Month: July 2021

2021 marks the 31st anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. That’s a major milestone, and many advances have been made for those living with disabilities. Globally, there are 1 billion people living with a disability while in the U.S. the number of adults living with a physical or psychological disability stands at about 26% of the U.S. adult population. But as prominent as this community is in the population, it remains largely unseen, or inaccurately depicted, in movies and content on screen. And with increasing concerns about mental health challenges, especially during the pandemic, disability is increasingly a part of everyone’s experience and an important influence for a growing share of audiences that want to be represented on screen. 

Media has a powerful role in educating audiences about disabilities, both visible and nonvisible. But the representation gap is glaring. Recent Nielsen survey findings reveal that when a story or character shows disabilities, audiences who live with disabilities say the portrayal of their identity group is inaccurate. 

The good news is that storytellers seem to be taking note by incorporating more of the diverse disability experience into content—and movies are leading the way. For example, our Gracenote Video Descriptors database reveals that the volume of content inclusive of disability has increased by over 175% in the last decade compared with the 10 years prior. 

Among the 3,000 titles evaluated in this analysis, nearly 70% of the content inclusive of disability were feature films. But on average, Americans are still spending a significant amount of time with traditional television and streaming through connected devices. With television series accounting for about 16% of the content inclusive of disability, the sentiment among respondents saying TV is missing the mark on representation becomes clearer. 

Television is where audiences spend the most time, but TV programs have lagged movies in representing people with disabilities.

The range of themes related to disabilities has also increased dramatically in recent years in content inclusive of disabilities.

There are more narratives that relate to the real-life experiences of someone who is disabled. With Family and Relationship being the top two themes, stories featuring disabilities are also showing how allies and loved ones relate and connect with those characters.  

Hollywood has made progress in depicting disabilities but much more needs to be done to provide more opportunities to disabled talent—one path to creating greater visibility and more accurate stories about disabilities. Earlier this year, more than 80 stars and entertainment industry professionals signed an open letter and launched the #DontDismissDis campaign, shedding light on the discrimination faced by disabled talent. RespectAbility, a leading nonprofit organization fighting stigmas by more diverse, authentic and accurate portrayals of people with disabilities, explains there are some recurring barriers to more authentic storytelling in Hollywood. “Even though the number of disabled characters on screen continues to increase in recent seasons, an estimated 95% of available roles are portrayed by talent without a disability,” said Lauren Appelbaum, Vice President, communications and entertainment & news media at RespectAbility and author of The Hollywood Disability Inclusion Toolkit. “When disability is a part of a character’s story, too often content can position disabled people as someone to pity or someone to cure. It is crucial we have disabled talent both in front of and behind the camera to develop genuine multi-dimensional characters.”

The media and entertainment industry has led the charge in advocating for diversity in all forms, and holds the power to raise awareness and drive disability inclusion. Greenlighting more projects, including more disabled talent on- and off-screen, encouraging self-ID so studios can find talent to ensure authentic depictions are a few steps studios and content creators can take. In a world where the struggle against inequities and stereotypes persist, media has a responsibility to make disability inclusion a reality.

E-commerce and omnichannel shopping were not born out of the pandemic, but the arrival of COVID-19 accelerated these trends in ways that would have likely taken decades otherwise. The pandemic also didn’t conceive convenience, or inspire customers to demand it, but it did shine a light on how important it is in everyday life—particularly in a global health crisis. Now, as consumers resume many of their pre-pandemic activities, retailers need to remain focused on convenience—even as consumers leave the comfort of their homes.

Consumers’ everyday lives were busy well before the arrival of COVID-19. Brands and retailers were actively thinking about digital channels, e-commerce and true omnichannel shopping experiences. Now, after more than 16 months of consumer dependence on connectivity and omnichannel experiences, the baseline for convenience is higher than ever—and consumer expectations from retailers will be, too.  

That does not mean that all commerce will remain online. It means that retailers need to meet consumers where they are—and offer experiences that provide unilateral convenience. That will require a true blending of on- and offline tactics rather than a reliance on one over the other.

Click-and-collect services, for example, have become mainstream across the retail landscape. While these services were a lifeline for retailers when in-store shopping wasn’t an option, their widespread availability represents a huge step forward in terms of convenience, as they blend the online shopping experience with speed and easy pick-ups for local consumers. And that will continue, even as in-store shopping returns. Staying nimble, flexible and focused on consumers will be critical for retailers now that new standards of convenience exist.

Clearly, click-and-collect isn’t a replacement. It’s a complement. And when we look at in-store shopping trends, Nielsen Scarborough data shows that aggregate in-store shopping behavior (albeit at fewer stores, as many have closed) among U.S. households changed very little between the second half of 2019 and the second half of 2020. Aggregate in-store grocery shopping trends changed even less—even as online grocery shopping activity ticked upward. And now, with COVID restrictions lifting, consumers are increasingly engaging with traditional retail establishments.

The importance of convenience across channels will only increase going forward, particularly as consumers grow increasingly comfortable with resuming pre-pandemic activities. According to an ongoing consumer lifestyle survey about the pandemic conducted by Nielsen Audio, sentiment among U.S. consumers that life is starting to become more normal was at its highest level in June 2021, with 90% of respondents saying they felt ready to resume pre-pandemic activities, including in-store shopping, spending time with others and eating out.

For many retailers, now is the time to re-engage with consumers. While essential retailers that have had frequent, ongoing engagements with consumers over the past year are likely top-of-mind among shoppers, many retailers may need to re-introduce themselves to the broader public—especially if they pulled back on their marketing and ad spend  last year.

So as consumer optimism and spending returns, retailers should be focused on marketing efforts that build their brands and grow awareness. This is particularly important for retailers thinking about their holiday planning, including click and collect options. That’s because brand awareness efforts can’t wait until September or October. They should be part of a holistic approach to marketing. 

Importantly, it’s time for retailers to pivot. To survive store closures last year, many retailers shifted to conversion-oriented strategies to keep their bottom lines afloat. Today, as vaccine availability rises and consumers reclaim aspects of their pre-pandemic lives, retailers need upper-funnel brand awareness campaigns to bring their brands  back into focus for consumers. We know that long-term growth requires a balance of short- and long-term marketing strategies, but retailers that pulled back on marketing last year likely have some ground to regain as they seek to re-engage with consumers.

3 Things Retailers can do ahead of key holiday events:

• Know who your target shoppers are post pandemic and ensure your ads are actually reaching them
• Personalize and test messaging to key shopper groups
• Set up measurement on how the campaigns resonated