• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, October 5, 2018

Although many companies have come out in support of women or diversity, physical disabilities haven't received as much recognition.

Wells Fargo's new campaign is designed to raise awareness of the 16% of Americans with a physical disability who still seek to realize their professional dreams. The campaign is a bid to communicate Wells Fargo’s commitment to working with people with disabilities. 

The "With, Always" creative, developed by SS+K, celebrates some of the significant contributions people with disabilities have made to society including Louis Braille, Stephen Farffler, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Harriet Tubman, Farida Bedwei, Justin Dart and Vint Cerf.

The agency specifically worked with talent and leaders that identify as disabled, including Jessica Oddi, the artist who created the heart of the marketing campaign’s portrait illustrations and Lawrence Carter-Long, who provided audio content. 

Activist Liz Jackson, creator of The Disabled List, also contributed to the effort. And Kathy Martinez, senior vice president and head of Disability and Accessibility Strategy at Wells Fargo (who was born blind) is the client lead.   

All of the “With, Always” assets are accompanied by Braille, audio and ASL elements to ensure the campaign is as accessible as possible.

The campaign launches to coincide with the National Disability Employment Awareness Month and will officially debut at the New York Stock Exchange this week, where Wells Fargo SME, Marketing Jamie Moldafsky and Martinez will ring the closing bell. Other activations include the No Barriers Summit in NYC, which Wells Fargo is sponsoring.