Our brand
One brand strategy
Brand expression
Power of Priceless
Asset Library
Inclusion and accessibility
As a marketer or content creator at Mastercard, you've probably considered a variety of strategies to expand the reach of your marketing message. But if you're like many people, you may have overlooked the large number of people with disabilities.
Accessible marketing is critical to the success of your individual marketing efforts and our business as a whole.
Whether you’re already employing accessibility best practices or just starting to learn about them, Mastercard's accessibility guidelines for marketing will help ensure our products, services, marketing and communications are inclusive of everyone.
LEARN MORE ABOUT
KEY TAKEAWAYS
01
02
03
04
Best practices for accessibility
The following section covers many principles to help you get started building accessibility into and across your marketing and content creation efforts. These principles incorporate best practices that we gathered from both research and consulting with accessibility experts, and they serve as solid building blocks to help you on your journey to make your marketing more accessible.
- Writing
- Text
- Color
- Imagery
- Video
- Websites
- Mobile Apps
- Social Media
- PDFs
- Web3 and emerging technologies
It is critical that our written content is inclusive and accessible to all users. We recognize that not all users consume written content in the same way, and that there are many factors that can affect a user's ability to access and understand written information.
By following the guidelines and best practices outlined in this section — which have been prepared by the United Nations Office at Geneva as part of efforts to implement the United Nations Disability Inclusion Strategy — we can ensure that our written content is clear, concise and easily understood by all users, including those with disabilities.
Use “disability” as the broadly accepted and suitable term for someone who has an condition.
Avoid terms like “differently abled,” “people of determination” or “all access” as they’re euphemistic and can be considered patronizing or offensive.
Use people-first language
People-first language emphasizes the person, not the disability. For example, we can use expressions such as “women with intellectual disabilities” and “people with disabilities.” However, the people-first rule does not necessarily apply to all types of disabilities. There are some exceptions. For example, when referring to people who are blind, it's appropriate to say either “blind people” or “people who are blind.” The same applies to deaf or deafblind people.
If in doubt, ask the person or group how they choose to identify. But remember, people with disabilities are not a homogeneous group and they may self-identify in various ways.
Avoid labels and stereotypes
Avoid labeling people and do not mention a person’s disability or condition unless it is relevant, particularly in internal communications and emails. But disability shouldn’t be ignored or made invisible. Openly and respectfully discuss disability-related issues with colleagues and partners and make disability inclusion a priority.
Don’t victimize
The term "victim" should not be used unless strictly relevant. It is inappropriate to say that a person is "a victim of cerebral palsy," for example. Having cerebral palsy does not make the person a "victim." A victim is a person who has been harmed by a crime or has been subject to a human rights violation. Victims are often seen as vulnerable and helpless. This underlying perception must be taken into account when using this term in reference to people with disabilities.
Don’t appropriate disability language
Misused terminology can be inappropriate and hurtful, so avoid saying "I must have Alzheimer’s" when you forget something or "they’re paranoid" when people seem to be acting with excessive mistrust. Never use disability-related terms as an insult or to express criticism. For example, do not use the word "lame"
ESSENTIAL TOOLS
Text accessibility entails creating content that is simple to read and understand for people with varying levels of literacy. To accomplish this, digital marketers must use clear and simple language, select appropriate font styles and sizes.
Left align text (or right align Arabic text)
This seems simple enough, but there are nuances that make a big difference. For example, centered text can be difficult for users with cognitive or learning disabilities and those who use screen readers. That said, you can center single line headlines above content. In addition, content that is wrapped to more than two lines should be aligned left. You should also avoid copy that is justified center or aligned right and avoid text in all capital letters.
Use accessible fonts
Mastercard’s brand font is Mark for MC, an accessible sans serif font. If Mark for MC isn't available, use Century Gothic or Arial.
Use readable font size
Use readably large fonts with high contrast to make content accessible to individuals with visual conditions.
Using effective color contrast
Use a 4.5:1 contrast ratio for normal text and 3:1 for large text. Large text is defined as 14 point or larger (typically 18.66px) and bold, or 18 point or larger (typically 24px). Use Webaim contrast checker to check the contrast of your foreground and background colors. Be sure not to use color alone to differentiate things, which is a barrier for people who are colorblind. You can consider adding a shape to denote meaning instead of relying on color. Another example would be to include words such as "on track,” “at risk” and “blocking” along with those green, yellow and red colors to indicate project status.
Color is a critical component of accessibility because colorblind and low vision users may not be able to perceive the color differences, and screen readers don't announce colors to non-sighted readers. Colors must have enough contrast between the background and text color to ensure readability. The technical term for this is luminance contrast ratio. This includes the text on icons, images, buttons and other graphical elements that display information.
The maximum color contrast ratio is 21:1, which happens when one color is black and the other white. The lowest number is 1:1; this would occur with two similar colors placed together. The ratio stays the same when text and background colors are swapped.
Aim for a contrast ratio of the background to the text of 4.5:1 or greater. Webaim Contrast Checker is a great tool that helps with testing color contrast. Contrast ratio for 3:1 for larger fonts (18 and above).
Do not rely on color alone when conveying important information. Relying on color alone to communicate information causes barriers to access for many readers, which don’t perceive the color differences for success rates (often green), errors (often red) or a system warning (often yellow or red).
ESSENTIAL TOOLS
When it comes to creating and selecting images and illustrations there are a few key things to keep in mind:
Use descriptive alt text
Alt text is a description that is read by screen readers to help people with visual disabilities understand what an image is showing. When using images, it's important to include descriptive alt text that accurately describes the content and context of the image. This helps insure people who are blind or experience low vision are not missing out on any important information.
Use high-contrast images
Images that have high contrast between the foreground and background are easier to see for individuals with visual conditions. When selecting images for your digital marketing content, choose images that have clear lines and shapes, and avoid images with low contrast or subtle color variations.
Avoid text within images
If you do include text within an image, it's important to also provide that text in the content surrounding the image. Screen readers cannot read text within images, so if the text is important to understanding the content, it needs to be provided in another format.
ESSENTIAL TOOLS
Video accessibility is essential in digital marketing to ensure that all viewers, including those with disabilities, can access and interact with video content. To ensure video accessibility, consider the following:
Flashing visuals at a certain frequency can cause a seizure. Unsafe flashing cannot be allowed even for a short period of time, as it poses a safety risk for the viewing audience. Once identified, unsafe flashing can be costly and time consuming to fix, especially for production teams who have already started down a creative path.
Ensure that the video player is accessible, including keyboard navigation and compatibility with assistive technologies such as screen readers, text-to-speech software and refreshable Braille displays.
Provide closed captions or transcripts for all audio content within the video to make it accessible to individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Use audio descriptions for any visual content within the video to ensure that individuals who are blind or experience low vision can consume the content.
Use clear and easy-to-read fonts with high contrast for any text within the video to make it accessible to individuals with visual conditions.
Provide clear and detailed instructions for any visual content that is interactive within the video, such as on-screen prompts and instructions for users.
Ensure that the video's content is presented in a logical and organized manner to prevent confusion and frustration for users with cognitive disabilities.
Use inclusive language and avoid any bias or stereotypes within the video's content to ensure that it is accessible to all viewers.
Conduct regular accessibility testing and audits to identify and address any accessibility barriers within video content.
ESSENTIAL TOOLS
Mastercard recognizes the importance of ensuring that our websites accommodate people with disabilities and strives to adhere to Level AA of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), a set of international standards developed through the W3C process in cooperation with individuals and organizations around the world.
To achieve this, we have invested in a scanning tool from Crownpeak, which provides automated WCAG diagnostics. Their digital experience platform assesses the code and content of our websites, itemizes any non-compliance issues and provides direction on why it’s an error and how it can be fixed. To ensure our websites meet WCAG standards, consider the following:
Use a clear and easy-to-read font size with high contrast to make the website's content accessible to individuals with visual conditions.
Ensure that the website navigation and layout is consistent and logical, enabling a user to navigate with only a keyboard and without a mouse.
Implement visible focus indicators to help users understand which element is currently in focus when navigating with a keyboard.
Use ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) landmarks and roles to help screen reader users understand the structure of the content and navigate it more efficiently. But remember, the first rule of ARIA use is, "If you can use a native HTML element or attribute with the semantics and behavior you require already built in, instead of re-purposing an element and adding an ARIA role, state or property to make it accessible, then do so."
Provide alt text descriptions for images, videos and other non-text content to ensure that individuals who are blind or have low vision can understand the content.
Use descriptive and meaningful hyperlinks to enable users to understand where the link will take them.
Use headings, subheadings and lists to create a clear hierarchy of information on the website.
Provide closed captions or transcripts for audio and video content to make it accessible to individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Make sure that the website is compatible with assistive technologies such as screen readers, text-to-speech software and refreshable Braille displays.
Ensure that the website's design is responsive and optimized for mobile devices, making it accessible to individuals who use smartphones or tablets to access the internet.
Use color thoughtfully to ensure that the website's content is accessible to individuals with color vision deficiencies.
Conduct regular accessibility testing and audits to identify and address any accessibility barriers on the website.
ESSENTIAL TOOLS
Mobile apps accessibility is essential in digital marketing to ensure that all users, including those with disabilities, can access and interact with mobile content. To ensure mobile app accessibility, consider the following:
The first step when designing for mobile is getting familiar with the native environment accessibility standards. Whether you’re designing for Android or iOS, you should read and understand their accessibility guidelines. Typically, both operating systems provide some assistive technology such as:
• Text size adjustments: Make sure to adjust your custom fonts to work when text size is enlarged.
• Touchscreen adjustments: Turn off touch controls and use only buttons or external input devices to see how the app works without touch control.
• Screen contrast adjustment.
• Screen reader (Voice Over on iOS, Talkback on Android).
• Voice control.
Many people use their tablets and smartphones fixed on a mount. As it’s impossible to predict what orientation someone prefers to use, it’s important that you don’t fix the screen orientation.
Touchscreens were invented to rely on touch and gestures, but for many people performing precise manual actions can be a challenge. Here are some important design guidelines to follow:
• For target points use minimal size 48x48 dp.
• Enable using external input devices like a keyboard or a joystick.
• An app can’t rely on different gestures. It has to be operable even if using only a tap gesture.
Ensure that the mobile design is responsive and optimized for different mobile devices to make it accessible to individuals who use smartphones or tablets with different screen sizes and resolutions.
Use descriptive and meaningful labels for all interactive elements such as buttons, links and form fields to enable users with disabilities to understand the content.
Ensure that the mobile platform is compatible with assistive technologies such as screen readers, text-to-speech software and refreshable Braille displays. Because these technologies and features integrate with system-provided interactions, it’s essential to support the OS-based system interactions correctly.
Provide alternative text descriptions for images within mobile content to ensure that individuals who are blind or have low vision can understand the content.
Use headings and subheadings to create a clear hierarchy of information within mobile content.
Provide closed captions or transcripts for audio and video content within mobile content to make it accessible to individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Conduct regular accessibility testing and usability studies with people with disabilities to identify and address any accessibility barriers within mobile content.
ESSENTIAL TOOLS
Email accessibility is essential in digital marketing to ensure that all recipients, including those with disabilities, can access and interact with the email's content. To ensure email accessibility, consider the following:
Use a clear and easy-to-read font size with high contrast to make the email's content accessible to individuals with visual conditions.
Use descriptive and meaningful subject lines to enable users to understand the email's content before opening it.
Ensure that the email's layout is simple and easy to navigate to prevent confusion and frustration.
Provide alt text descriptions for images, videos and other non-text content to ensure that individuals who are blind or have low vision can understand the content.
Ensure that all links within the email are descriptive and meaningful, enabling users to understand where the link will take them.
Provide a plain text version of the email for users who cannot access the HTML version.
Use headings and subheadings to create a clear hierarchy of information within the email.
Make sure that the email's design is responsive and optimized for mobile devices, making it accessible to individuals who use smartphones or tablets to access their emails.
Provide closed captions or transcripts for audio and video content within the email to make it accessible to individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Test the email's accessibility using accessibility checkers or by performing user testing with individuals with disabilities.
ESSENTIAL TOOLS
Social media accessibility is crucial in digital marketing to ensure that all users, including those with disabilities, can access and interact with social media content. To ensure social media accessibility, consider the following:
Alt text
Provide alt text for images within social media posts to provide alternative text descriptions for users who are using assistive technologies such as screen readers.
• Adding alt text on LinkedIn
• Adding alt text on Twitter
• Adding alt text on Facebook
• Adding alt text on Instagram
Hashtags
Screen readers cannot identify the individual words in a hashtag without the camel case. Camel case not only enables accessibility but also improves understanding and readability for everyone. For example, use #InclusiveMarketing rather than #inclusivemarketing.
Use emojis sparingly and appropriately
Insert emojis at the end of a sentence or paragraph. Maybe at the beginning in certain situations. Don't repeat the same emoji over and over. Double-check the descriptions of emojis on emojipedia.org before using them.
Avoid using special fonts or characters
Special characters are often incompatible with screen readers.
ESSENTIAL TOOLS
PDF documents are widely used in digital marketing to provide detailed information, whitepapers and product manuals to users. However, many PDF documents are not accessible to individuals with disabilities. To ensure PDF accessibility in digital marketing, consider the following:
Make sure that the PDF document is compatible with assistive technologies such as screen readers, text-to-speech software and refreshable Braille displays. Use text-based PDF documents instead of scanned images.
Ensure that the text is accessible by using appropriate formatting. Use headings, subheadings, lists and other formatting options to create a clear hierarchy of information.
Provide alt text descriptions for images, graphs and charts within the PDF document. This helps individuals with visual conditions understand the content.
Ensure the document is tagged correctly. Tags provide information about the structure of the document, making it easier for screen readers to navigate.
Use the native accessibility tools within Adobe Acrobat Pro to test and remediate the accessibility of the PDF document. Refer to the Accessibility best practices for PDFs for more guidance on how to test PDFs for accessibility.
ESSENTIAL TOOLS
Web3 is an emerging technology that aims to decentralize the Internet by using blockchain technology to create a more open and democratic online ecosystem. It has the potential to transform digital marketing by enabling secure and transparent transactions, enhancing user privacy and improving accessibility for all users.
Related technologies include non-fungible tokens (NFTs), virtual worlds, mixed reality and augmented reality — all of which will present marketers with challenges and opportunities to cater to all users, regardless of ability or disability.
Mastercard is committed to ongoing research and collaboration with accessibility and industry experts to identify and implement accessibility standards across all emerging technologies, prioritize inclusive design and use decentralized technologies to create a more accessible and inclusive online environment.
For more information about what we’re working on, reach out to the Global Brand Strategy and Innovation team.
ESSENTIAL TOOLS
Accessibility in your desktop apps
Embracing an accessibility strategy is crucial for ensuring our products, services and marketing communications is accessible to all users, including those with disabilities. By prioritizing accessibility, we can promote inclusion and diversity, while also expanding market reach and engagement.
And remember: Everyone has a role in accessibility.
ACCESSIBILITY CHECKER
Even if you don't consider yourself a designer or content creator, chances are you create documents, spreadsheets or presentations in your day-to-day role. Did you know that the entire Microsoft suite of products has an accessibility checker? The accessibility checker allows users to check the accessibility of their material in order to create more accessible content. This feature is easily discoverable in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook and more. The accessibility checker has streamlined the process of creating quality content that’s accessible to people with disabilities. It also utilizes AI to make intelligent suggestions for improvements.
How it works
Before sharing content, you can run the accessibility checker to find and fix any issues that might make your content difficult for people with disabilities to use. Select Check Accessibility under the Review or Edit tab to get started. The checker analyzes your document, reveals accessibility issues and provides specific recommendations within your document about how to fix accessibility errors and create a more accessible piece of content.
WHAT IS ACCESSIBILITY?
Accessibility is when products, services, environments, digital media and marketing are designed so everyone — including people living with permanent, temporary or situational disabilities — can fully experience them.
A wide range of disabilities affect the way that people access our products, services and marketing communications, including people with mobility, visual, hearing, and neurodiverse conditions such as dyslexia, autism spectrum and attention conditions. If you don’t design for accessibility, you risk excluding a large segment of the global population who could be your customers.
WHAT DOES ACCESSIBILITY IN MARKETING MEAN?
Accessibility in marketing is about making it easy for everyone to experience our marketing, receive and understand our communications and participate in our products, services and brand. To do this effectively, accessibility must be built into the beginning of every communication, process, product and service, rather than adding it in later. This might mean providing information in alternate formats, like adding captions or audio descriptions to videos. It also means designing in a manner that's friendly to assistive technologies, such as screen readers.
Making our digital marketing content accessible can have a positive impact on a company's reputation, its customer loyalty and its bottom line. By ensuring that everyone can independently access and use our digital marketing content, we can broaden our customer base, improve customer satisfaction, enhance our Mastercard brand and achieve our organizational goals.
Why does accessibility matter?
According to the World Health Organization, more than 1 billion people worldwide live with a disability, yet they’re often excluded from connecting with brands and digital marketing due to access barriers. It may surprise you, but their exclusion impacts us all. Without the voices and contributions of people with varied experiences, we aren’t able to reach our full potential on any given project, initiative or idea. Digital inclusion provides opportunities and access to services, products, data, information and education for all.
The challenges for people living with disabilities are real, and the business opportunity they represent is large. At Mastercard, we have the opportunity to recognize exclusions, solve for them and make a difference in the lives of many people
2x higher
unemployment rate for people with disabilities than those without
Nearly 16%
of people around the world live with a disability. That’s 1.3 billion people
Accessibility is a human imperative
Empowering everyone is the right thing to do for many reasons. For starters, accessibility is a human right. All people should have the ability to get what they want and need with equal opportunity and safety. Accessibility is essential. The right to enjoy equitable participation in the world, both on and offline, requires easy and independent user access. The degree to which a person can access opportunities impacts the quality of their life.
Accessibility empowers the widest range of people to unlock their abilities and live life fully. Inaccessibility negatively impacts all aspects of life including economic, social and mental wellness. Many countries around the world require web accessibility. It's not just a moral obligation — it's the law.
Accessibility is a business imperative
The more people we reach, the more we can serve, so accessibility makes good business sense. Designing with accessibility in mind goes beyond compliance by providing more effective customer engagement, increased productivity and innovation.
Accessibility is a long road, but Mastercard understands the impact of inclusion on productivity and innovation: Inclusive design means everyone can do and achieve more.
The business value of accessibility
Reach a wider audience
Attract and reach a wider pool of potential customers of all abilities by making it easy to access your marketing content.
Increase business impact
The larger the audience you can serve through accessible websites and communications, the higher revenue impact is possible.
Achieve compliance
Leverage built-in assistive technologies and support services to meet requirements.
Understanding disability
FOUR AREAS OF DISABILITY
Visual
Hearing
Motor
Cognitive
For most of the 20th Century, the definition of disability remained the same. But recently, the concept of "disability" has changed dramatically. It’s important to understand this change in order to see how society impacts those living with disabilities and conditions.
In 1980, the World Health Organization defined disability as “an attribute of a person.” They recently redefined it to mean “a mismatch between the needs of an individual and a product, service or social structure offered.” This is revolutionary. “Disability” is the additional disadvantage added by a society that treats conditions as abnormal, which unnecessarily excludes people from full participation in society. Why does this shift matter so much? Historically, disability was defined as the result of an individual’s condition — it was their problem and their responsibility. By changing the definition to reflect the point of interaction between a person and their environment, it’s now considered an accessibility issue.
THE PERSONA SPECTRUM
While some people have permanent disabilities, almost everyone experiences temporary or situational conditions at some point in their life. For example, as people age they can experience changes and challenges with their vision, hearing, cognition or mobility. We refer to this range of experience as the "persona spectrum."
Source: Modern Marketing is Accessible Marketing, microsoft.com
BARRIERS TO ACCESSIBILITY
Understanding accessibility challenges
There are several barriers that can prevent people with disabilities from accessing digital content. One of the most common barriers is a lack of alternative formats, such as audio descriptions, captions or text-to-speech options. Another barrier can be a lack of keyboard accessibility, which can make it difficult for individuals with motor disabilities to navigate a website. Poor contrast between text and background, and small font sizes can also create barriers for individuals with visual disabilities.
70% of disabilities are not visible
Check out this Ted Talk by Stella Young
about the objectification of disability — a must watch for everyone to understand how to create diverse and inclusive campaigns.
Overcoming unconscious bias
An unconscious bias many people share is that disability is something we can see with our eyes. For example, a person is in a wheelchair or missing a limb. But the truth is, it’s not always obvious when someone lives with a disability. In fact, the majority of disabilities aren’t visible. Chronic illness, cognitive or mobility issues, vision loss and many other disabilities often have no visible indicators. In today’s landscape, much of our work and collaboration is increasingly happening at a distance. In addition, we often market to or communicate with people on the phone, via video or in text when doing search marketing. As a result, we don’t always have insight into the experience or context of the person we’re communicating with including whether a disability is present, or what technology they use to support a disability.
In the past you had to adapt to the world. In the future, the world will adapt to you.
PRINCIPLES OF ACCESSIBILITY
Embrace inclusivity in everything we do
Inclusive content is content that's accessible and relevant to a wide range of audiences, including people with disabilities. To accomplish this, we must use inclusive language, avoid stereotypes and consider the needs of all users. Inclusive, welcoming content can help improve user engagement and conversion rates.
Hire diverse and inclusive creators
Diverse and inclusive thought is organically part of your creation process. Make sure to select inclusive partners when working in partnership with creative agencies. Interview the agencies to make sure that their leadership and creative teams are made up of underrepresented talent and that they experience inclusive marketing.
"They may forget what you said but — they will never forget how you made them feel."
—Carl W. Buehner
Share real human stories
Combat stereotypes and use your platform to shine a light on real people. Brands like Microsoft and Apple are leading the way on important topics. Consider ways to go beyond "anticipated" disability, inclusion and diversity holidays and infuse these stories in your marketing calendars throughout the year. Focus the message on the person, not their disability.
Embrace inclusivity in everything we do
Inclusive content is content that's accessible and relevant to a wide range of audiences, including people with disabilities. To accomplish this, we must use inclusive language, avoid stereotypes and consider the needs of all users. Inclusive, welcoming content can help improve user engagement and conversion rates.