Branded Content Project Announces Applications Open for BIPOC Publishers Bootcamp

The Branded Content Project, an initiative by Local Media Association, the Local Media Consortium and Facebook Journalism Project, today announced a call for entries from Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) publishers for its Branded Content Sales Bootcamp. The program will provide state-of-the-art sales training and consulting to help publishers develop successful and sustainable branded content offerings and related revenue streams. Thirty publishers serving BIPOC communities will be selected based on their willingness to apply strategic focus and resources to growing innovative branded content initiatives.

Branded content — which can include native advertising articles, social videos, live events or paid video segments — uses the strength of storytelling to provide a valuable benefit to advertisers while increasing audience engagement and revenue for local media publishers. This powerful revenue stream is succeeding and growing for many media organizations and there is potential for more growth, more engagement and more success for publishers of all shapes and sizes.

“We are excited to offer this new content marketing training program to publishers serving BIPOC communities, particularly as some of these outlets were hit hardest by the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Julia Campbell, general manager of The Branded Content Project. “On the plus

side, a recent survey by Borrell Associates showed that despite Covid’s effect on businesses, content marketing remained relatively steady and is projected to be more of a priority in 2021, so our training program will be extremely beneficial to local publishers looking to grow revenue through branded content.”

The 24-week program will begin in February and conclude in the summer. The training team will be led by Campbell and strategy consultant Peter Lamb, a 30-year marketing veteran who has worked with some of the world’s largest media companies.

As part of the training, participants will have high-level interaction with a segment of their local customer base as well as access to free audience sales products and specialized training on closing advertiser partnerships. Fulltime project managers, experts from the LMC, LMA and Facebook Journalism Project, as well as past project participants, will serve as coaches and trainers on helping to secure new revenue.

“The Branded Content Sales Bootcamp is designed to help publishers grow their initiatives with the help of expert training and go-to-market strategies,” said Lamb. “We look forward to working with this group of BIPOC publishers to help sharpen their content marketing experience and maximize their content in a way that is attractive to readers and advertisers.”

The Branded Content Project launched in March 2019, reaching thousands of industry leaders, executives, sales reps, content creators and marketers. During the first 18 months of the project, 35 media participants generated more than $24 million in local revenue. A second phase launched in September 2020 to provide local media companies with a full-service branded content creation, education, distribution and monetization resources. Working with The Branded Content Project, one BIPOC publisher, the New York Amsterdam News was able to secure just under $100,000 in advertiser sponsorship for a content series on aging.

BIPOC publishers interested in applying to the Bootcamp program can do so here www.brandedcontentproject.com. The deadline for submitting an application is Feb. 5.