Russia’s Sberbank, according to its website, is on the shortlist for prestigious Effie Awards Russia, the main award for advertising and marketing achievements in Russia. The #ICANDOTHAT project is recognized as one of the leaders of the Positive Change/Positive Contribution to Society and Sustainable Development category.
In 2019, Sberbank launched the #ICANDOTHAT project on International Day of Persons with Disabilities and let any person with disabilities choose products to be developed and adapted for their use. Anyone could share their ideas with the bank on how to make the world more accessible and convenient. People across Russia took part in discussions on social media and watched the video that became one of the most popular on Sberbank’s YouTube channel with almost 3.8 mio views.
According to the national statistics agency, there are 11.9 mio people with disabilities in Russia. They are active users of financial services, the majority of them have bank accounts, use credit and debit cards. One of the most important tasks for Sberbank is to create an inclusive environment for these customers. Sberbank constantly works on providing full accessibility of all remote channels to interact with customers with disability. In 2020, Sberbank has globally updated the web version of Sberbank Online that now offers blind and visually impaired customers a fundamentally new level of accessibility.
The bank’s branches are setting wheelchair ramps and platform lifts, help buttons, paying close attention to doorways and door sizes. The branches have tactile paving for customers with visual disabilities, while hearing-impaired people can use special hearing loops to increase sound volume when talking to the bank’s employees.
Effie Awards is the most prestigious global marketing award. The contest has been held since 1968 in 55 countries and five continents. Effie Russia launched the Effie Worldwide program in Russian in 2018 to promote 17 Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the United Nations. As part of this program, Effie Russia collects data on how brands adhere to SDGs in communications and selects the best cases to inspire business leaders and representatives of the industries to be more involved in the SDGs.