JCDecaux launches braille OOH campaign

JCDecaux, in partnership with the Shift 20 Initiative and agency Special Australia, has unveiled an Australian-first Out-of-Home braille campaign for AAMI, designed to empower individuals with low vision or blindness who read braille.
The braille inscriptions were written in collaboration with Vision Australia and intended to describe both the visual elements of the creative as well as the copy. To further enhance accessibility, the creative includes a QR code for the Shift 20 website for those who use text readers.

Printed by Grand Print Services, the braille boards are printed on a high-quality Composite Panel, which can withstand all weather conditions and resist warping in the sun. The braille is created using Relief Printing, a process that applies hundreds of layers of ink, adding small percentages at a time and gradually building up the raised braille dots, which are applied on top of the existing creative.

Units were created for both the Shift 20 initiative and AAMI, and will be displayed in Melbourne and Sydney throughout September and October. The AAMI Out-of-Home unit introduces Lara Nakhle – Singer-Songwriter who is herself blind – as the new voice of the ‘Lucky You’re With AAMI’ jingle; Nakhle also appears in the AAMI commercial as the new AAMI woman.

"This collaboration between JCDecaux, the Dylan Alcott Foundation's Shift 20 Initiative and Special highlights the path to inclusivity in Australian advertising with the launch of an Australian-first Out-of-Home braille campaign for AAMI. Together, we're not just creating ads; we're creating accessibility and changing the narrative,” says Lama Perrin, Group Manager Creative & Digital Solutions, JCDecaux.

“As Australia’s largest personal insurer, we know how important it is to support diversity and inclusion and represent all Australians in our workforce and through our advertising campaigns,” adds Mim Haysom, Suncorp Group's EGM Brand & Marketing.

“Brands have also been evolving the way they represent people in our community, but we can and need to do more to support all aspects of diversity and inclusion. Adapting how we deliver these campaigns to achieve greater accessibility is the next step, and we’re very proud to be working with Special and JCDeceaux on this Australian-first initiative.”

The Shift 20 Initiative, which launched recently, is a coalition of leading brands together with the Dylan Alcott Foundation, focused on increasing disability representation, inclusion and accessibility in Australian advertising and media. The initiative aims to help brands create marketing communications with diverse audiences in mind and encourages them to look for opportunities to make a shift.

Special partnered with JCDecaux on the Out-of-Home campaign concept as part of the Shift 20 launch, collaborating closely. The hope is that more brands will follow suit and look at ways to create more accessible communications. These Out-of-Home sign units also aim to generate conversation around the issue of accessibility.

Peter Cvetkovski, creative director at Special, concludes, “Accessible communication is not only essential for inclusion but also for building connections with your audience, especially given that almost 4.5 million Australians have some form of disability. Furthermore, it's important to note that creating accessible advertising is not just about changing how we communicate, but seamlessly integrating accessibility into our everyday lives.”