How a chance meeting with Birdsnest’s Jane Cay in a shopping centre car park sparked this founder’s mission to make advertising more inclusive

New South Wales-based certified social enterprise Disinfluencer is on a mission to take disability mainstream and is already working with some of Australia’s leading brands to create more inclusive advertising.

Australia’s first dedicated inclusive hub was launched in April 2023 by its founder, Merimbula local and mum of two Simone Eyles.

The online platform provides businesses, brands and workplaces with the tools, education and talent they need to become more inclusive to help them create content that represents people with disabilities in powerful ways.

With Disability Pride Month currently underway, Disinfluencer has this week launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise $15,000 to place a major billboard on Sydney’s Princess Highway.

There are also plans for the enterprise to launch a subscription offering before the end of July, which will offer businesses and brands ongoing access to a stock photo library, user-generated content (UGC) and e-learning modules.

Speaking to SmartCompany, Eyles said a couple of years ago she began questioning why we don’t see disability in the media in a different light – in a commercial and empowering light and through marketing.

Then a chance meeting with the founder of a prominent NSW women’s online fashion retailer in 2023 gave Eyles the opportunity to pitch...