5 Things Every Brand Should Consider For Black History Month

Happy Black History Month! This is my favorite time of year, because I get together with my whole Black family to talk about all the Black things we and our ancestors have done in the past, and just Blackly celebrate being Black at the highest Black levels of Black. 

If you read that first sentence assuming even a shred of sincerity by the author, I deeply apologize for leading you on. None of this happens. Black people do not celebrate Black History Month. Let me repeat: BLACK PEOPLE DO NOT CELEBRATE BLACK HISTORY MONTH!

Now, that doesn’t mean we’re not grateful it exists (all 28 days of it), or that we enjoy seeing non-Black people, government officials, and big name brands celebrate our community’s contributions to society – but make no mistake – this is a moment for y’all to pull up, to learn, and to make the world a more inclusive place for Black folks. 

Now, if you’re a Marketing or Communications professional working for a brand, the pressure is certainly on to do something for this community, ESPECIALLY due to the last handful of years of heightened social unrest and ESPECIALLY if (for some reason) your brand hasn’t been intentional about connecting with its Black audience on the regular. So, I put together a few tips for consideration as you execute your Black History Month plans this month, and as you evaluate and strategize for the future:

(1) Consistency Is More Attractive Than A Big Flash In The Pan

This might be the most important tip right here. It is a far better look to consistently and authentically activate the Black audience all year long vs. from February 1 - February 28. We notice these things. We notice if your Instagram grid looks like ESSENCE Magazine covers all of a sudden, but when we scroll back to January it’s giving Good Housekeeping – and the audience will definitely scroll back to check you. Seeing a campaign out in the wild intentionally for Black people outside of February is so meaningful, because it shows the audience that you’re not trying to capitalize on a moment for your own gain, or doing something performative because you’re concerned how it would look if you didn’t do something. So, if you’re reading this and your brand doesn’t have a big activation planned for Black History month – that’s okay – Black people will still be Black in August, too. 

(2) If You Put Out A Campaign, Black People Will Read The Nutrition Facts

Whatever you are doing this month, my hope is that there are Black people behind every piece of that puzzle, and that they were paid well for their time and expertise. You executed a photo shoot? Ensure the photographer and all of their production staff are Black. Creating a space in the metaverse for your brand? That designer had better be Black. A commercial spot? The director and production company needs to be… you guessed it… Black. This is a vigilant audience that will read the fine print to ensure everyone who touched this is authentically of the audience, and also, paying a non-Black person for this work at the end of the day is antithetical to the entire point of the celebration. So you as a brand leader have to be just as vigilant as this audience is, or suffer the consequences. 

(3) Don’t Rely On Your Black Employees To Plan Your Black History Month Campaign If It’s Not Their Job To Do So

It is not Maya’s job in HR to plan your Black History Month campaign just because she’s a Black woman at the company. Don’t expect Stan, the brother in Accounts Receivable, to jump in either. Being Black in corporate America is hard enough as it is, and it is not someone’s additional job to solve this for your company if that work is not specifically on their job description. So, if you don’t have the internal Marketing/Communications team in place to put something authentic together, hire a consultant or a Black-run agency to do so while you spend the next year working on your internal D&I challenges. 

(4) It’s Easy To Create A Campaign With A Nod To History, But The Audience Would Rather You Make History 

Most Black people know about our history and our contributions. To my friends at JIF, we know George Washington Carver invented peanut butter, so nobody needs you to create a video about him with some bland copy on Instagram to acknowledge Black History Month. What we need is for The J.M. Smucker Company (the holding company behind JIF) to make history and hire a Black executive to its C-Suite so that their leadership doesn’t look like, well, plain white bread (below). Actions speak louder than words, and making history will always be more impactful and yield to true brand loyalty for your consumer vs. a shallow nod to the past (especially if your brand had nothing to do with said past historical moment). 

(5) Start Thinking About API Heritage Month, Pride and Hispanic Heritage Month TODAY!

Finally, doing anything valuable for Black History Month takes time, especially within the confines of corporations which historically are slow moving and need multiple levels of visibility and approval. So start early, and don’t wait until the last minute. This is your reminder to start thinking about API Heritage Month (May) TODAY! Start thinking about Pride (June) TODAY! Start thinking about Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept 15 - Oct 15) TODAY! Start thinking about Native American Heritage Month (November) TODAY!