European Accessibility Act (EAA) guidelines for Zalando ad formats

Guidelines

What is European Accessibility Act (EAA)?

The European Accessibility Act (EAA) requires that digital advertising is accessible to all users, including those with visual or auditory impairments. As a ZMS partner, your submitted creatives must meet these standards.

This page explains each requirement and what you need to do, or don't need to worry about, because ZMS handles it for you.

The European Accessibility Act (EAA) defines the economic sectors and businesses required to meet accessibility requirements. Non-compliance may result in legal consequences, financial penalties, compensation claims, and additional remediation costs.

Potential financial consequences include:

Fines and penalties: Depending on the country and severity of the violation, fines may range from €500 to several hundred thousand euros, potentially reaching up to 5% of revenue.
Compensation claims: Businesses may be required to compensate individuals who are unable to access their products or services.
Remediation costs: Additional investments may be required to address accessibility issues and bring services into compliance.

All advertising creatives submitted to Zalando Marketing Services (ZMS) must comply with applicable European Accessibility Act (EAA) requirements. Review each section before submitting your assets, you can also find the checklist to review your assets.

I. Colour Contrast

Colour Contrast between the logo and the photo

**Dos ✅**
Maintain sufficient colour contrast between the logo and its background to ensure clear visibility and legibility.

**Don't** ❌
Do not place the logo over images where the background lacks sufficient contrast, as this can compromise logo legibility.

Colour Contrast between the media asset and the teaser

Light mode

**Don't ❌**
Avoid placing borderlines too close to the edges of your assets, as they may cause visual truncation or clipping issues.

**Don't ❌**
Avoid using image background colours lighter than #F3F3F3, as they may blend into the platform’s light mode interface, making the asset boundaries less distinguishable.

Dark mode

II. Logotype and text on images

Always use live text rather than embedding text in images. Text within images cannot be resized, translated, or customised by users, limiting accessibility and flexibility.

Brand Logotype in Images

Your brand logotype, including text that forms part of your official logo or brand name, is permitted within the image.

**Do's ✅**
Sufficient logo contrast over the photo.

Keep Text Out of Images

To ensure content is accessible and adaptable across different languages, all non-logotype text (including campaign mottos, slogans, taglines, and promotional copy) must be entered in the designated text fields of the ad format rather than embedded in the image itself.

**Don't ❌**
Descriptive text or taglines should not be incorporated into the logotype.

**Don't ❌**
Do not place the logo over visually busy or complex backgrounds, as this can compromise legibility.

**Don't ❌**
Keep the logo away from the edges of the image to prevent accidental cropping or truncation.

**Don't ❌**
Darkening the visual content to make the brand logo stand out can create a less pleasant browsing experience.

**Don't ❌**
Avoid using colour dividers to separate content sections, as they can create visual clutter and disrupt the overall visual flow.

III. Duplicated Content

No duplicated text between image and copy

Do not repeat the same text in both your image and the copy fields of the ad. Duplicating content does not improve accessibility and creates a confusing experience for users relying on assistive technology.

Each piece of information should appear once: either as live text in the copy field, or within the image (if it qualifies as a logotype).

IV. Alt text for images

All images submitted to ZMS will have alternative text applied automatically. You do not need to provide alt text when submitting your assets to ZMS. This will be handled automatically.

Alt text describes the visual content of your asset for users who cannot see it (e.g. screen reader users).
The descriptions are generated in the language of each market.

**Do's ✅**
Why? This description is concise but highly visual. It accurately describes the setting, the specific styles of the objects, and their arrangement without relying on redundant phrases like "picture of." It gives a screen reader user a clear mental image of the scene and the specific products being featured.

**Don't ❌**
Why? This alt text begins with the redundant phrase "Image of," which screen readers already announce by default. It entirely lacks specific visual details about the colors and styles of the boots, nor does it mention the distinct snow-block display. Instead of describing the scene for a visually impaired user, it relies on a disjointed string of search engine keywords.

V. Video captions

Captions provide essential audio information for users who are deaf or hard of hearing, including dialogue, speaker identification, and relevant non-speech sounds (e.g. sound effects).

All videos submitted to ZMS will have captions generated in the language of each market automatically. No manual captions are required when submitting your video assets.

VI. Motion flashing

Videos and animated images must not contain rapid flashing that could trigger seizures or cause visual discomfort.

Do not exceed 3 flashes within any 1-second period.
Exceptions apply only when the flashing content falls below the general flash and red flash thresholds defined by WCAG 2.1.
Review all video and animated assets before submission to ensure compliance with this requirement.

Before submitting your campaign, check:

Further Questions

For questions about your campaign setup, contact your Zalando Marketing Services account team.