Did you know that there are over 14 million disabled people in the UK? The chances are that, whether you know it or not, somebody in your life is disabled. It also means that you will have clients or customers that are also disabled. As The Purple Pound points out, “The spending power of disabled people and their household continues to increase and is currently (2020) estimated to be worth £274 billion per year to UK business.”
With this in mind, you want to make sure that your marketing is as inclusive and accessible as possible – but what can you do to make that happen?
Read on to find out.
Meet Google All In
Google wanted to ensure that they could help businesses in their efforts to be more inclusive and created Google All In for agencies and brands as a toolkit to support them. To ensure that this kit was created with the right information, Google collaborated with LaVant Consulting and Disability:IN, and as a result, they were endorsed by the American Association of Ad Agencies, Ad Council, Cannes Lions, and many other leading organizations.
With any marketing activity, you want to ensure that you can be as inclusive as possible
A playbook to support marketers 
The playbook was created as a guide for marketers after a year of research and collaboration across many accessibility topics, including but not limited to; web experience, authentic depictions of disabilities and more.
Their hope, by sharing it publicly, is to improve the representation of disabled people in the media and create work that is fully accessible. But what can you do to be as inclusive as possible?
Ask disabled people rather than just assuming
The best people to talk about what disabled people want and need are disabled people themselves. This means that when you are trying to make decisions, whether that be on internal matters, policy, marketing campaigns or anything else, you include disabled people and get their views from the start. This may include reaching out to a third party, such as a disability consultant, for advice.
It is worth remembering that if you have a disabled member of staff, it is not their job to be an educator unless they want to be. This is why, when needed, it’s good to have disability consultants on hand.
Remember, intersectionality is important too
With any marketing activity, you want to ensure that you can be as inclusive as possible, and while it’s important to consider disabled people, you should also think about the bigger picture. Seeing a representation of yourself in the media is important, and it may be something that some of us hadn’t considered before.
Some other areas to consider are:
- Gender
- Race
- Ethnicity
- Sexual Orientation
- Age
- Education Level
Remember, for the best results, seek guidance from those who are living through the experience or a third party so that you don’t rely on outdated information or stereotypes.
Making accessibility a part of your business, rather than an exercise
When your business is as accessible as possible, you will see benefits not only in terms of your team being happier and feeling more accepted in the workplace, but it also shows that you value people and their differences. For customers and clients, it shows that you are able to adapt and want to cater to their needs, seeing them as the individuals they are. After all, nobody wants to feel like a tick box!
It goes without saying that making the world more accessible and inclusive can only be a good thing, and there are now more tools available than ever to help you with this.
Are you looking for some support with your next marketing campaign? Click below to get in touch with us today, and let's catch up over a cuppa.
