Inclusion isn't a checkmark. It's the future.
This is the vision and belief behind House of Inclusion, and in this episode of Marmind's video podcast, Masters of Marketing, I spoke with Sacha Martina, Founder of House of Inclusion, to explore how brands can become more diverse and inclusive in their marketing from the foundations up and how this will make them more profitable as they grow. With clients such as Marriott International, Boomerang, and Plus One Legal, Sacha brings her expertise in the form of less fuss, more impact.
"A lot of times people from hiring teams saw reasons not to engage with someone, whether that’s a job applicant or a customer, because they didn’t fit a narrow mold. As marketers, we can change that narrative. And changing that narrative starts by looking at who you’re unintentionally leaving out, an often uncomfortable realization.”
Sacha Martina, Founder
The World Health Organization estimates that more than 1.3 billion people globally have a disability. That’s approximately 16% of the global population, or one in six people. And yet, many digital assets, such as websites, emails, and product content, are still built around a narrow set of assumptions about how people perceive content, navigate interfaces, and interact with technology.
These assumptions can create unnecessary barriers, preventing people from accessing information and experiences that should be available to everyone. Marketers have an important role to play in removing those barriers, making their content more accessible while also improving their ability to reach and engage a wider audience.
House of Inclusion regularly uses auditing in digital campaigns for accessibility, and often the same patterns keep emerging.
“What a lot of people don't realize is around one billion people around the globe live with a disability. That's approximately 15% of the world's population. That means that one in seven people has some sort of disability.”
Editor's note: These figures reflect the estimate cited during the interview. The WHO's current estimate as of October 2026 is approximately 1.3 billion people, or 16% of the global population.
The best accessibility test? Ask someone outside your bubble.
Marketing teams should be proactively testing content with people from diverse backgrounds and with different accessibility needs, whether that’s neurodivergent colleagues, different age groups, people with disabilities, including those who use assistive technology, or anyone else.
“Feedback is your superpower. If two or three people tell you they don’t understand the message, or the visual isn’t clear—it’s time to rethink, not defend.”
It’s not about being perfect, but it is about being aware and willing to learn.
“One piece of advice I have for marketeers is to always try to find some new role models.”
One of the most compelling points Sacha makes is that accessibility equals reach. Seems simple, and quite obvious right?
When performance marketing dominates strategy, it's easy to forget that even beautifully crafted creative can exclude people if they can't read the text, access the audio, or navigate the experience that follows. These barriers limit reach and engagement, and they can cost businesses conversions without anyone even realizing what's being missed.
Making marketing more accessible benefits the people engaging with it, but there's a clear business case, too. Better accessibility creates more opportunities for people to discover, understand, and interact with your brand.
This isn’t just about doing the right thing. It’s about doing the smart thing
“It's probably not something you think about on a day-to-day basis - but these could be your following, in your clientele, or maybe in your potential clientele. So even more reason to also include them in your digital marketing.”
Performative inclusivity is a hot topic that quite rightly isn’t going away, especially around events like Pride Month. Sacha shared examples of companies that wanted to show support, but weren’t backing it up internally with meaningful action.
Before slapping a rainbow logo on your homepage or sponsoring a Pride parade, ask yourself:
If the answer is no, start inside before going outside. Authenticity is everything, and no one likes to be lied to.
At its core, accessible marketing is a mindset shift - from designing for ourselves to designing for impact. It starts with curiosity. With humility. And with the decision to pop your professional bubble and embrace perspectives beyond your own.
Because when we build for more people, we build better marketing.