Nearly 1 in 5 Black consumers in the US view brands as generally disingenuous for holding Black History Month promotions, recent research shows. A partnership with Black consumers should start with a deep understanding and appreciation of the elements that make them, as individuals and as a group, unique.

Black-owned brands are underrepresented on store shelves: While many retailers use Black History Month to support Black-owned businesses, addressing long-term inequities is a year-round challenge.

For example, we created our Instagram platform “allwaysblack” to highlight Black authors. It’s curated by Cree Myles, who is a bookstagrammer and speaks authentically to her community. The platform now encompasses events and a newsletter. It's not just for Black History Month—it is an ongoing conversation that happens on a daily basis.

But while consumers on the whole may value price and promotion most, lack of DEI consistently ranks as one of the top reasons Black consumers are dissatisfied with purchases, per McKinsey. That ranks far higher than measures like quality and value. Why it matters: Over 20 diverse-owned firms that participated in a test of Target’s fund during Black History Month averaged a 40% surge in revenue.

A commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is critical to Black shoppers—but there’s more to DEI than hiring and employee-engagement practices.

Black History Month is an important time of year for Martell Cognac. This year, the Pernod Ricard spirits brand took its activism and community involvement work to Clubhouse, hosting a series of conversations with Karen Civil, a creator and digital marketing strategist with more than 1 million followers on Clubhouse. Pernod Ricard’s Stroud shared how the brand developed the idea and what it learned by using Clubhouse.

Bold Conversations tied into Martell’s larger Black History Month efforts. “Having a robust relationship with Karen Civil, not only through the Clubhouse piece of execution, but for the whole Black History Month program, was really helpful.

The pilot, which will focus on customers who don’t have detailed credit histories, has an estimated US market of 53 million, with an emphasis on Black and Latino consumers. Challengers: A number of neobanks geared toward underserved communities have been building out their operations recently.

The since-passed law was called out by civil rights groups as voter suppression that would primarily impact the Black community. Consumers will punish hypocrisy, too: On March 8, 2022, International Women’s Day, social media overflowed with grandiose statements from brands about the important contribution and history of women in their organizations and in society.

The chatbot now handles more than 264,000 messages each month, Allstate told Insider Intelligence. Customer claims chatbot. As the employee-facing tool matured, Allstate extended it to customers to expedite support on both ends of the process.

“It’s equally important to look at your own data month over month, year over year.” In a September report by Litmus, the email solutions firm surveyed over 2,000 marketing professionals, including vice-president-level and C-level leaders and email practitioners.