Why Inclusion Drives Effectiveness

At MG OMD, inclusive media planning is embedded into the planning process from the outset, shaping audience strategy, media investment, creative partnerships and measurement.

This approach to creating better outcomes for people, brands and business continues to be recognised across the industry. Following Gold, Silver and Bronze wins in Inclusive Media Strategy at the Campaign Media Week Awards, MG OMD and its partners secured three further wins at the 2026 MEFA Diversity & Inclusion Awards. These included Jordan Golding being named a Change-Maker winner, O2’s Inclusive Planning Audit with UNITE and Word on the Curb winning Inclusive Media Planning & Buying, and NHS Blood and Transplant’s Love Is in the Blood with Word on the Curb winning Creative Excellence.

From Virgin Media O2’s Built In, Not Bolted On to Sport England’s This Girl Can: The Way We Move and the Victoria and Albert Museum’s Make It Yours: Rewriting Who Museums Are For, the common thread is a deeper understanding of communities.

MG OMD CEO Kat Bozicevich, who Co-Chaired the 2026 MEFA Diversity & Inclusion Awards judging panel, speaks to Jordan Golding, Head of DEI Planning and a 2026 Change-Maker Award winner, about belonging, representation and why inclusion drives more effective work.

Where do you think our industry still has the most work to do when it comes to diversity, equity and inclusion?

I think we’ve made a lot of progress, and there are plenty of reasons to celebrate that. But for me, where we still have the most work to do is creating a genuine sense of belonging for the people we invite into our industry.

What adjustments are needed to ensure people feel celebrated and that they belong?

We see plenty of evidence that the talent coming into our industry is incredibly diverse, and that’s something to celebrate. However, we also see high numbers of people from diverse communities leaving almost as quickly as they arrive.

My big question is: how do we make sure we retain the talent we bring through the door and create an industry where everybody feels they belong and can thrive?

Do we focus too heavily on specific moments in the calendar when representing diverse communities?

We’re definitely moving in the right direction. But I also think we run the risk of becoming what I’d call calendar-led inclusive.

We celebrate Black communities in October, LGBTQ+ communities in June and women in March. Those moments are incredibly important, but we need to move beyond celebrating communities only during specific moments in the year.

Rather than thinking solely about how we speak to a community during a particular month, we need to think about how we support, accept and celebrate them throughout the year.

What shows up outside Black History Month? Is the representation at senior levels as strong as the activity we put out during those moments? Are the small cultural decisions we’re making every day reflective of the audiences and communities we say we value?

That’s the shift we need to make.

What could help make inclusion more consistent and part of people’s everyday experience?

The more senior you become, particularly if you’re from a diverse background, the fewer peers you have who share those characteristics.

That’s something I hear from people across many different communities, whether that’s ethnicity, LGBTQ+ identity, class or socioeconomic background.

We know the talent pool becomes less diverse at senior levels, so we need to have honest conversations about why there aren’t more people from diverse communities in leadership positions.

We also need to think about how we support and celebrate people as they progress. If people aren’t immediately ready for senior roles, how do we identify future leaders earlier and start preparing them for success?

What advice would you give brands, clients and planners who want to create more inclusive work?

My key principle is: nothing about us without us.

Sometimes it really is as simple as speaking to people from within a community and understanding whether the message you’re putting out will genuinely resonate.

Having the thoughtfulness to do that before you create the work can make the difference between people feeling spoken at and feeling spoken with.

It’s about having those conversations early or finding people who can help facilitate them. That’s increasingly become a core part of my role: helping ensure the message lands before it goes out.

Doing that can make a real difference in whether you successfully connect with a community you’ve never had the opportunity to engage before.

How has the industry’s approach to inclusion, representation and effectiveness changed?

We’re moving away from diversity and inclusion being solely a policy-led conversation and towards recognising how meaningful engagement with different communities can drive growth and effectiveness.

We’re maturing in how we talk about this.

We’re starting to recognise how different communities can drive meaningful growth for brands, while brands can create meaningful change for those communities. That creates a really positive interchange.

It’s also exciting to see brands speaking to audiences through media that’s made by them, for them. When done thoughtfully, we often see communities celebrate those brands in return, and the results can be exceptional.

Not only does it create stronger connections, but it can also help brands unlock entirely new audiences they may never have reached before.

What gives you the most optimism about the future of media planning?

The biggest thing for me is the new, diverse wave of talent entering the industry and challenging how we’ve always done things.

The UK has been changing for a long time, but media hasn’t always evolved at the same pace. We’re now reaching a real turning point.

When I speak to and mentor younger talent, I hear the ideas they have about what our industry could become. That’s incredibly exciting.

Inviting new voices into the conversation and giving them a seat at the table can only help us grow in new and exciting ways.

It’s up to us as agencies and leaders to give people the tools, confidence and support they need to bring those ideas forward.

What needs to happen for that future to have real impact?

For me, it comes back to allyship.

That can mean mentorship, sponsorship and amplification. But at its most basic level, allyship means taking the time to understand communities outside your own and recognising where change might be needed.

Simply taking that time can make a huge difference to whether somebody feels accepted, celebrated and able to succeed.

We need to keep walking the walk.