Publicis Media's inclusion investment fund awards first recipients

Publicis Media has selected 10 diverse-owned media brands to award part of the $25 million it has allocated to help fund diverse creators, content and industry infrastructure. 

Alpha Precision Media, AspireTV, Canela Media, Complex Networks, Fuse Media, Hip Rock Star Media and a partnership between DAX and Breakbeat Media, were among the first round of recipients, with three others expected to be revealed in the coming months. These brands were selected from 50 diverse-owned, operated or targeted producers and suppliers who submitted ideas for the first round of APX’s Inclusion Investment Fund.

Last summer, the media agency announced the Once & For All Coalition, a collection of agency executives and brand marketers to further equitable backing for diverse creators, content and industry infrastructure. The coalition’s investment arm, APX Content Ventures, committed a multi-year sum of $25 million.

From those selected, APX’s funding will help develop over 20 pieces of programming in a vast range of formats, from documentary to reality to scripted content. One, Fuse Media’s, “We Need to Talk About America,” is already available to stream on Fuse TV. The show features a panel of bicultural and first-generation American comedians roasting the oddities of America, such as eating contests, social media and gender reveal parties.

More than 30 advertisers are currently participating in the Once & For All Coalition, which gives them first access to content developed via APX Content Ventures, and the ability to develop sponsorship, branding and partnership opportunities for the programming.

In addition to funding partner content, APX has directly produced inclusive content in collaboration with media platforms, including “Inside the Black Box” with Crackle Plus and The General, “Impact with Gal Gadot” with National Geographic, and “Big Boys Don’t Cry” with Sky TV and Royal London.

Alongside the investment fund via APX Content Ventures, the Once & For All Coalition has developed Prism, a readiness tool for businesses to develop more equitable relationships, and an automatic opt-in program for its media buyers and planners to fairly engage, evaluate and invest in opportunities with diverse-owned and targeted suppliers.

The advertiser members of Once & For All Coalition are also part of a measurement pilot designed to help create more equitable solutions for counting multicultural audiences, which has been a long-standing issue in the industry.

Publicis received 167 ideas, and proposals were selected based on the content, equitable terms for producers, how they think about diversity in front of and behind the camera, and the ways brands can play a role within and alongside the content, among other criteria.

“Our partnership with APX Content Ventures has been remarkable. We are so elated and proud to receive this level of support to curate content specifically for our Black culture," said Jessica Garrett Modkins, president of Hip Rock Star Media, in an email to Ad Age. "We don't take this moment lightly. Our purpose has always been clear, and our partnership with APX Content Ventures provides the ability to live out our purpose in a grand way—to tell our stories through our lens with passion and apology-free.”