British Airways traces its origins back to the birth of civil aviation, including the world’s first scheduled air service on 25 August 1919, by Aircraft Transport and Travel Limited (AT&T), a former company of today’s British Airways. To celebrate this centenary, British Airways is celebrating the best of Britain. One of the ways they’ve done this is to make an advert that showcases the “brilliant people of Britain who make us who we are”.
In the 90-second version, we see 12-year-old profoundly deaf nonidentical twins Natasha and Rhianna Cullen. They were featured signing the word “trouble”.
It was fantastic to see deaf sign language users included by British Airways in such a historical film.
The visibility of deaf and disabled people in the media can subtly educate viewers. These messages have a further reach than they ever have before.
Customers need to see that they are represented. They will relate to the businesses they deal with, including their marketing and their workforce. This offers allegiance to the feeling of belonging.
Brand engagement
Deaf people have long felt like a marginalised group, and the opportunity of coming into the spotlight brings more awareness and offers more opportunities to engage with brands.
I recently attended the Business Disability Forum Annual Conference, where there was a panel of next-generation change-makers and innovators. It was both interesting and exciting to listen to their opinions on the impact social media has made on disabled people’s lives. Whether that’s being inspired by other disabled people or sharing experiences on channels such as YouTube; they offer a way to speak your truth and share your thoughts. Once again, it demonstrates video media’s power in today’s society and how we can share our message with millions of people with a click of a button.
We can also see this from the British Airways example (and many more) how businesses are now taking the lead and putting disability at the forefront of their message and, therefore, our minds. And by doing so are opening up their products and services to a broader global market worth $8 trillion.
It’s only when businesses start to recognise the financial incentives. When they are not doing this only from a corporate social responsibility standpoint, we will begin to see real change.
Check out our series on the Deaf Customer Experience:
1: Understanding Your Deaf Customer Journey
2: The Deaf Customser Experience – Solution
3: The Deaf Customer Experience – Communication
4: The Deaf Customer Experience – Training
