Havas Health is futureproofing creativity through Neurodiversity Center of Excellence

Havas Health launched its Neurodiversity Center of Excellence, a consultancy dedicated to advising brands on how to incorporate neurodivergent talent into its creative marketing, brand strategy and business transformation.

Neuroverse: Powered by Havas is part of the agency’s Center of Excellence, providing consulting services regarding neurodiversity such as training, certification and talent development. Havas has also partnered with Understood.org and Creative Spirit, nonprofit organisations that provide support for those with intellectual disabilities. For Neuroverse, Understood.org is offering subject matter expertise through psychologists and coaches and developing relevant resources for Havas employees.

“One of the amazing things about Havas is we’re always a future-forward organisation,” said David Pflug, head of neurodiversity and associate managing director at Havas Health. “I think when leadership saw how the future of creativity, commerce and talent was going to be neurodiverse, it just became undeniable that we needed to focus on that.”

According to a study released by ZenBusiness in 2023, 53% of Gen Z identify as neurodivergent. Another study by Accenture in 2023, “The Disability Inclusion Imperative,” cited that workplaces that foster neurodiversity experience 28% higher revenue, along with an increase in productivity and innovation.

“Neurodivergent thinkers have long been catalysts for creativity and breakthrough ideas,” Pflug added.

The Neurodiversity Center of Excellence launch makes Havas the first agency to launch a consultancy revolving around neurodivergency. 

When it comes to gathering statistics of neurodivergent individuals, the resulting numbers are often broad, usually because some don’t realize that they’re neurodivergent. Nowadays, individuals are receiving diagnoses—such as for ADHD—much later in life, especially women. Based on this, Friedman said he believes that Neuroverse: Powered by Havas will benefit everyone, regardless of whether they’re neurodivergent or not. 

“We've also seen external data that shows that people in the workplace have not necessarily had the equitable opportunity that everybody has,” he continued. “So, we're really working with organisations to shape not only how they operate, but how they communicate, how they train and how they apply what we call universal design principles.”

He referenced the “universal design” concept, in which something that is designed for the most marginalised of communities benefits everyone. One example, he said, is the use of closed captions on televisions that were originally designed for those who are hard of hearing. Now, everybody uses them.

Pflug said that what prompted the development of Neuroverse was seeing it not as a responsibility, but an opportunity.

“As we have talked to our clients about neurodiversity, it has been not only eye-opening in some regards, but it has been inspiring in others,” he explained. “It catalyses both conversation and action that truly will benefit society moving forward.”

Friedman said that over the past six months, there has been a “tremendous uptick” in understanding what neurodiversity is. He noticed various types of business and agency leaders are also taking notice.

“We're seeing business leaders and different organizations thinking about how they can include marketing and targeting neurodivergent individuals,” he continued. “It's a significant portion of the consumer base, and we know neurodivergent individuals are over-indexed on certain purchasing habits and different categories.”

He added that neurodiversity is also becoming central to different business conversations.

“People are wondering how they can harness the power of neurodiversity, not only in their work, but to help what the organization itself does: to raise productivity, to raise revenue and margins and really to shape their world, to incorporate all different learners and thinkers,” he explained.

Pflug believes neurodiversity isn’t just a philosophy.

“At the end of the day, it’s a proven strategy for revenue, growth, innovation, competitive advantage and I think people are beginning to recognise that,” he explained. “The more we do to amplify that opportunity, the better.”

The neurodiversity-focused consultancy is one of the many health initiatives Havas recently launched to address the evolving needs of Americans today. At CES, the agency released “Superwomen,” a trend intelligence report on developing technologies and research that redefine women’s health, and launched its first creator-led, docuseries surrounding the cultural and scientific transformation driven by GLP-1 medications.