Why Inclusive Marketing Starts With Popping Your Bubble

 

"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.” Sacha comments. And changing that narrative starts by looking at who you’re unintentionally leaving out, an often uncomfortable realisation.”

 Sacha Martina, Founder

The Scope: 1 in 7 Potential Customers May Be Locked Out 

The World Health Organization estimates that more than one billion people globally live with a disability. That’s about 15% of the global population, or one in seven people. 

And yet, many digital assets - websites, emails, product content - are still built with a default user in mind: one who sees perfectly, hears clearly, understands idioms, scrolls quickly, and navigates like a pro. 

But what about everyone else? 

Accessible marketing isn’t just about checkboxes or compliance - it’s about ensuring your message lands with your full audience, not just the fraction that looks and thinks like you. 

Common Accessibility Pitfalls in Marketing  

House of Inclusion regularly use auditing in digital campaigns for accessibility, and often the same patterns keep emerging. 

1. Tone of Voice and Language Barriers 

Using overly complex or formal language is an exclusion risk, particularly for neurodivergent people or non-native speakers. Metaphors, idioms, and acronyms can confuse audiences who process language differently or who simply don’t share the same cultural context, which as companies are becoming increasingly more international inside and out, is something to consider in each campaign. 

“Sometimes playful or metaphorical copy seems clever, but it alienates people. And especially today, if they don’t get it in two seconds, they’ll just swipe away and never come back.” 
 

2. Poor Colour Contrast and Typography 

Many marketers are drawn to subtle visual aesthetics, light fonts on pale backgrounds, intricate typefaces, flashy carousels. We can’t help it. But what’s trendy can be unreadable for someone with low vision or dyslexia. 

Sacha recommends font sizes of at least 16px, and using free tools like WebAIM’s Contrast Checker to validate design decisions before publishing. 

3. Lack of Captions and Audio Accessibility 

Auto-playing videos with no captions are a no-go. Captions help not just the deaf and hard-of-hearing, but also anyone watching on mute, like the millions of professionals scrolling through LinkedIn (especially during working hours). 

4. Unintuitive User Journeys 

Over-engineered websites, missing translation options, or dense copy blocks all create unnecessary stress, friction, or just extra work. Add to that long load times or inaccessible layouts for older devices, and you’ve lost potential conversions without even realizing it. 

“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.”

Testing Beyond the Echo Chamber 

The best accessibility test? Ask someone outside your bubble. 

Marketing teams should be proactively testing content with people from diverse backgrounds, whether that’s neurodivergent colleagues, different age groups, people with disabilities, 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.” 
 – Sacha Martina 

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.” 

Inclusion Isn’t a Risk. It’s a Revenue Driver  

One of the most compelling points Sacha makes is that accessibility equals reach. Seems simple, and quite obvious right? 

In an age where performance marketing dominates strategy, it's easy to forget that your beautifully crafted creative might be completely invisible to 20% of your potential audience. And if you’re not optimizing for inclusivity, you’re optimizing for invisibility 

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.” 

Checklist for Quick Wins for Inclusive Marketing Teams 

✅ Use tools like WebAIM Contrast Checker to test background/font combinations 

✅ Caption all video content (stories, reels, TikToks, etc.)—yes, even for native-language audiences 

✅ Test your copy with non-marketing audiences from diverse groups (age, neurotype, language) 

✅ Default to simpler language—what’s clear is not always what’s clever 

✅ Avoid overly animated or fast-scrolling carousels with no pause option 

✅ Make inclusivity part of the design brief—not an afterthought 

✅ Frame accessibility as reach and engagement to get internal buy-in 

Fighting Pinkwashing and Performative Activism 

The Bottom Line: Inclusion Fuels Innovation 

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. 

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