia.
It is estimated that around 15-20% of people are either dyslexic, autistic, or have ADHD, dyspraxia, or dyscalculia, amounting to 14m people the UK. This has huge implications for marketing. Morally, there is an onus on brands to make their marketing as inclusive as possible, to remove barriers to access for those with neurodiversity. Ethics notwithstanding, there is also a very real implication for business performance. One online study from 2016 found that 71% of disabled customers with access needs will click away from a website if they find it difficult to use. The customers who click away had an estimated spending power of £11.75 billion in the UK alone, which in 2016, made up 10% of the total UK online spend.
This makes inclusivity a topic especially relevant for ecommerce companies, as well as for everyone who runs digital campaigns. Implementing inclusive measures to improve digital communications and designs for neurodivergent customers will improve brands` engagement with a wider audience - making them more accessible and therefore more commercially successful.
Neurodiverse people experience many things differently, and a digital environment is no exception. This is why it`s important for brands to strive to adapt their digital communications and webpages to reduce frustration and stress that can be triggered by certain elements - including fonts, screen layouts, design formats, colors, confusing menus, inconvenient search technologies or other navigational functions. In addressing common barriers to access for neurodivergent people, brands can improve user and customer experiences for all.
The idea of accessibility is not new, with many existing guidelines including the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and the UK government’s advice on designing for accessibility. These recommendations may help visually challenged people and audiences who need assistive technology to browse the web, as well as helping brands to become more inclusive and therefore effective to communicate with a broader audience segment.
Designing for users on the autistic spectrum, users of screen readers, users with low vision, physical or motor disabilities, those hard of hearing, or those with dyslexia will help brands to communicate more clearly, while reducing users` mental burnout and stress. There are some practical tips to consider when designing more inclusive digital communications:
Copy should be clear and simple, in the active voice.
Difficult fonts can create barriers for neurodivergent people. The Sans serif fonts, such as Arial and Comic Sans are more dyslexic friendly, as letters can appear less crowded. Font size should be 12-14 points or equivalent.
Extreme contrast or increased brightness of content can often be challenging for neurodiverse people to process. An alternative is to use less overwhelming and even pastel shades for your creative assets or landing pages with a clear combination of just a few colours.
Ads with audio that pop-up suddenly while browsing often can be an unpleasant surprise for users. So, there should be an easy way to reduce volume or mute an ad. Another option is using settings where videos don’t launch automatically. This gives a website user more security in deciding what content they want to interact with and helps visitors using screen readers.
Make your content flexible and accessible to improve customer experience. Having clear CTAs, implementing audio reading options, and using accessible color customisation on your website will help users to navigate better or focus their attention.
In aiming to optimise their marketing budget, brands are often working to optimise the number of creative assets and resizes in rotation. But it also means a missed opportunity to reach broader audience segments, because message variations in different formats with audio, video, or text options can give more accessibility to those who need it.
These tips can be applied not only to creative assets and website UX, but also to products and strategies as well. A great example is a collaboration of the National Autistic Society (the UK’s leading charity for autistic people) with brands to create products for autistic kids and adults. For example, specially designed wallpaper created in collaboration with Hovia aimed to reduce visual stimulation for autistic people and people with hypersensitivity.
As for media partners, there are many offering suitable products that can be applied for a more inclusive approach to neurodiverse marketing. Hoopla has a publisher integration, HooplaAUDIO, that allows brands to turn text content into voice audio - making its readers into listeners. Hoopla also use caption ads on videos, which is a great way to make a brand’s communication more accessible. Creative Automation Tools enable brands to run their campaigns with more personalised ads. This enables brands to design display and video ads with existing assets and connect them with a range of data sources to communicate with each consumer more directly. Copies, CTAs, colors, and other content can be changed without limits and easily on all channels. Clinch Besides working on inclusive marketing strategies, businesses also may benefit from employing neurodivergent individuals as they can bring new perspectives on brands’ communication and ways of working. Neurodivergent talents understand better how to create truly inclusive content and how to reduce barriers within a consumer’s experience and will be a great part of a diverse team.
To attract neurodivergent employees, businesses should offer a safe and inclusive environment ensuring clear communication, flexible work setting, acknowledging achievements, creating educational and mentoring opportunities, giving options to work remotely or simply have a relaxing space in the office for employees to rest. Dentsu is committed to continuously learning in this space and is already on the path to creating an increasingly inclusive workplace for people with neurodivergent, or other, conditions. More broadly, we aim to create an environment where mental wellbeing is discussed openly, and changes are actioned to improve the day-to-day experiences of and support for our employees.