As we race toward the end of 2023, we wanted to take some time to reflect on some of the incredible work we’ve been doing over the past few months. At Group Black our mission is to dramatically change the face of media ownership, representation and investment, and through our programming we’ve been able to bring our distinctive culture to the forefront with our incredible clients and partners.
We wanted to give you a little glimpse of the highlights through a recap of our last in person event, Advertising Week. If you’re interested in exploring how to engage with culture through Group Black, please contact your dedicated client partner or email us at info@groupblack.co.
CONVERSATIONS
Coming out of Advertising Week, Insider Intelligence recognized Group Black as one of the event’s standout “core initiatives.” We took the lead in emphasizing diverse thought leadership panels and strategic partnerships, driving essential conversations within the industry.
The week really honed in on the impact that investing authentically in diversity creates. Most notably, we were able to highlight the impact and opportunity that our partnership with NBCUniveral has brought to the market. You can find the discussion HERE.
See full discussion HERE
Across all of our panels we discussed the progress the industry has made concerning investing in diverse owned content and media. In our discussion titled, Look How Far We’ve Come our Chief Growth Officer, Cavel Khan sat down with denstu, Publicis, GroupM and Omnicom Media Group in a conversation about how the organizations are showing up and showcasing clear examples of that commitment.
See full discussion HERE
In a fan favorite conversation Ashley Banks, SVP of Sales at Group Black sat with Cynthia Jenkins, Head of Supplier Diversity and Managing Partner at GroupM and Michelle Holmes, President of Publicis Collective and chatted about how we can uplift each other in the workforce and provide even more fruitful opportunities for other diverse women in the future.
Additionally, a hot button topic at Advertising Week was around measurement and we took on the conversation in a panel lead by our President of Advertising, Kerel Cooper, in conversation with Nielsen’s VP of Diverse Insights & Partnerships, Charlene Polite Corley, and DoubleVerify’s Senior Director of Product Policy, Stephanie Posner.
An insightful panel that featured members of our Group Black collective and moderated by our SVP of Brand Strategy, Asha Davis highlighted the importance of engaging with diverse media to build healthy and mutually beneficial partnerships between brands and multicultural audiences that aren’t just good for society, but good for business.
During a standing room only discussion Group Black Co-Founders Richelieu Dennis, Travis Montaque and Bonin Bough sat down for a thoughtful discussion about the progress and challenges Group Black has made over the last two years, as well as exploring how we can all take more actionable steps towards achieving a more equitable media landscape.
COMMUNITY
Group Black is notorious for ‘bringing culture to corporate’ and Advertising Week was no different. Our dedicated space featured a fine art photography exhibit by Cheryl Fox that highlighted various moments at the intersection Black art and pop culture.
Our space also included a sports bar that paid homage to Black legends within the athletic space from Candace Parker to Coco Gauff. We hosted two full to capacity happy hours in our space that conference goers were raving about in real time.
CONTENT
In addition to the thought leadership panels on our Culture Unleashed stage, we had the pleasure of shooting our new content series. Chief Magic Officer”. “Chief Magic Officer” shines a spotlight on the Chief Marketing Officer’s (CMO) role as a driving force behind brand value creation, strategic innovation, and leadership within the C-suite.
This series is hosted by our Chief Strategy Officer, Bonin Bough, Sehr Thadhani, Chief Digital Officer at Nasdaq and Katie Williams, CMO of Haleon highlighted industry luminaries such as Todd Kaplan, CMO of Pepsi Co; Raja Rajamanner, CMO of Mastercard; Jennifer Brace, Chief Futurist at Ford Motor Company; Morgan Selzer, Chief Content & Studios Officer at Headspace Together.
Want to see more? You can stay up to date with us via our website or on LinkedIn. Also, don’t forget to reach out to info@groupblack.co or your client partner for more information.
