Publicis Media is the latest agency giant to make a commitment to investing more ad dollars in minority-owned and targeted media. The London-based home of Starcom, Zenith, Digitas, Spark Foundry and Performics, has announced the launch of the Once & For All Coalition, made up of marketing leaders tasked with creating a more equitable environment for minority media suppliers and audiences.
Through what it calls a “cross-industry consortium” of agency execs, brand marketers and media companies, the coalition has a three-pronged mission: fostering minority content and creators, developing systems for a sustainable infrastructure and investing equitably in minority-owned and targeted media.
To get the initiative off the ground, the coalition held a meeting with more than 120 industry stakeholders, according to Ad Age. The group is open to all clients of parent Publicis Groupe and includes reps from the Association of National Advertisers’ Alliance for Inclusive and Multicultural Marketing and more than 20 other firms. The coalition will meet quarterly and is expected to issue a year-end update on its progress in fourth quarter 2021.
“True equity requires sustainability, and our goal with the Once & For All Coalition is to take a long-term approach, consistent with the population change and fast-rising majority,” said Lisa Torres, president of Publicis Media’s Cultural Quotient unit. “We have spent many years working toward more inclusive investment and supplier diversity, but in order to drive true change we need all industry players working together.”
As part of the coalition’s development, Publics has pledged to spend $25 million in diverse content creation in conjunction with its minority- and women-focused APX Content Ventures. The group and its clients say they will increase investments in diverse media, along with research, measurement and other relevant channels as part of a multiyear commitment.
Publicis is the second major agency group to make such a pledge this week alone. On Wednesday Havas Media Group launched BIPOC Media Connections, a program designed to help advertisers direct more revenue toward Black- and Hispanic-owned radio stations in the U.S. The media buying shop says more than 180 minority-owned radio stations are participating, including those represented by Katz Media Group and Gen Media Partners. BIPOC refers to Black, Indigenous and People of Color.
Both Havas and Publicis follow earlier initiatives by Dentsu and Group M. In addition, Coca-Cola North America announced plans in late June to nearly double its advertising expenditure with minority-owned media companies over the next three years. And McDonald’s said that by 2024 its franchise owners have committed to more than doubling their marketing spending with media companies, production houses and content creators that are Black, Hispanic, Asian, Women and LGBTQ-owned.
댓글