Brands Are Investing More In Black Radio. But Much Work Remains To Achieve Parity.

Story by Inside Radio

Written by Paul Heine

Feb 1, 2021 

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As Black History Month get underway today, so too does Project Booker, an initiative developed by ad agency network Dentsu to direct more ad dollars to minority-owned and targeted media outlets. Named after industrial and civil rights pioneer and educator Booker T. Washington, the program is emblematic of how, after years of underinvesting in the space, agencies and brands are stepping up their efforts in response to the national conversation about racial justice.

“We began to see more interest in our African American audience, and a shift in major marketers’ mindset towards that audience, with the Black Lives Matter movement and the murder of George Floyd,” says Andy Anderson, President of Sales at American Urban Radio Networks. “Corporate America began to understand the racial injustices and systemic racism African Americans faced in this country, not just in the streets but in all aspects of society, including education, housing, healthcare and corporate representation.”

National marketers, including Procter & Gamble, AARP and Toyota, already made significant commitments toward engaging African American-owned radio before Floyd’s murder last spring ignited mass protests and a groundswell of activism. “Each of them expanded and grew their investment” via strategic initiatives during the COVID-19 pandemic and amid demands for racial justice, according to Sherman Kizart, Managing Director of Kizart Media Partners, who spearheaded advertising initiatives on behalf of the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters.

Kizart worked with Dentsu CEO Doug Ray and others on Project Booker, which is geared toward brands creating new content and sponsorship opportunities tied to their marketing strategies that will air on African-American owned radio stations during Black History Month. Participating brands include P&G, General Motors and Kroger’s.

Separately, at the onset of the pandemic, AARP CEO Joann Jenkins created a radio campaign in partnership with NABOB “to speak to African American consumers about the available resources from AARP to help the community and reinforce the importance of African American owned radio,” says Kizart.

“The global media agency community has pivoted in strategic parallel with its clients around increasing its investment in African American owned media,” adds Kizart.

From a data and analytics perspective, Cecilia Jato Bitz, Account Director for Nielsen's National Audio Services, says the measurement company is “absolutely seeing a huge influx of interest from advertisers in the area of minority-owned and minority-focused media. Nielsen is doing its part to connect buyers with sellers and help the marketplace understand this evolving consumer dynamic,” she adds.

A wide range of categories have shown increased interest or upped spend, including pharma, tech, consumer packaged goods, automotive, insurance, health care, grocery, OTT services, finance, real estate and government agencies, according to broadcasters.

‘Still Work To Be Done’

While there is heightened interest among brands in reaching the 28.9 million African Americans that listen to radio each week, execs say it is only a step toward bringing parity for Black stations. “There is definitely more interest overall which has been encouraging and great to see. It is long overdue,” says Josh Rahmani, Senior VP of National and Network Sales at Radio One and Reach Media. “Of course, though, there is still work to be done as there are many brands who we have yet to connect with to discuss more deeply why it is important to effectively reach and support the African-American audience and the associated benefits of doing so.”

Josh Melnick, General Sales Manager at Entercom hip-hop/R&B “V-103” WVEE Atlanta, describes the renewed interest in Black radio as tentative. “Many companies are working to create their own internal diversity officer/department and then look outward for help through different media outlets,” he says.

And not all stations are feeling the love, at least not yet. “Unfortunately we have not seen many diversity buys directed to market to the African-American consumers,” says Shawneen Thompson, Director of Sales at Howard University adult R&B WHUR-FM, Washington, DC (96.3). “While there are businesses that have opened up new marketing lanes for African-Americans, the messaging to offer these services have not been communicated. In addition, we still don’t see many companies opening up positions beyond diversity and inclusion and unfortunately, that position doesn’t hold the financial power or [decision-making] to direct organizational change.”

Thompson says that although the broadcasting commitment so far “has been minimal, WHUR remains community-focused. “We re-invest our dollars by developing programs such as the Pay It Forward initiative, where we partnered with Wells Fargo and turned 100% of their invested dollars back to our community, she says. “Programs like this have a direct impact to our community.” – Paul Heine