Black-Owned Media Publishers Are Advertisers’ Most Underutilized Asset

Investing during Black History Month is great, but we’re here all year — and we’re looking for cultural connection.

Black-owned media’s importance can be traced back to 1827, when the Freedom’s Journal was created. The newspaper aimed to keep a pulse on national and local news, keep the community informed and be a source of truth to educate and entertain its readers. 

Today, the importance of Black-owned media is still centered on that community ethos. As misinformation continues to rise and conversations around the ethical considerations  of AI take off, Black community continues to look to Black-owned media as a trusted source with authentic cultural depth that cannot be found elsewhere.

Black-owned media offers tremendous scale and opportunity for advertisers that’s still being untapped. According to diverse-owned media tracker Maven, there are over 2,500 diverse-owned publishers, and Black-owned media represents 35% of that share. 

There is a huge variety of publishers to partner with — Culture Genesis, Her Agenda, Mirror Digital and Reset Digital, to name a few — yet only  one to two percent of media spend goes to Black-owned media.

This disparity is staggering, especially considering the broader cultural context. Media buyers that don’t recognize the influence of Black culture on the trends we follow, meet us on the platforms we use and recognize how we drive the economy are missing a business opportunity. 

For example, Beyoncé’s Renaissance tour, a love letter to the Black queer community, drove $4.5 billion into the U.S. economy alone — equivalent to the economic impact of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. She also changed the way music is released with her Lemonade digital album drop and broke the internet by releasing new music off the back of her Verizon ad for Super Bowl LVIII. (Next up, Act II.)

Marketers have to reframe their actions to meet the moment. The scale of Black-owned media and our cultural and economic influence are undeniable, but the investment back to the community is clearly lacking. To mitigate systemic bias and intentionally prioritize economic equity, we need to invest in Black-owned media — urgently.

Invest in Black-owned media all year long

Yes, investing during Black History Month is excellent, but the impact on culture exceeds one month. Black-owned media outlets are consistently pushing the boundaries of innovation. It would benefit brands to take note of that outside of celebratory months.

Understand that platforms continue evolving to meet demand

Direct Digital Holdings is the first Black-owned supply-side platform (SSP) offering programmatic access to diverse-owned media at scale. And Blavity, Inc. is launching first-party capabilities, in addition to its current suite of digital and social content and events.

Consider a mindset shift

Marketers must understand how Black-owned media serves cross-cultural and broader marketing initiatives — not just multicultural campaigns. For example, in addition to being Black-owned, My Code has publishers within its consortium who represent multiracial and intersectional identities, including Asian, Latiné/Hispanic and LGBTQ+ communities. And they drive results. 

According to a study from Direct Digital Holdings, 80% of Black consumers feel more positively about brands that advertise in Black-focused media, and  roughly60% will buy products from brands that do so. Additionally,  about 70% of diverse consumers say that purposely investing in ad dollars with media that is owned or focused on their respective communities strongly demonstrates support. 

TL;DR: Invest in Black-owned media. It’s good for business.

This perspective was originally published on Campaign US.