1 in 4 Americans has a disability, yet rarely products and experiences are designed with this community in mind. A lack of accessible products perpetuates the perception that people with disabilities are dependent on others and creates a divide between those who are able-bodied and those who are disabled.

In creating Degree Inclusive, the world's first adaptive deodorant, we knew we also needed to reframed disability. It was important in communications to feature real people with disabilities, instead of elite athletes or Paralympians, and tell real stories about their passions

Doing things the rest of us give little thought to, can take real effort if you are disabled, including the experience of trying to use deodorant. People with disabilities apply deodorant multiple times a day, on multiple parts of their body, but often can’t do that without help. That experience needs to change. We believe that everyone should be able to take care of?their?hygiene needs independently.

Degree Inclusive revolutionizes not only the physical experience of using deodorant, but the entire brand experience, with accessible communications across all platforms telling true and unflinching stories of real people with disabilities. Feeling excluded causes as much pain as being hit – we set out to transform this experience to include everyone with a disability, collaborating and co-creating throughout its development.

And Degree was the perfect partner, with its inclusive brand purpose of inspiring confidence in everyone to move more.

Degree Inclusive is easier to handle, identify, open, close and apply, thanks to:

-A hooked design for one-handed usage

-A braille label with instructions

-Magnetic closures

-Enhanced grip placement

-A larger roll-on applicator to reach more surface area per swipe

-Refillable design

The beta product launch was supported by 2 hero films telling the story of Nick, a barber with no hands who is also a boxer and Maria, who is blind yet skates beautifully. Their stories, the story of the product and its co-collaborators, were told on social media and amplified by the disabled community and some of the most high-profile TV and press in the US.

We reframed disability positively within the media and challenged conventional design by getting the world excited about the first deodorant designed for people living with disabilities by people living with disabilities.

Our motto is “build with, not for” so we designed a process that was inclusive from the very start. We ideated, co-created and launched this design together with the disabled community. Our team was comprised of designers, engineers, occupational therapists from NYU, psychotherapists and members of the disabled community.

To optimize the design and product formulation, Degree created a beta program in the US to engage people with disabilities to trial the design and give their feedback on its concept, product features, and messaging, helping to improve all elements of the product and marketing mix for the full consumer launch.

It was also important in communications to feature real people with disabilities, instead of elite athletes or Paralympians, and tell real stories about their passions and challenges. We engaged the disabled community through social media and influencers with disabilities, to create a movement that ended up on Good Morning America.

Our aim was to drive US-first mass media awareness for Degree Inclusive, and focus our awareness and build credibility with people living with disabilities. 

We reframed disability positively within the media and challenged conventional design by getting the world excited about the first deodorant designed for people living with disabilities by people living with disabilities. 

A simple but effective strategy: 

1. Earned media: mass outreach to generate maximum impact at launch, while leveraging product creators and C-suite executives at Unilever to speak to product design and commitments.  ?

2. Earned social: leveraged influential people with disabilities to generate awareness and excitement within the disabled community. ?

3. Collaboration with expert partners: built credibility by working with key NGO’s like Muscular Dystrophy Association, The Lighthouse Chicago and Open Style Lab. ?

4. Collaboration with consumers:  invited 200 people with disabilities to trial the prototype design and give their feedback on concept, product features, messaging. ?

As GLAMOUR put it "Degree just made history by announcing the world's first adaptive deodorant".

The launch reached 2 billion earned impressions in the first 12 days, and hit major news media across US and Europe like Good Morning America, Wall Street Journal, ABC News, Fast Company, ELLE, Allure, Glamour, Daily Mail and The Independent.

Organic engagement with the whole Degree brand doubled.

These earned media results and shareability on social media led to a significant impact: the wider disabled community responded to the brand in droves. Degree received thousands of messages, social posts and comments from the people who were inspired by the brand showcasing this testament to just how vital this product innovation is, and how long the community has waited.

Most importantly, thanks to Degree Inclusive, the work to make more personal care products accessible and inclusive, has now begun in both Haircare and Skincare categories.