Talk to the hand

Marketing has a lot to do with colours, images, words and especially sounds. What many companies fail to take into account are the minorities that might not be able to hear the campaigns. The question is, how to engage with these consumers while engaging with the masses? One of the issues is that marketers often consider deaf people to be handicapped without understanding how they can be reached simultaneously while reaching people who do have the ability to hear. Volkswagen geniously incorporated both into their campaign of VW Tiguan:

Another example comes in the form of an unusual musician. Not often do we come across deaf musicians. However, Signmark - a deaf Finnish hip-hop artist - is the first deaf person ever to get a record deal with an international record label. He was performing in Melbourne earlier this year and I think he is an amazing example of someone creating something special in a way that cannot be understood by everyone, reaching far outside the square. For those who are curious

Singmark said it himself, music goes beyond listening - it is about more than what you can hear. He follows the beat by feeling the bass line and writes all the lyrics himself. The sign language performed in the videos is American sign language. Too many marketers are only concerned about pushing the message to the consumers nowadays. But as social media marketing is increasing and influencing buyer behaviour more and more, it is crucial to recognise that marketing goes beyond pushing the message. In today's environment it is more about listening, watching, observing, giving more power to the consumers and thinking outside the square. So many examples have proven this lately (one of the latest ones being Mt Buller, check out Sarah's blog). 

Should marketers focus more on sign language? Can there be a new type of benefit gained from it, what do you think?