Protests stemming from the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and many other Black Americans have allowed a space for us all to review how we serve Black communities. As consumers are looking for brands to be accountable for their practices, it is the responsibility of communications and marketing professionals to implement strategies that eliminate racial bias and understand nuances that prevent effective communication to Black audiences.
According to a survey conducted by Edelman, 60 percent of consumers currently expect brands to take a stand to publicly speak out against racial injustice. Out of the same group of survey participants, 60 percent also say that brands need to use their marketing dollars to advocate for racial equality and to educate the public on the issue. This percentage is higher for consumers of color at 70 percent. Consumers are looking for brands to align with their morality. As communicators and marketers, there is a unique opportunity to merge effective communications with socially responsible interests of consumers.
During a time where your company or brand may be evaluating how to adjust best practices on communicating with the Black community, you may be overwhelmed or uncertain as to where to begin. Here are immediate actions to jumpstart your journey toward eliminating racial bias and strengthening your brand’s communications practices for Black audiences.
FOVNDRY (formerly Van Eperen) is an award-winning, fully integrated communications agency that has made its mark in the public and private sectors, plus a variety of membership-based associations since 2004. We craft custom solutions for multiple industries, including: Health & Science, Transportation, Real Estate, Education, Consumer Packaged Goods, and more. With offices in Rockville and Baltimore, our Maryland-based PR and marketing firm also fulfills the creative and branding needs of businesses and organizations in the DMV and beyond.
We’re a certified minority business enterprise (MBE)/disadvantaged business enterprise (DBE) in Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C., Delaware, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania. As well, FOVNDRY is a woman-owned small business (WOSB) that’s on the federal GSA AIMS schedule (GS07F0312T), and on a mission to help DoD and HHS agencies. Get to know us better in person, and connect with us daily via LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.