This new ad agency has a secret advantage, and it’s not what you think

At the new ad agency Ability Machine in Nashville, creatives have access to a full suite of tools ranging from podcasting and photography studios to lighting equipment and design software. They also have quiet sensory rooms, dimmable lights, and a flexible seating system. Every part of the agency, from the way it tackles projects to the physical space it works from, is designed with its staff in mind, who are all adults with intellectual disabilities. 

The Ability Machine describes itself as a studio “powered by neurodiverse minds” that turns creativity “into both purpose and a paycheck for adults with varying abilities.” So far, Ability Machine has already worked with multiple local brands, as well as national names like Mercedes-Benz and Kind, on a range of creative assets from slogans to artwork for retail spaces and ad campaigns. 

The agency is a newly formalized offshoot of the autism-focused nonprofit On the Avenue, which provides a studio space for adults with intellectual disabilities to pursue creative passions and, in some cases, find employment on a range of projects.

On the Avenue founder Tom Woodard has run the nonprofit for the past 10 years. Before that, he had a long career in advertising and brand building, primarily helping brands create signature jingles (you might remember him as the voice of the iconic Budweiser Super Bowl frogs). He says the idea for Ability Machine grew slowly over time, as he began bringing some of his creative projects to the community members at On the Avenue and asking for their input.

While there are other programs out there for adults with intellectual disabilities, Woodard says he doesn’t know of any other spaces that encourage their members to pursue their own creative work—and ultimately leverage those passions into paid opportunities in the ad industry.

A space to build professional skills

Ability Machine is located inside On the Avenue’s 6,000-square-foot warehouse space, which is already equipped with a podcast room, sound studio, multitrack recording software, and more. It’s also a work environment that’s been designed with accessibility as a key priority, meaning members have access to different types of seating depending on their needs, sensory rooms to mitigate overstimulation, and customizable light and sound settings. 

“It’s really cool because if you’ve got somebody that says, ‘Oh, quick, we need a storyboard written,’ we can turn to a citizen and employ them immediately,” Woodard says. “There’s a familiarity of the building, of the staff, of their surroundings that someone with an intellectual disability really needs and flourishes in.”

Days at On the Avenue are organized like a typical work day. Members arrive at 8 a.m., open the day with a group conversation, take a walk around the neighborhood, and then engage in something called assignment-based learning, which Woodard says is comparable to an individualized education program (IEP). The goal is to offer members a structured, productive environment that, for many adults with intellectual disabilities, can be difficult to find after high school ends at the age of 18.

“Eighty-five percent of all folks with intellectual disabilities are underemployed or unemployed,” Woodard says. “That was just a bad number. It needed somebody to step up and do something.”

Assignment-based learning at On the Avenue consists of projects guided by the interests of members. For example, Woodard says, one member named Riley has turned his love of college sports into a podcast called Rowdy Riley’s Sports Review, where he’s interviewed more than 15 NFL players and coaches. The team at On the Avenue is now looking for partners to help monetize the podcast.

“People always ask me, ‘What’s the outcome that you’re looking for?’” Woodard says. “And I go, ‘I don’t know.’ It’s like when you go to college—nobody says, ‘Hey, this is where you’re going to go work afterwards.’ We simply try to build those job skills, those life skills, those roommate skills for these individuals through creativity, which makes it fun.”

It’s through projects like Riley’s podcast that the idea for Ability Machine slowly germinated. The concept took real shape, though, when Woodard brought a project he was working on through his own creative agency for a Nashville candy shop called Goo Goo to members at On the Avenue.

“I remember we were doing the remodel of the Goo Goo’s 3rd Avenue store,” Woodard says. “[The Goo Goo team] came in and we were sitting around our table, and I brought a bunch of folks that were at On the Avenue to sit at the table. One guy started drawing purple goo goos, and doing different things, and it brought something out in them.”

After that meeting, members at On the Avenue helped complete the physical design of the 3rd Avenue location, as well as developing the slogan, “Never Chocolate Alone,” as a reference to Goo Goo’s bars with multiple mix-ins.

From there, Woodard began pitching the budding creative agency to other companies, leading to more projects like a collaboration with Kind (maker of breakfast and snack bars) to create art in its New York City offices; a series of custom thank you cards and coloring books for a local Mercedes dealership; and an ad campaign for the brewery Music City Beer Co. Within the last few months, Woodard formalized this work into the official Ability Machine brand, with help from the creative and strategic partner Lewis and web development partner Ally.

A new kind of ad agency

The Ability Machine’s work model is flexible—some of its employees are full-time staffers, while others are community members at On the Avenue who can opt to contribute part-time for a project and receive an hourly wage. The system is built to ensure that members can work on schedules that make sense for them, while gaining hands-on professional experience. 

Currently, the Ability Machine has several new projects in the works, but Woodard is hoping to spread the word about the agency’s model to a broader base. Until established ad agencies are able to adjust their own office spaces to accommodate workers with intellectual disabilities, Woodard says, hiring the Ability Machine on smaller projects is a great way to support the community.

“I didn’t want to build an agency just to build another agency,” Woodard says. “I wanted to build something with purpose.”