The ADHD Advertising Advantage: Why We Should All Be Celebrating Distraction (Seriously!)

A little bit of ADHD could be the secret ingredient your campaigns have been missing.

Hey there, fellow marketeers and ad agency types! Let's talk about something that might surprise you: a little bit of ADHD could be the secret ingredient your campaigns have been missing.

Now, before you write me off as just another internet voice with a catchy headline, or jumping on the ADHD bandwagon but hear me out. As an ADHDer, I've spent years navigating the world of marketing and advertising with a brain that's, well, let's say "enthusiastic” (and also doesn’t understand time – this blog was intended to go out weeks ago). But here's the thing: that enthusiasm, that constant barrage of ideas, that inability to focus on just one shiny thing at a time – those are essential skills in the marketing world.

What a lack of focus looks like

Think about it. Traditional marketing is struggling to cut through. Attention spans are plummeting – studies show the average person's attention span is now shorter than a goldfish [Source: Statistic Brain]! And people are bombarded with messages from every direction.

How do you break through the noise? Enter the ADHD mind, with its:

Unconventional Thinking

We don't just colour inside the lines, we invent new crayons and rewrite the colouring book rules altogether. This translates to creative campaigns that really engage with people. A study by IBM even found that companies with a more neurodiverse workforce were 8 times more likely to achieve superior business results [Source: IBM].

Emotional empathy

Studies have shown that people with ADHD often possess a heightened ability to understand and share the feelings of others [Source: ADDitude Magazine]. 

This translates beautifully into marketing and advertising, where emotional connection is key. According to a study by Binet & Field, advertising that evokes an emotional response is 34% more effective at driving sales growth [Source: Binet & Field, "The Long and the Short of It"]. So, the ADHD mind's natural ability to connect with people on an emotional level can be a powerful tool for creating marketing campaigns that resonate and deliver real business results

Hyperfocus Power

When we latch onto an idea, we become laser-focused ninjas of execution. Imagine a team member who dives headfirst into a project, emerging with a fully fleshed-out strategy knowing everything there is to know about a topic that was previously alien to them.  This hyperfocus can lead to bursts of incredible productivity, allowing them to churn out high-quality content in record time. 

It means we know a lot of random shit because our brains are always jumping from one thing to another.  And as we know in agency world, you never know when a last minute pitch is gonna land and you’re going to need to know everything there is to know about the Latvian chemical toilet scene – and you may well have an ADHDer in the ranks who’s previously fallen into that hyperfixation hole. 

A few years ago I spent literally months watching ALL of the motorcycle videos on YouTube that have ever been made.  At that point I couldn’t ride, it was an aspiration, but one that turned my brain into obsession mode.  By random coincidence later that year I met up with an agency I’d wanted to work with for years, and in conversation they mentioned they’d just started working with Triumph Motorcycles – my dream brand (by which point my YouTube fixation had triggered my impulsive spending trait and I’d taken delivery of a Triumph T100 the week before, despite still not having a license at that point). And one I love working on to this day :-)

Big Picture Vision

We see the forest AND the trees – and maybe even the squirrels pissing about in the undergrowth. This allows us to see the long AND short of it at the same time.

I'm not saying having ADHD is a walk in the park and I refuse to use the word 'superpower' (imagine Spiderman with ADHD, he'd get caught up in his own web with the constant changes of direction). But with the right support and environment, those "challenges" become strengths.

So, the next time you need a campaign with a little bit of left field thinking, consider inviting someone with ADHD to the party. You might just be surprised by the brilliance that emerges from the beautiful chaos of the ADHD mind.

Want to learn more about harnessing the power of ADHD in your agency or marketing team? Stay tuned for future posts where I'll delve into practical tips, success stories, and how freelance-planner.co.uk can help you build a neurodiverse marketing dream team.

Intrigued and want to bring this energy to your team? I'd love to chat to agencies and brands, exploring the ADHD advantage in marketing and advertising. Feel free to emailing me directly at matthew@freelance-planner.co.uk.