The 5th Motivation for Accessibility: Brand and Marketing - The Binary Choice

A follow-up to "The 4 Motivations for Accessibility - The Big WHY?"

In my previous post, I outlined four compelling motivations for digital accessibility: the business case of reaching a bigger addressable market (17% of the global population), making your product better for everyone through the curb cut effect, meeting legal requirements to avoid costly lawsuits, and most importantly - inclusion being the right thing to do.

But there's a fifth motivation that's becoming increasingly powerful in our emotion-driven marketplace: brand perception and marketing. And here's what makes this motivation unique - it's completely binary.

The Binary Nature of Accessibility Branding

When it comes to accessibility, there's no middle ground in brand perception. You're either perceived as a good brand that provides solutions for people with disabilities, or an evil brand that blocks them. There's no neutral territory.

Feelings are the secret of marketing, and accessibility evokes very strong feelings.

Let me show you what I mean.

The Saint: Apple's Accessibility Marketing Mastery

Watch Apple's accessibility campaigns and notice what you feel. Their "Sady" campaign features Sady Paulson, a young woman with cerebral palsy who uses Apple's Switch Control feature to navigate her computer and edit videos. The ad shows her morning routine, working on her iMac using head switches, and reveals at the end that she actually edited the very film we're watching. "When technology is designed for everyone, it lets anyone do what they love, including me," she says.

What emotions does this evoke? Inspiration? Pride? A sense that this is a company that truly cares about all its users? The campaign doesn't just show accessibility features - it demonstrates real empowerment and creative expression.

"At Apple, we believe accessibility is a human right," reads the description beneath their accessibility campaign video. This isn't just marketing speak - it's a brand promise that colors Apple with positive perception.

When Apple showcases accessibility, they're not just demonstrating features - they're positioning themselves as champions of inclusion. People with disabilities see a brand that enables them. Everyone else sees a brand that innovates for good. Apple turns accessibility into a marketing asset that makes money by allowing bigger audiences to use their solutions.

The Villain: Domino's Brand Disaster

Now contrast this with Domino's. Guillermo Robles, who has a vision disability, sued Domino's because their website and smartphone app were not accessible for people who use screen readers, citing barriers like lack of alternative text for graphics, empty hyperlinks with no text, and redundant links.

But here's what really damaged Domino's brand: it wasn't just that they had accessibility issues - it was how they responded. Domino's argued that the ADA does not apply to websites and contended that the lack of standards violated their Fourteenth Amendment rights to due process. The company chose to fight accessibility compliance for six years rather than simply fixing the problems.

What do you feel when you see this? A pizza company actively fighting against a blind person's right to order pizza online? By positioning themselves against the country's most important non-discrimination law, they may have significantly damaged their brand in the process.

Domino's became the poster child for brands that block people with disabilities. They spent money paying for lawsuits against their inaccessible solutions instead of making money by including a broader customer base.

The Economic Reality of the Binary Choice

This binary perception has direct economic consequences:

The Saint Side (Making Money):

• People with disabilities become loyal customers and advocates

• Families and communities of people with disabilities choose your brand

• Socially conscious consumers prefer brands that demonstrate inclusion

• Positive media coverage and word-of-mouth marketing

• Differentiation in crowded markets

• Authentic stories for marketing campaigns

The Villain Side (Losing Money):

• Legal fees and settlement costs

• Lost customers from the disability community (17% of the population)

• Negative publicity and brand damage

• Boycotts and social media backlash

• Lost talent from employees who want to work for inclusive companies

• Missed opportunities in underserved markets

Domino's may have spent millions of dollars fighting the case, while many of the issues cited in the original lawsuit were fairly common web accessibility barriers. Addressing those issues would have required some updating of Domino's website and mobile app, but making the changes would open up those resources to many more consumers.

Why the Binary Exists: Accessibility Colors Your Brand

Accessibility isn't just a feature - it's a values statement. When customers see how you treat people with disabilities, they're seeing who you really are as a company.

Are you the type of company that:

• Innovates solutions for everyone?

• Or builds walls that exclude?

• Values all customers equally?

• Or prioritizes only the "easy" customers?

• Leads with empathy?

• Or leads with excuses?

This is why accessibility colors your brand with such positive perception, and rightfully so. When you make your products accessible, you're demonstrating core values that customers want to align with: innovation, inclusion, empathy, and social responsibility.

Customers find it easier to identify with brands that show they care about everyone, not just the majority. In our increasingly socially conscious marketplace, this identification translates directly to preference, loyalty, and advocacy.

Beyond Compliance: Accessibility as Brand Strategy

Here's what forward-thinking companies understand: accessibility isn't a compliance checkbox - it's a brand differentiator.

While your competitors are treating accessibility as a legal requirement (if they're thinking about it at all), you can be positioning it as proof of your company's values and innovation. You can be the brand that doesn't just avoid discrimination - you actively champion inclusion.

This goes far beyond the four motivations I outlined previously:

• Bigger market: Yes, you reach 17% more potential customers

• Better products: Yes, accessible design improves usability for everyone

• Legal compliance: Yes, you avoid costly lawsuits

• Doing right: Yes, inclusion is fundamentally about human dignity

But the fifth motivation - brand and marketing - amplifies all the others. It turns accessibility from a cost center into a profit driver, from a legal requirement into a competitive advantage, from a nice-to-have into a must-have for modern brands.

The Choice Is Yours

The binary nature of accessibility branding means you can't stay neutral. Every day you delay making your products accessible, you're choosing a side. Every inaccessible feature is a statement. Every barrier you leave in place is a message to customers about your values.

The question isn't whether you can afford to invest in accessibility. The question is: can you afford to be perceived as the villain in an increasingly inclusive world?

Apple understood this choice and made accessibility a cornerstone of their brand identity. They turned inclusion into inspiration, barriers into bridges, and accessibility into advocacy.

Domino's chose differently and paid the price - not just in legal fees, but in brand perception that may take years to repair.

Your brand perception is in your hands. Will you be the saint that opens doors, or the villain that slams them shut?

Need advice about how to implement accessibility into your company's culture, processes, and values? i'm here to help: nir@nira11y.com