How diverse-owned media is looking to bring in more ad dollars

Brands were called upon last year to allocate more ad dollars to diverse-owned media, and speaking during NewFront presentations this week, media channels that cater to multicultural audiences said that while progress has been slow, they are ramping up ad opportunities this year to satisfy an uptick in demand.

Sean Combs’ Revolt, for one, has seen 100 new advertisers buy into the network in the last calendar year. It is now looking to build audiences through expansion in the hip-hop space with the acquisition of music news publisher Rap-Up. 

Detavio Samuels, CEO of Revolt, said in an email that on the positive side, none of the presentations that took place during the NewFronts this week would have happened even three years ago. Samuels also noted events hosted by agencies like Magna Global and Horizon Media, which also showcase Black and other diverse-owned media channels. Omnicom Media Group hosted its own so-called “infronts” last month, serving to connect its clients with these channels in the hopes of growing the pot of ad dollars. 

Blavity, which has a publishing network of five titles, highlighted its Afro Tech event, which brought in over 250 advertisers and sponsors.  

But despite diverse publishers expressing growth in ad interest, overall it seems progress has been subpar. 

Sheryl Goldstein, IAB’s executive VP and chief industry growth officer, asked industry leaders during a session focused on accountability in diversity, equity and inclusion, what grade they would give the marketing world for progress. 

“I would say a C or C+,” Deva Bronson, executive VP and head of brand assurance and publisher-direct investment at Dentsu, said of the industry. Dentsu added that the business has “the potential to get a B if we keep our efforts and energy high.” Gila Wilensky, president of Xaxis U.S., graded with a slightly higher B- or C+. However, Soon Mee Kim, Omnicom Public Relations Group’s chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer, gave the industry a D.

“We have so far to go,” Kim said. “We need to address systemic exclusion, and we need drastic change. I see progress, but I also see places in our industry where people want to default. I sense great fatigue across our society.”

One big concern heading into this year’s upfront negotiations is that any budget cuts that might happen due to a recession and reduced ad spend will likely disproportionately hurt Black-owned media dollars, Samuels said. 

Read more: More ad spending cuts may be coming

In the Hispanic marketplace, this week saw the debut of Nuestra.TV, a new ad-supported streaming platform from Adsmovil. 

“Over the past few years, the Hispanic community has expanded and evolved significantly, embracing on-demand streaming apps wholeheartedly,” Gonzalo Del Fa, president of multicultural, GroupM said. “Diversity and inclusion are critical components in today’s media, both on-screen and across storylines, and the media industry is taking note. Nuestra.TV, Adsmovil’s latest offering, is a great opportunity for brands to work with a free OTT offering that will do more than entertain but will educate and inspire across generations and languages.”

Spanish-language media company Estrella Media and Hispanic media house Canela Media debuted new video services and marketing ventures. 

Renè Santaella, head of digital and streaming at Estrella, expects the company’s streaming audiences to grow by another 25% in 2022 to hit 1.3 billion streaming minutes per month. 

While Estrella highlighted massive growth in digital and a widened slate of free and ad-supported services, Canela spotlighted its new educational platform for children, which will debut later this year. 

The company also launched a new so-called Innovation Labs, which will be used to create more immersive experiences in media. Canela is planning to have 50 linear channels by the end of 2022, and 300 hours of new content in the coming months for the Canela.TV brand.

Aside from diverse-owned and operated channels, media networks groups like A+E Networks, Fox and NBCUniversal, also used their upfront pitches to showcase diversity efforts through upcoming multicultural programming. A+E, for one, announced a new free ad-supported channel, 4UV, which will launch this fall, and “showcase diverse content that ensures every voice is heard."

“Our goal is to build a bridge between mainstream and unheard voices through stories that take an intersectional approach to diversity, equity and inclusion,” said Peter Olsen, president, ad sales at A+E Networks. This initiative, Olsen said, will “introduce our company and the industry to a wide array of storytellers that will pay off for generations to come.”

Cynthia Clevenger, VP of sales marketing at Fox-owned Tubi, told Ad Age in an interview pre-NewFronts, that “super-serving all communities has helped drive growth, and that’s part of why we invested so heavily in such an expansive and diverse library.” With its 40,000 Tubi titles, the streaming service says it’s attempting to reach all diverse audiences.

“We go really deep on specific offerings,” Clevenger said. The company focused heavily on its Black cinema offering during its NewFront presentation, as well as Tubi en Español.