Technology today is reigning the world. Knowingly or unknowingly you are dependent on technology for information, entertainment or leisure. However, there are numerous brands present in the market, but there are a few which conquer the market. And it is necessary for brands like these to run campaigns to make the world of technology inclusive and not forgo a significant section of society. Below are a few brands with their inclusive brand campaigns:
Microsoft
“My name is Grover…Sean…my name is Ian… I’m Taylor.” And finally, “My name is Owen, and I am nine and a half years old.” Microsoft’s ‘We All Win’ ad opens with high-spirited, passionate, visibly disabled kids introducing themselves. Microsoft’s ‘We All Win’ ad aired during the 2019 SuperBowl, promoting the new Xbox Adaptive Controller.
The design is intriguing as well as inclusive. It all started when Microsoft apprehended the difficulties manifested by children with physical disabilities found to play video games with conventional controllers.
It propelled the company to come up with the Xbox Adaptive Controller in association with charity organisations like the AbleGamers Charity, the Cerebral Palsy Foundation, SpecialEffect and Warfighter Engaged.
The product designed keeping inclusivity in mind culminated in a Super Bowl commercial. Microsoft interacted with the gamers about their experiences and about how the controller helped them. “We All Win,” shows the commitment of Microsoft towards its customers with different abilities.
Lego/ Braille Bricks
Lego is a Danish toy production company, best known for the manufacture of Lego-brand toys, consisting mostly of interlocking plastic bricks. Lego launched new building blocks called Braille Bricks to interest children who are blind and visually impaired. The Braille Bricks were launched in seven countries including the United States, France, Germany, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Denmark, and Norway.
What makes the LEGO Braille Bricks inclusive?
“Each brick in the LEGO Braille Bricks toolkit retains its iconic form, but unlike a regular LEGO brick, the studs are arranged to correspond to numbers and letters in the Braille alphabet. Each brick shows the printed version of the symbol or letter, allowing sighted and blind children to play and learn together on equal terms. This ingenious combination of features opens up a whole new world of playful learning that teaches children Braille in an enjoyable and tactile environment,” the Lego Braille Bricks description reads.
Google Maps
Want to know whether or not a business around you is accessible to wheelchair users? Well, Google Maps has a feature that assists businesses to indicate whether their enterprises are accessible to wheelchair users or not. All you have to do is to set it up through your account so that wheelchair-accessible locations reflect in your searches. The features that sort results immediately building are accessible. Likewise, results for accessible parking spots and toilets can be viewed.
Apple
One of the many reasons for the fondness of people towards Apple is its products customisable for all users. Probably one of the many brands that keep inclusivity at its core. Before announcing powerful software features curated for people with mobility, vision, hearing, and cognitive disabilities, Apple has ample features that make it accessible.
According to the press release, later this year, Apple is all set to update software across all of Apple’s operating systems. This will allow “people with limb differences to navigate Apple Watch using AssistiveTouch; iPad will support third-party eye-tracking hardware for easier control; and for blind and low vision communities, Apple’s industry-leading VoiceOver screen reader will get even smarter using on-device intelligence to explore objects within images. In support of neurodiversity, Apple is introducing new background sounds to help minimise distractions, and for those who are deaf or hard of hearing, Made for iPhone (MFi) will soon support new bi-directional hearing aids.”
Apple has also launched a new service called SignTime which enables customers to communicate with AppleCare and Retail Customer Care by using American Sign Language (ASL) in the US, British Sign Language (BSL) in the UK, or French Sign Language (LSF) in France, right in their web browsers.
Amazon
Alexa is now accessible to all. Alexa has been a friend in moments of leisure by playing songs to soothe your mood, turning on/off the lights while sitting on the couch. But millions of people with speech impairments often cannot use their own voices to benefit from the popular speech technology.
Speech start-up Voiceiit collaborated with Amazon to make Alexa more accessible to people with atypical speech. The collaboration aims to improve independence and quality of life for individuals with speech and motor disabilities. Voiceitt app empowers people with speech impairments to communicate by using machine learning and speech recognition technologies.
