GM will host a dedicated upfront with diverse media owners on May 14, ahead of the traditional media marketplace. The goal of the summit is to encourage existing and potential partners to submit an overview of their business for consideration by GM for deeper engagement, including request for proposal. The process that will be used for the selection of media will be accredited by a third party to ensure fairness and transparency, according to the company.
The automaker is also allocating $50 million over 10 years to help support and scale diverse marketing companies. This is incremental to GM’s media spend.
One challenge brands and media agencies have expressed in working with diverse-owned media companies is around measurement and scale. To help overcome some of these challenges, GM is establishing media criteria with input from diverse media to allow for more flexibility based on the size and scale of the media organization.
GM previously announced it would increase its overall diverse media spend, including doubling its commitment for spending with Black-owned media to 2 percent in 2021 and 4 percent in 2022, with the goal of reaching 8 percent by 2025.
“I applaud GM for taking the results of their thoughtful and robust discussions with a significant number of diverse media entities and then developing this thorough, bold and transformational plan to increase engagement with diverse media,” Alfred Liggins, CEO of Urban One, said in a statement.
