It’s very important to let the disability and Deaf communities know your show is accessible – how will they know they’re welcome if you don’t tell them? If you’re providing an access service (Auslan, Audio Description, Relaxed Performance, etc) or even if you are simply making it more accessible (sensory friendly, 75-100% visual rating, pre-show audio descriptors of important visual elements, etc), then make sure you advertise to the relevant communities. Make sure you let the communities know with as much lead time as possible – three to four weeks is good!

General Tips

• Make sure you advertise your accessible performances in all of your marketing and promotional materials, not just what you provide to access organisations – disabled people use Facebook too!
• Contact disability and Deaf art support organisations, and organisations run by these communities (check out the end of this section for a great list of suggestions). Tell Arts Access Victoria about your shows. Even tell sporting and community groups – you never know who you’ll reach.
• You can email and tag these organisations in your posts (but don’t spam them!). And be sure to only contact the organisations that are relevant to the type of accessible performance you are presenting – for example, there’s no point inviting the Deaf community to your Relaxed Performance if it’s not also Auslan interpreted.
• Collect email addresses of people attending so you can market future shows to them.
• If you are doing more than one Auslan interpreted/ audio described/relaxed performance show, you could give out a comp pass to a Deaf/blind/autism org and ask them to review it/spread the word for a future accessible show.
• Get in touch with the local council where you live and/or are presenting the work – there is usually an Access Officer role who works closely with the Deaf and disability community who might be able to help you spread the word of your event. The end of this section has some great organisations and service providers that you can get in touch with to promote your event. We encourage you to reach out directly to these organisations to find out what their members and clients might be interested in hearing about.

However, there is much more out there than we can fit in this resource – search online for Facebook and Meetup groups, niche service providers and community activities such as sports groups.

Preparing Your Marketing Materials

One month prior to your opening night, ask yourself the following questions:

• Is your marketing material fully accessible? Are paper based materials available in large format and/or have you looked into braille or audio transcriptions? Are your social media / digital advertising / online listings accessible to all audiences?
• Have you promoted the event to disability organisations?
• Have you let your local council’s Access Officer know about the event?
• Have you asked your contacts to promote the event through their diverse networks?
• Have you approached disability focused media and social media influencers to promote your event?

It’s just as important to communicate what is not accessible as it is to state what is accessible. For example, if your venue has a wheelchair accessible entrance and lift, but the toilet is not wheelchair accessible, state that.

Universal Access Symbols

Our community consultation with the disability community has made it clear that the use of universal access symbols is essential in for marketing material to be noticed.