General Motors has confirmed that it will double its ad spending with Black-owned media.
In a recent press release, General Motors stated that it will increase its spending with Black-owned media to 4 percent of its overall ad budget next year, up from the 2 percent budget allocation for 2021. GM also says that it plans to increase ad spending with Black-owned media to 8 percent of its annual budget by 2025.
Additionally, General Motors committed to a “Diverse-Owned Media Summit” on May 14th that will “encourage existing and potential partners to submit an overview of their business for consideration by GM for deeper engagements beyond the summit, including a request for proposal.”
The recent release also includes the announcement of a Diverse Marketing Incubator fund, with $50 million allocated over 10 years to support and scale diverse marketing companies, as well as an Inclusive Measurement Rubric for greater flexibility on the size and scale of the media organization, and a Prospective Partnering Analysis for selecting diverse media outlets.
“This action plan will transform our engagement model with diverse media in a sustainable way,” said GM global chief marketing officer, Deborah Wahl. “Over the course of several weeks, we met with many diverse-owned media organizations. We are grateful for the transparency and spirit of collaboration, which helped us frame this inclusive approach.”
General Motors was recently criticized by Black media leaders for not spending enough of its ad budget with Black-owned media outlets. In March, Allen Media Group took out a full-page ad in The Detroit Free Press stating that GM spends “less than 0.5 percent” of its advertising with Black-owned media. The Detroit Free Press ad, titled “General Motors Chairman and CEO Mary Barra refuses to sit down with Black Owned Media Companies,” was signed by several leaders of some the largest Black-owned media companies in the U.S., and requested a one-hour Zoom meeting with Barra and key board members.
After initially agreeing to a meeting, General Motors later canceled, opting instead for individual meetings with Black media executives in order to foster “meaningful dialogue” and to allow for an “[extended] conversation to include [GM’s] existing Black-owned media partners.”
In response, Allen expressed his disappointment, saying that “Mary didn’t live up to her word and show up for a one-hour Zoom meeting that she scheduled with Black-owned media, who wrote her an open letter.”
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Comments
OK they have their marketing money let’s see an increase in sales to black owners.
The brotherhood of muscle brand has that covered!
ThAts a lot of money just to keep your business from being looted and burned. Will we ever see the day when businesses man up and tell extortionists to go pound sand?
TBH, this plan isn’t that great and diverse-owned is not Black owned media. Why wait for 2025 for 8% increase?
If you add each (GM market) country’s total new auto revenue, divided by their demographic ratio of Sub-Saharan heritage, is it 8% of of the total market dollars (where GM competes)?
How about a little product improvement instead. After sale customer service would help gm 1000% in future sales.
Congrats gm on caving to BLM! Now fix the cheap, crappy interiors on the trucks.
This is a very racist thing to do, why only black media, what about Asian, Hispanic, American Indian, and other races? Does GM really think that their dealerships won’t get hit when the BLM mobs start “peacefully protesting” again? If they are in the path they will get hit whether they have been paid off or have been extorted by the BLM or not. Exactly what company has been boycotted to closure? Yeah, I couldn’t think of any either.
Don’t forget Martians and Moonmen!
If it’s one thing that we’ve learned from successful companies…..it’s that using race and skin color as a determining factor of a partnership or hiring decision ALWAYS works out perfectly.
Yay racism!
Or is this special privilege?
I cant believe they allowed themselves to be extorted like that we as free American people and companies need to stand up for ourselves, thats why this is the greatest country ever FREEDOM free to buy or spend what wr want with who we want