Return On Inclusion: Why inclusive marketing drives growth (Ali Hanan, Creative Equals)

What if the biggest growth lever for brands in 2026 isn't media spend, targeting tweaks, or yet another funnel experiment … but inclusive marketing?

In this episode of the Data Malarkey Podcast, Master Data Storyteller, Sam Knowles, is joined by Ali Hanan, Founder & CEO of Creative Equals, to unpack the data-driven business case for meaningful representation in advertising — what Ali calls the "Return on Inclusion."

This is a conversation about marketing effectiveness, advertising effectiveness, brand growth strategy, representation vs positive portrayal, and how brands can do marketing for good and for growth without falling into performative box-ticking.

Take the Data Storytelling Scorecard: https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com

• What "Return On Inclusion" means, and how to think about it as a measurable commercial strategy

• Why representation alone isn't enough — and how positive portrayal changes outcomes

• How underrepresented audiences translate into real market opportunity (and why brands miss it)

• How to handle the "woke" backlash by reframing inclusion through human rights and equal treatment

• What AI changes in creative development — and how to avoid a "sea of sameness"

• Why marketing effectiveness awards and case studies increasingly link inclusion to profit and growth

00:00 Cold open + the growth provocation 00:39 Intro + Ali Hannon / Creative Equals 05:41 The core data case for inclusion 10:15 "the UK ad sector… holding the growth… back" 14:40 Positive portrayal explained 20:04 The "£800 billion" underrepresented communities point 21:13 Scorecard CTA 29:02 Human rights framing 33:06 AI, bias, and inclusive prompting 41:47 "saving 312 lives" (community impact example) 48:09 Where to find Ali / Creative Equals

Website — https://creativeequals.org Ali's LinkedIn profile https://www.linkedin.com/in/ali-hanan-19b3a2

UN Stereotype Alliance Effie Awards + Cannes Lions (effectiveness / inclusion lens) PepsiCo / Walkers case study Nurofen "gender pain gap" case study Book: Sex Matters