World Dyslexia Day: Neurodiversity in Advertising and Media

🧠 Neurodiversity in media: who gets seen, heard and understood? As conversations around inclusion evolve, neurodiversity remains too often overlooked in media and advertising. The way stories are told, and who tells them, shapes how neurodivergent people are perceived and supported, and insights from the NDIM - Neurodiversity in Media Substack highlight that representation alone isn’t enough, the systems behind media matter just as much.  Here are a few key reflections: 🔹 Representation without understanding can reinforce stereotypes  Neurodivergent characters are often portrayed through narrow or exaggerated lenses. Without lived experience shaping these narratives, media risks oversimplifying complex identities. 🔹 Access to the industry remains unequal  Barriers to entry, from recruitment practices to workplace environments, mean neurodivergent talent is underrepresented behind the scenes. This directly impacts the authenticity of what we see on screen. 🔹 Content and distribution shape perception  Algorithms and editorial decisions influence which narratives are amplified and which are overlooked, impacting public understanding of neurodiversity. 🔹 Inclusive design benefits everyone  From accessible production processes to more thoughtful storytelling, designing with neurodiversity in mind leads to better, more effective media for all audiences. Why this matters?  Media doesn’t just reflect society, it shapes it. When neurodivergent people are excluded or misrepresented, it reinforces misunderstanding and limits progress towards a more inclusive industry. At CAN, we believe responsible media means creating an ecosystem that works for everyone, both in front of and behind the camera. 🔗 Explore more insights here: https://ndim.substack.com/ ✉️ Want to learn more about CAN and our work on inclusive, responsible advertising? Contact hello@consciousadnetwork.org #Neurodiversity #InclusiveMedia #RepresentationMatters #ConsciousAdvertising #ResponsibleMedia #Inclusion #DiversityAndInclusion #TogetherWeCan 

Friday feels…."We love different thinking. Or at least, we say we do.” A piece of research (published 28th July 2026) examining 54 articles about neurodiversity in advertising and design trade media highlighted a fascinating contradiction. Neurodivergent people are increasingly celebrated for the different ways they think, create, and solve problems. But when it comes to making the workplace genuinely inclusive, the responsibility can still fall on the individual to adapt. In other words: We celebrate the difference. But do we change the environment? It’s an important question for an industry built around creativity, innovation, and challenging convention, because if advertising, media, technology, and creative industries genuinely value different thinking, then perhaps we need to look beyond recruitment and representation. We need to look at the way we actually work. How meetings are run, how ideas are developed, how people are managed, how success is measured, how offices are designed, and how careers progress. Asking the question whether the "right way" of working is really the only way. Different thinking shouldn't require people to constantly adapt themselves to fit the system. The system needs to become better at adapting too. This is what we wholly believe and why Different Minds In Media has been set up. 👉 We have some amazing ideas and thoughts in the pipeline. Follow us on LinkedIn to keep up to date. Research: Barker, Brodmerkel & Meyrick, "Celebrated yet constrained: neurodiversity and the limits of inclusion in advertising and design trade press", Communication Research and Practice, 2026. Taylor & Francis Online (https://lnkd.in/eZvWvdrP) Dayna Moon Steve Beckwith #DifferentMindsInMedia #Neurodiversity #Neuroinclusion #Advertising #CreativeIndustries #Media #Technology #DifferentThinking

Channel 4 Sales’ groundbreaking Disability Comms Guide and Playbook, created in partnership with our friends at Purple Goat Agency, Bupa, and Initiative, is now officially available to the entire advertising industry. Built from the legacy of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, this resource offers brands and agencies the clearest, most practical guidance yet on how to embed authentic disability inclusion across TV, digital and social. Here’s why this matters today: 🔹 Actionable, accessible, industry-ready guidance The Playbook demystifies accessibility, builds confidence, and equips marketeers with proven strategies for meaningful representation on and off screen.    🔹 Driving long-term inclusion, not short-term campaigns    Alongside the Playbook, Purple Goat Agency is offering training and in-person workshops to help teams put inclusion into practice at every stage of the creative process. 🔹 A collaborative blueprint for systemic change Conceptualised by Channel 4 Sales’ Partner Labs and developed with our friends at Purple Goat Agency, with the deal brokered by Initiative, this Playbook is a tangible example of what’s possible when organisations unite around inclusive design. As we mark International Day of Persons with Disabilities, this launch is a powerful reminder that advertising is at its most effective when it is truly representative. 🔗 Explore more about the Disability Comms Guide and Playbook here:  https://lnkd.in/ewr_Z-vt 🔗 Check out CAN's Inclusion Guide here:  https://lnkd.in/e46DdDeB ✉️ Have an important resource to share? Reach out to us at hello@consciousadnetwork.org  #IDPD2025 #InclusiveAdvertising #DisabilityInclusion #RepresentationMatters #AccessibleComms #TogetherWeCAN 

Step 1 of CAN's Guiding Principles (The Fundamentals) equips organisations with tools to prepare, recruit, and embed changes through internal policies to ensure they are set up for success with inclusion at the core. 📊 In the UK, the employment rate for ethnically diverse people is just 62.8%, a stark reminder that barriers to opportunity still exist and that meaningful progress on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) remains essential. The Conscious Advertising Network (CAN) Guiding Principles set out practical actions to help industries build more inclusive and responsible advertising. They focus on accountability, representation, and creating work that does not reinforce harmful stereotypes. CAN’s Inclusion Guide further supports marketers and advertisers with clear, practical steps to embed inclusion throughout the creative process. This week is Race Equality Week and Race Equality Matters (REM) provides free, solutions-focused resources to help organisations tackle race inequality. Their mission is clear: remove barriers and implement what works. Change happens when organisations move beyond statements and commit to practical action. ✅ Looking for practical ways to take action? 🔗 Check out the CAN Guiding Principles here: https://lnkd.in/dXdHNjQ4    🔗 Explore CAN’s Inclusion Guide: https://lnkd.in/e46DdDeB    🔗 Join the REM network: https://lnkd.in/e_iymV_q ✉️ Any questions about CAN and our free membership? Contact hello@consciousadnetwork.org  #RaceEqualityMatters #Inclusion #ConsciousAdvertising #InclusiveMarketing #TogetherWeCan

🌈 The Outvertising 2025 Impact Report is a powerful reflection of the organisation’s continued work to build more queer-inclusive creative workplaces and more inclusive advertising.  Page 12 highlights the collaboration between the Conscious Advertising Network and Outvertising on the Advocacy Playbook, which supports our shared mission to achieve greater LGBTQIA+ equity across advertising and marketing workplaces and work. Now one year on from launch, the Playbook has become a key industry resource, the first comprehensive LGBTQIA+ advocacy guide for the UK advertising and marketing sector, designed to help embed inclusion both in workplaces and in creative work. Since launch, it has  🔹 Generated 16 pieces of press coverage  🔹 Been downloaded 451 times (as of Dec 2025)  🔹 Been shared across leading industry stages including Advertising Week Europe, Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Media360, IPA (Institute of Practitioners in Advertising) Talent & Diversity Conference, Campaign UK Live, and The Marketing Meetup Alongside this, both Outvertising and CAN continue to champion inclusion across the industry, including through CAN’s Inclusion Guide, supporting organisations to embed more equitable and effective practices.  🔗 Read the full Impact Report here: https://lnkd.in/ervjinPq 🔗 Check out the Advocacy Playbook here: https://lnkd.in/e7S7mCcc 🔗 Explore CAN’s Inclusion Guide here https://lnkd.in/e46DdDeB #Outvertising #LGBTQIA #Inclusion #Advertising #Marketing #DiversityAndInclusion #Equity #ConsciousAdvertising #TogetherWeCan 

Recent news about tribunals and ADHD employee dismissals without full disclosure shine a light not only on the importance of the right systems and process in organisations, but more concerningly on the narrative problem on neurodivergence and developmental conditions the last few years. I feel we have overplayed the 'superpower' thing to the point where people are perhaps shocked by the downsides. Likewise, calling it just a disability is limiting, and is needless to say impacting for ND employees. The reality is - it is a balance of good and bad, like any person, style, or indeed Operating System, and it is learning about its exceptional benefits yet at times challenges. Like any human should about another. Knowing this, having full disclosure processes, and support in place ensures there are adjustments and no nasty employer surprises. Everyone's a winner then, but reality needs to catch up for sure! cc NDIM - Neurodiversity in Media - where you can get hold of a 4S User guide for your business (Systems, Space, Safety & Support for your ND colleagues)

📣 Rethinking How We Represent Ageing in Advertising Age Without Limits has highlighted that ageism is the most widespread form of discrimination in the UK, yet it often goes unnoticed because it is so deeply embedded in the stories we see, hear and create.  A 2025 study from the Advertising Standards Authority found that older people are more likely than any other group to be stereotyped in advertising. With the older population rapidly growing, authentic representation is increasingly important and reflects the diversity of society. For brands and agencies, portraying ageing with nuance, dignity and humanity isn’t just the right thing to do, it is a chance to: 🔹 Stand out creatively  🔹 Reach a fast-growing, engaged audience  🔹 Build deeper trust with diverse consumers  🔹 Shift cultural perceptions and challenge harmful stereotypes At The Conscious Advertising Network, we champion inclusive representation across all ages. These actions strengthen creative work and support a healthier, more inclusive media ecosystem for everyone. 📖 Download Ageless Creativity: Guidelines for Representing Ageing and Older People in the Creative Industry here: https://lnkd.in/eSkcU7PG ✉️ Want to share impactful resources? Reach out to us at hello@consciousadnetwork.org #InclusiveAdvertising #AgeRepresentation #CreativeIndustries #ConsciousAdvertising #TogetherWeCAN 

November marks Transgender Awareness Month 🏳️⚧️ At The Conscious Advertising Network, we believe advertising has the power to shape culture, and that includes ensuring LGBTQIA+ communities are represented authentically and inclusively. Earlier this year, we partnered on the Outvertising Advocacy Playbook – a bold, practical guide for brands, agencies, and marketers looking to create truly inclusive workplaces and communications. With informed data, actionable principles, and clear guidance, the Playbook empowers the industry to challenge outdated norms and avoid reinforcing harmful stereotypes. Next week, Outvertising Live 2025 brings together 200+ marketers on Wednesday 19th November at Curzon Soho for keynotes, panels, and workshops exploring LGBTQIA+ inclusive marketing in action. Learn practical strategies, celebrate progress, and connect with changemakers driving real impact.     We encourage anyone in the industry to read this Playbook and get tickets to this event to help make this vital shift in how the LGBTQIA+ community are supported and represented. 🎟️ Get your tickets here: https://lnkd.in/d8ZDN6NT 📖 Read the Playbook here: https://lnkd.in/e7S7mCcc #TransAwarenessMonth #InclusiveAdvertising #LGBTQIAInclusion #ConsciousAdvertising #Outvertising #RepresentationMatters  #TogetherWeCan 

Book Managing Neurodivergent Teams with Confidence now! Full details below from Alan Stracey ACC who will be leading the session 👇

A fantastic start to #CannesLions2026! Our CEO Rich Miles joined an incredible panel hosted by Seedtag x Different Minds to dive deep into neurodiversity, technology, and why the industry needs to move past mere awareness and into action. With 48% of the creative industry identifying as neurodivergent, only 3% of Cannes’ sessions cover this specific DE&I topic. True inclusion isn't a box-ticking exercise. It's a business imperative that drives a 16% higher ROI. At The DSC, we’re all about bringing real community voices into the room from day one, so the panel's focus on representation at the design stage really resonates. You cannot design brilliant workplaces, tech, or campaigns for people without building them with them. Co-creation from the start is how we unlock much better, more impactful work. A huge thank you to Seedtag, Different Minds, and fellow panellists Alice Beecroft Amy Williams Charlie Johnson David Sequeira Matt Longley Nathan Friedman Paul Wright Sarah Pettitt (Taylor) for such a vital, forward-thinking conversation. Let’s keep pushing for action! 🚀 #CannesLions #Neurodiversity #InclusionInCreative #InclusiveMarketing #RepresentationMatters #TheDSC