Signs of an inclusive future

Turning Sainsbury’s into Signsbury’s. How agency Gravity Road created a more inclusive store for the hard-of-hearing.

The unseen nature of deafness makes it a disability too often overlooked - its effect on sufferers widely underestimated.

Yet the World Health Organisation estimates over 450 million people in the world have disabling hearing loss. And living in a silent (or near silent) world has been shown to have a major impact on everday life - causing feelings of loneliness, isolation and frustration. 

In the UK, for example, it is estimated that the incidence of mental health issues amongst the deaf is double that of those with normal hearing. And it was in the UK that staff at a branch of major supermarket chain Sainsbury’s decided to become the country’s first ‘signing’ store.

Calling in the services of Gravity Road, staff at the firm’s Bath store created a more deaf-inclusive supermarket for hard-of-hearing shoppers.

Lessons in British Sign Language were organised for 100 staff members, helpful screens were installed around the store and even children were encouraged to understand the problem better with a ‘Sign for a Snack’ promotion. 

Fortuitously, perhaps, the store’s iconic brand name proved one of the most visible manifestations of the initiative.

Overnight, Sainsbury’s became Signsbury’s - attracting wide media coverage (and praise ) both nationally and internationally.

Digital extensions of the initiative ensured that millions more picked up introductory ‘signing’ phrases, helping to cement Sainsbury’s reputation as an inclusive and caring shopping environment.

Gravity Road and its collaborators, Hope and Glory, won two awards at the 2020 Cresta Awards for their work on this campaign, and you can see how the idea worked in store in the short videos below.

More important than any trophy however is the effect this recognition might have on other brands.

Hopefully they will no longer be deaf to the need for greater inclusivity.