A new study has found that adverts featuring people with a disability enhance customer attitudes towards the brands and products being promoted. A total of 15 per cent of people worldwide have disabilities, either hidden or visible, but advertisements often do not represent these groups. In the study, however, adverts featuring someone with a disability resulted in more positive attitudes towards the brands that produced them. The findings were consistent across experiments conducted in both public and private settings, indicating that people are not simply influenced by a desire to come across well in front of others. The findings run contrary to industry perceptions, as Bayes Business School professor and study co-author Zachary Estes explained. “Our survey of marketing managers revealed concerns that including people with disabilities in adverts may alienate ‘mainstream’ consumers and risk accusations of tokenism and exploitation. However, our experiments strongly indicate that any consumer backlash for including models with a disability is not only unfounded, but commercially naïve.” The research also found that the mandatory inclusion of advert models with disabilities yielded a positive impact on consumer attitudes towards the brand involved. Something that did erode the benefits of this form of inclusion, however, was when an advert portrayed someone as vulnerable because of their disability. Co-authored with Martina Cossu at the University of Amsterdam and Bocconi University’s Joachim Vosgerau, the study was published in the Journal of Marketing . EB BENEFITS OF INCLUSIVITY IN ADVERTISING IDENTIFIED IN STUDY SCHOOL : Bayes Business School City St George’s, University of London, UK
NEW PLATFORM TO CONVENE EXPERTISE ON AFRICA’S BUSINESS FUTURE
SCHOOL : Lagos Business School Pan-Atlantic University, Nigeria
Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University, has launched a new platform for research‑backed insights and leadership perspectives on the forces shaping Africa’s business future. SignalAfrica, according to the school, is a response to the growing need for thoughtful, evidence‑driven conversations that address the institutional questions confronting African businesses. By collating faculty research, practitioner perspectives and alumni insights, the platform intends to convene engagement among business leaders, policymakers, scholars and practitioners. There will also be a focus on institutions, rather than individuals, in view of the increasing calls for organisations that are built to be resilient and adaptive. An additional emphasis will fall on aspects of inclusion and equity of access. Lagos Business School initiatives in areas such as sustainability, strategy and ethical leadership will provide research insights, alongside faculty thought leadership. Practitioner and alumni perspectives, meanwhile, will focus on lived experiences with organisational challenges. Available on Lagos Business School’s website and as a monthly newsletter, SignalAfrica is said to feed into the school’s wider mission to develop responsible leaders and strengthen business in Africa. Among the stories currently featured is an article on ecosystem thinking in the context of Africa’s digital economy. Its author, Lagos Business School professor Nkemdilim Iheanachor, argues that the continent’s response to rapid evolution is a sign of things to come elsewhere. “Africa isn’t just adopting global strategy; it’s redefining what strategy means. The future of strategy will be written across networks, not within firms acting alone.” TBD
10 Ambition • ISSUE 3 • 2026
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