The 4A’s Five-Point Media Commitment to supporting BIPOC-owned and targeted media owners

Five Commitments:

 

1. Anti-racism

We commit to working with agencies against racism. We will use our influence and our resources to eradicate bias of all kinds. We will provide organization-wide bias training, starting with leadership and HR; we will reinforce or create advocacy/allyship programs; and build platforms and initiatives to create change. Our industry must shift attitudes, behavior and actions, and drive economic support behind our BIPOC media owners and targeted media.

Task force actions:

• Measure and hold people accountable within organizations to deliver [define quantitative metrics TBD for benchmarking agencies]
• Revisit contractual language to create equity and strengthen the commitment with media owners including in RFPs; agencies to adopt and share new language in contracts and conversations [provide guidance to assess]
• Through the 4A’s Board of Directors, establish a dialog, and a plan, with Creative Agencies to ensure that we are in constant sync with our Media ambition

 

2. General Market

The term ‘General’ or ‘Total’ market planning is no longer acceptable when it comes to media planning and placement. Media planning and placement must address the multiculturalism and segmentation of the changing market by including BIPOC-owned and targeted media that accurately reflect the national and local marketplace [alongside appropriate media investment]. We will actively facilitate positive [trading] relationships and be the voice of marginalized communities when we witness barriers. We will champion the need to ensure BIPOC media channels and platforms prosper through greater client understanding of focus with all audiences. And we will create a glossary of terms to ensure consistent language, intent, and actions.

Task force actions:

• Create [and distribute across the industry] a glossary of terms to ensure consistency in language and approach
• Identify a new inclusive approach [playbook] to data, strategy, planning and buying BIPOC audiences (e.g. removing Spanish Language as a ‘daypart’ for planning/buying)

 

3. Planning to a standard

Our industry prides itself on being expert in targeting discrete audiences in the right context. This requires impact beyond reach to ensure a broader, holistic approach. We will be working with agencies and BIPOC media owners to design an iterative planning accreditation program [including frequent updates] to promote and accelerate awareness, consideration and action in business and campaign planning, and consistently measure our progress over time. This will be complementary to agency-owned initiatives and will engage marketers too.

Task force actions:

• Identify strategy and planning leads at media agencies to develop a 4A’s [underwritten] planning accreditation program
• Partner with the ANA Media Advisory Board and AIMM to ensure all this is understood and supported by clients and agencies alike
• Collaboration with BIPOC-owned and targeted media to create program content
• Case studies to be created to amplify business effectiveness and impact

 

4. Making the work count

We will create an initiative – led by senior industry mentors – that calls for media professionals to shift investment to BIPOC-owned media companies. The goal is to create new business opportunities for BIPOC-owned and targeted media as well as marginalized communities.

Task force actions:

• Identify strategy leaders to connect BIPOC-owned media companies with agencies
• Create an insights/ trends cultural playbook
• Develop pro-bono initiatives for Black NGOs and not-for-profits to support marketing/ media
• Case study creation

 

5. Measuring progress

We are committing to change. And to tracking progress. We will work with buyers and sellers of BIPOC media to monitor progress – e.g. increased revenue and/or greater share delivered – and we will rely on media owners to publish aggregated industry data twice yearly. In order to actively drive equity, we will ensure that we measure commercial progress in each vertical of the BIPOC media community – i.e. owned and targeted media, and across the specific segments of BIPOC media. The distinction between owned and targeted channels is important, and we are committed to driving equity for those media owners with less commercial power.

Task force actions:

• Investment leaders to identify critical data points to measure
• Devise process by which the media investment community aligns with BIPOC media owners to share data and track progress
• Devise a Nielsen and Comscore strategy to support measurement for under-represented media owners

 

Additional measurement checkpoints:

• Bi-monthly invitation [and potentially specific events] for the BIPOC media community to attend the 4A’s Media Leadership Council – this will be afforded on a rotational basis and facilitate education, business updates, sharing of issues or concerns [and hopefully positive progress], and the opportunity for senior media owners to connect to senior agency leaders.
• Quarterly 4A’s check-ins with the BIPOC media community [i.e. extending the conversation – to keep the conversation current, real, connected and impactful].