Adonis Hoffman: Betting on Black to clean the corporate slate – Fox News
If there ever were a time to bet on Black people, it is now. Birthed in large part by the senseless killing of George Floydand bolstered by the blood of countless others, this is a moment America has never before seen;amoment adeptly annexed by major corporations and marquee brands to affirm or start anew their commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.
The unwary or casual student of history might think to equate today with the affirmative action era, itself a uniquely American antecedent.And the confederate caustics among us might want to scream Reconstruction redux.But both would miss the point. While relevant, there are two dramatic differences between then and now.
First, todays response to the BLM and social justice movements has been led entirely by the private sector. Governments at all levels have remained interested but uninvolved. And second, the BLM movement has been multi-ethnic and multi-generational supported by White, Hispanic, Asian and European allies throughout the globea living testament to our global interdependence and connectedness.
CURTIS HILL: NFL'S REPORTED PLANS FOR 'BLACK NATIONAL ANTHEM' WOULD CELEBRATE NATIONAL UNITY, SPIRITUAL FAITH
We now know that the world is watching, learning and judging how America handles what noted scholar W.E.B. Dubois in 1903 called the problem of the color line. Apropos of our 2020 ethos, it is fitting that the response to the same problem is now measured by the millions on corporate checks and not the morals of American leaders. What a difference a hundred years makes.
The amount of money being pledged to programs, businesses and organizations led byor focused onAfrican Americans has been impressive by any standard. Blue chip corporations like Comcast, Microsoft, Google, Bank of America, Nike, AT&T, Target, Walmart, Sony, Verizon and others,along with celebrities and wealthy individuals,have made multi-year, multimillion-dollar commitments to BLM and allied organizations.It seems that $100 million has become the de rigueur standard for both media and corporate cred in todays high-stakes skin game.
A good many social media naysayers suggest that corporate pledges reflect little more than White guilt and should be viewed with suspicion particularly money from companies with thin records on diversity. They also say that a multi-year pledge of $150 million is small relative to their earnings.
But lets be real here:when was the last time any big company pledged this amount of money to anything but building its own bottom line? The overwhelming financial response by companies is a plea not only for the hearts and minds of Black folksbut for their money too. White guilt or not, the corporate pledges are a recognition of an ever-present market reality. Not only do Black lives matter, but so too do Black dollars. And that is worth examining.
Consider a few compelling data points, courtesy of Nielsen, which measures demographics, spending and consumption among other big data categories.
As of 2018, there were over 48 million Black Americans, with nearly 25 million in the millennial age or younger. With a median age of 32, Black Americans are just now approaching their peak earning years but are already dominating industries from music to fashion. The influence of African American consumers is extensive driven by their tech affinity, passion for sharing experiencesand powered by their omnichannel thirst for information and recommendations.
Black buying power grew from $320 billion in 1990 to $1.3 trillion in 2018. Between 2000 and 2018, Black buying power rose 114%, compared to an 89% increase in White buying power. Texas now has the largest population of African Americans and tops the nation in African American buying power.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR OPINION NEWSLETTER
African Americans over-index the total population for most genres of apps, including search engines, entertainment, electronics, government and non-profit apps. Black Americans are avid media consumers that spend more time with television,TV-connected devices,radio,video on computers,web apps on smartphonesand web apps on tablets than the general population. They over-index on YouTube and Netflix by 12 and 19 points, respectively.
Marketers know, or should know, that African Americans love the latest trendsand are more likely than the total population to rely on advertising to provide meaningful information about products they use. 40% of Black consumers say they are the first among their friends to try new products and services, surpassing the total population by 29%. And most relevant for social justice concerns, 42% of African Americans expect brands they buy to support social causes 16% more than the general population.
As voracious media consumers across multiple channels, Black Americans are the largest consumers of TV with over 11 hours more each week using television compared to the total population. While TV usage decreased in the last year, internet on the go is increasingwith more time spent on video, audio and social networking than the total population on both smartphones and tablets. Blacks are creating their own video, audioand digital app platforms that allow them to express their aspirations and support for companies that meet their consumer demands.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
African Americans have contributed mightily to the development of Americaever since the firstslaves arrived in Point Comfortnear Jamestown, Va.,in 1619. Unquestionably, America would not be the powerful nation it is without Blacks, despite two and a half centuries of political oppression and economic exclusion supported by statute, civil society and social custom. While there has been immense progress, there is yet a long way to go.
As leading banks, retailers, technology firms and more develop commercial strategies to connect with Black consumers, it makes sense to commit millions upon millions of dollars to embrace universal principles of equity and respect. In that context, the decision by major companies to bet on Black is not just a roll-of-the-dice or knee-jerk response to social justice.At best, it is a prudent embrace of conscious capitalismand at worst a timely effort to clean the corporate slate. In either case, there is nothing wrong with that.
View post:
Adonis Hoffman: Betting on Black to clean the corporate slate - Fox News
- Heineken Turns Anti-Social - Media, That Is 04/29/2025 - MediaPost - May 2nd, 2025 [May 2nd, 2025]
- Heineken taps Joe Jonas to ditch social media and pour into real connections - Marketing-Interactive - May 2nd, 2025 [May 2nd, 2025]
- Europeans are leaving the social network Mask X en masse - Mezha.Media - May 2nd, 2025 [May 2nd, 2025]
- Elon Musks X social network lost 10% of its users from Europe in six months. Reasons - - May 2nd, 2025 [May 2nd, 2025]
- Heineken campaign imagines an influencer crisis in a world without social media followers - Campaign Brief - May 2nd, 2025 [May 2nd, 2025]
- Joe Jonas and Dude With Sign Team Up to Celebrate Life Off Social Media - That Eric Alper - May 2nd, 2025 [May 2nd, 2025]
- Joe Jonas and Heineken bring in a social media apocalypse in new ad - afaqs! - May 2nd, 2025 [May 2nd, 2025]
- Divisive forces spreading hate on social media must be identified, dealt with firmly: Mehbooba Mufti - asianewsnetwork.net - May 2nd, 2025 [May 2nd, 2025]
- Socontra: social network for AI agent-to-agent interaction set to automate online shopping - Eagle-Tribune - May 2nd, 2025 [May 2nd, 2025]
- Survey: More than four in 10 teens say social media harms their sleep - The Star - May 2nd, 2025 [May 2nd, 2025]
- Mark Zuckerberg Says Social Media Is Over - The New Yorker - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are 'grateful' that Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet are too young for social media - Business Insider - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- Morgan Stanley believed Google would rival Facebook if the search giant could beat Mark Zuckerberg to scooping up WhatsApp - Fortune - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- Australian leaders vow to stand firm on social media age limits as election nears - Reuters - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- My Company Competed Against Facebook. Here's What Happened | Opinion - Newsweek - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- Layboard Launches Innovative Social Network for Job Searching and Career Growth - Reuters - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- Abrego Garcia family flees to safe house after Trump DHS posts home address on social media - The Real News Network - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- Opinion: Morning routines are a myth and serve as social media gimmicks - lsureveille.com - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- Gen Zs Underground Social Network Just Went National And Its Blowing Up - Forbes - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- Fans React to Jameson Williams Not Following Lions on Social Media - Sports Illustrated - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- OpenAI may be creating a new social media platform with AI-generated images - Tech Edition - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- B3 partner with Reach Labs to launch user acquisition platform and GameChain - VentureBeat - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- OpenAIs Reportedly Exploring Its Own AI-Based Social Network - Social Media Today - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- OpenAI launches its Social Network: the new frontier of the data war - The Cryptonomist - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- OpenAI is reportedly developing its own X-like social media platform - TechCrunch - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- What Meta stands to lose if the FTC wins - Quartz - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- Instagram and Facebook are hardly social media apps anymore. Here's the proof. - Business Insider - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- FTC Antitrust Case Against Meta Heads to Trial This Week - Social Media Today - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- OpenAI might be building its own social network, and we really hope they don't - TechRadar - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- OpenAI Takes On Elon Musk By Creating Its Own Social Network! - Cointribune - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- OpenAI is building its own social network to rival Elon Musk's X - Crypto Briefing - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- OpenAI reportedly creating its own social network to take on X - Tom's Guide - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- Behind the landmark trial that could reshape Metas future with Instagram - Los Angeles Times - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- OpenAI is quietly working on a social network similar to Twitter, powered by ChatGPT - TechSpot - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- OpenAI Reportedly Developing Social Media Platform Amid Ongoing Feud Between Musk, Altman - BW Businessworld - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- OpenAI braced to challenge Elon Musks X with new social network - The Times - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- Meta faces antitrust claims at trial over Instagram and WhatsApp ownership - The Guardian - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- Like Musk, but with ChatGPT: OpenAI is working on its own social network similar to X - ITC.ua - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- OpenAI may be turning ChatGPT into a social media platform - Android Authority - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- Creative ChatGPT They are planning their own social network and it will be quite unique! LSA Magazine - Letem svtem Applem - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- OpenAI is working on X-like social media network, the Verge reports - MarketScreener - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- Will Meta be forced to sell Instagram and WhatsApp in FTC trial? - Bizcommunity - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- Body talk on social networking sites and appearance anxiety among college students: the mediating role of self-objectification and moderating role of... - April 10th, 2025 [April 10th, 2025]
- I Tried Seven39, the Social Network That's Only Open Three Hours a Day - Lifehacker - April 10th, 2025 [April 10th, 2025]
- Mapping ISKPs Strength: Social Network Analysis of Tech-Driven Jihad - Global Network on Extremism and Technology - April 10th, 2025 [April 10th, 2025]
- ION and HyperGPT Unite to Power AI-Driven Web3 Social Networks - CoinTrust - April 10th, 2025 [April 10th, 2025]
- College Student Shares Why She Deleted All Socials and What Life Is Like Without It - The Flagler College Gargoyle - April 10th, 2025 [April 10th, 2025]
- CRD is shutting down its X account, saying platform 'rife with misinformation' - Times Colonist - April 10th, 2025 [April 10th, 2025]
- Social Network: Is the mental health of teenagers in danger? - evidencenetwork.ca - April 10th, 2025 [April 10th, 2025]
- Leo, Daily Horoscope Today, April 10, 2025: Business owners will find success through social networking - Times of India - April 10th, 2025 [April 10th, 2025]
- Daily time spent on social networking by internet users - the-star.co.ke - April 10th, 2025 [April 10th, 2025]
- Young people and the pressure to be perfect like on social media - baohaiduong.vn - April 10th, 2025 [April 10th, 2025]
- CSC urged to recall memo on social media use of gov't personnel - GMA Network - April 10th, 2025 [April 10th, 2025]
- Woman charged for hit-and-run death allegedly posted about victim on social media after the crash - KBTX News 3 - April 8th, 2025 [April 8th, 2025]
- LinkedIn reveals best places to work - 9Now - April 8th, 2025 [April 8th, 2025]
- Chamber showcase fills Union Station with real-life social networking for small biz owners - Startland News - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- Beyond Bluesky: These are the apps building social experiences on the AT Protocol - TechCrunch - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- Modeling the amplification of epidemic spread by individuals exposed to misinformation on social media - Nature - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- Gen Z is flocking to the one social media platform millennials didn't ruin - Business Insider - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- Whistlr Network: The Real-Time, Unfiltered Social Media, That - openPR.com - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- EU may make an example of X by issuing $1 billion fine to Musks social network - Ars Technica - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- Mark Zuckerberg Apparently Bought Jesse Eisenberg's "The Social Network" T-Shirt, And I'm A Little Weirded Out - BuzzFeed - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- Is X Going To Pay The Price? Europe Is Preparing Historic Sanctions Against Elon Musk. - Cointribune - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- Truth Social owner Trump Media becomes first company listed on NYSE Texas handing early win to exchange - New York Post - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- Mark Zuckerberg wears iconic t-shirt from The Social Network, reveals he got it in auction - Mint - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- Immigration officials look to collect social media handles from those seeking benefits. Is this new? - The Tribune-Democrat - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- Cryptocurrency and Extremism: How Social Network Analysis is Used to Track Extremist Cryptocurrency Donations - GNET - March 25th, 2025 [March 25th, 2025]
- New bill would require warning labels on social media platforms - KSTP - March 25th, 2025 [March 25th, 2025]
- Japan Grapples with Risks of Social Media in Pursuing Options for Protecting Children Online - Nippon.com - March 25th, 2025 [March 25th, 2025]
- Gabe Newell had his eyes on a social network in the '90s that 'was not in a games context at all'meaning Valve-owned social media could've been a very... - March 25th, 2025 [March 25th, 2025]
- Tired of traditional social media? Here are 4 reasons why Substack is my go-to social media app - ZDNet - March 25th, 2025 [March 25th, 2025]
- Skip the post-trip laundry stress with the new features of Wingle, a free in-flight networking app for travellers - indulgexpress - March 25th, 2025 [March 25th, 2025]
- Social media's impact: Driving business strategies from marketing to ROI - ZAWYA - March 25th, 2025 [March 25th, 2025]
- What Is Meta AI? Everything You Should Know About the Social Network Giant's AI Tools - CNET - March 25th, 2025 [March 25th, 2025]
- The art and science of going viral in 2025 - Computerworld - March 25th, 2025 [March 25th, 2025]
- Agility in Marketing Teams: An Analysis of Factors Influencing the Entry Decision Into a Trendy Social Network | Newswise - Newswise - March 18th, 2025 [March 18th, 2025]
- The Rise and Fall of Terrorgram: Inside a Global Online Hate Network - ProPublica - March 18th, 2025 [March 18th, 2025]
- Why TikTok Should Be OnChain - CoinDesk - March 18th, 2025 [March 18th, 2025]
- China: Officials aim to restrict social media and screen time, youth left in divide - The Hawk - March 18th, 2025 [March 18th, 2025]
- Florida teen killed after being lured on social media to meet man, police say - USA TODAY - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]