• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, March 16, 2021

IPG Mediabrands and Magna are presenting the “Equity Upfront” this week to raise visibility for Black-owned and Black-targeted media businesses.

Day one of the event (March 15) featured upfront presentations by Black-owned media companies, including Entertainment Studios’ The Grio, Essence Communications, Inc., Revolt and Urban One, as well as Black-targeted networks BET and OWN.

Blavity, Black Enterprise, Ebony, Jet, Mirror Digital, National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters (“NABOB”), American Urban Radio Networks, Central City Productions TV, NuTime Media, The Source and ReachTV will also make presentations at the event throughout the week.

In a separate presentation, research and intelligence arm Magna will offer insights about Black audiences and media consumption.

The main idea behind the effort is to provide the presenting media companies access to Mediabrands clients and gain some insight into how best to market to them. For clients, it provides an opportunity to better understand the importance of Black audiences and why they should be included in their media investment strategies.

Magna plans to host subsequent monthly gatherings that focus on specific media channels. It has earmarked April to focus on Black audio and podcast media properties.

While initially focused on Black-owned and targeted media businesses, The Equity Upfront plans to include other underrepresented media platforms in later forums, including Latinx, Asian and LGBTQIA+ audiences.

“We must take accountable steps forward to address the inequities in how we invest,” said Dani Benowitz, president, U.S., MAGNA. “This is the start of MAGNA and Mediabrands’ work, focusing on giving access to media partners across BIPOC audiences and helping to gear investment strategies toward multicultural consumers.”

Other agencies have taken similar steps recently to showcase Black media and audiences.

Sibling agency Mediahub hosted an event last week to connect multicultural media publishers with brands. Mindshare, its parent GroupM and Havas announced plans for similar market places last July.