A who’s who of the Black-owned media world will gather this week to showcase their programming, publications, digital media and other offerings and to talk about economic inclusion in the U.S. advertising industry.
They do so with the wind in their sails. IPG Mediabrands announced Friday it has committed to spend at least 5% of its advertising investments on Black-owned media by 2023. This comes after commitments from General Motors and Verizon to dedicate up to 4% and 2% of budgets, respectively, to Black-owned media in the coming media season.
The Black Owned Media Upfront will take place
Tuesday, May 11, 3-5:30 p.m. ET
Wednesday, May 12, Noon – 2:30 p.m. ET
To attend, please register here, and, if you registered for the Upfront prior to Wednesday, May 5, please register again. A change in Tuesday’s start time disrupted the registration process and we want to be sure you have your attendee link.
Presenting Companies Include:
Allen Media Group
Byron Allen, Founder, Chairman & CEO
Barbara Bekkedahl, President, Ad Sales & Client Partnerships, The Weather Group
Darren Galatt, President, Ad Sales, Broadcast Syndication
Cindy Kelly, President, Entertainment Studios Networks
Nu Vision Media Inc.
Roland Martin, Founder
Urban Edge Networks
Todd, Brown, Founder
Revolt Media
Detavio Samuels, CEO
Black Enterprise
Butch Graves, President & CEO
Madison Media Management / The Africa Channel
Paula Madison, Chairman & CEO
Narendra Reddy, EVP & General Manager
Ebony & Jet
Michele Ghee, CEO
Steed Media Group
Munson Steed, CEO
National Newspaper Publishers Association
Ben Chavez, President & CEO
Kicking off the two-day Black Owned Media Upfront will be Allen Media Group’s Entertainment Studios Networks and Syndication units and The Weather Channel. Byron Allen, founder, chairman and CEO of AMG and owner of The Weather Group, will appear with his companies’ programming and sales executives to spotlight new and ongoing shows and networks.
Allen, who created and has been the primary driver of the Black-Owned Media Matters initiative, will also talk about how the multi-billion U.S. advertising industry can advance economic inclusion by devoting five percent of annual media budgets to companies like his and the others that will be presenting at Black Owned Media Upfront 2021.
For months, Allen has maintained that the audiences served by Black-owned media companies have been undervalued — and underpriced — by advertisers and their agencies, creating what he calls “America’s biggest trade deficit.”
To amplify his message, Allen has founded the National Association of African American Owned Media. The group’s core focus is to promote economic inclusion across all sectors of American business and in particular, advertising.
The Black-Owned Media Upfront will focus on steps the advertising industry must take to create a fair and equitable marketplace for all media companies. The goal, Allen says, is “building a more equitable advertising industry together.”
By partnering with TVNewsCheck to present Black-Owned Media Upfront 2021, Allen aims to ensure an open and transparent dialogue among advertisers, their agencies and the Black-owned media community. He is determined to bring his decades of industry experience, extensive connections with media industry peers and a hands-on approach to foster “meaningful partnerships and an exchange of ideas and opportunities.”
Register to attend the Black-Owned Media Upfront 2021. Please register again if you initially registered prior to Wednesday, May 5. We experienced some disruption to the registration process when we updated the start time for Tuesday, May 11.
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