Lessons Learned from Target’s Black History Month Initiatives
Black History month is celebrated every year from February 1st - March 1st as an annual recognition of the history, achievements, and influence of the Black community. Brands and agencies use this time to launch marketing campaigns in an effort to recognize and include their diverse audiences and take part in important cultural moments.
As a values-based marketing agency, we love to celebrate Black History Month alongside countless other agencies and brands, but one thing we see too often and year after year is a lack of commitment to elevating Black voices year round. Many companies pump out Black History Month products, posts, and content for four weeks, and then it’s crickets the rest of the year.
In our eyes, the message behind Black History Month should be marketed all year long. The only way to make your diverse audience feel seen and valued is to showcase and represent them every day.
Why Black History Month Matters Year Round
The harsh reality is that racial inequality still exists—disparities in wealth, education, employment, housing, mobility, health, rates of incarceration, and more affect Black people across America and globally. Black History Month is a time to elevate and celebrate Black voices in an effort to dissipate some of these disparities. It certainly works toward that, but one month simply isn’t enough in the grand scheme of things. Many Black kids still don’t think they can achieve their dreams because they don’t see people who look like them doing what they dream of. The only way to change that is to highlight, share, showcase, promote, and fund amazing Black people and Black-owned businesses year round.
How Target Approaches Black History Month
Brands can uplift, inspire, educate, and give a voice to diverse communities if they use the power of their influence strategically. One brand that does an exemplary job of this year round is Target. We love how they highlight different Black experiences and Black culture through their marketing. This year they're celebrating Black History Month by launching their first ever 100 percent Black-owned or designed collection.
“At Target, we honor the sacrifice of Black leaders of the past while amplifying and celebrating the voices of the Black community of today. And by continuing to expand our partnerships with Black-owned businesses and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), we're illuminating Black joy and building the best tomorrow.
Our Buy Black page within the Black Beyond Measure hub on Target.com showcases over 1,000 products from Black-owned brands that are part of our everyday assortment. Each quarter we highlight a few of the amazing founders whose products are available in our stores or online. So, while Black History Month is a moment in time, our efforts in supporting Black owned brands happens every day in the work that our team does.”
Lessons Learned from Target:
Target’s marketing campaigns hold lessons we think every brand should implement when it comes to elevating diverse voices:
#1: Celebrate People
Target hits the marketing nail on the head by promoting collections made or designed by Black creators and by focusing on the people behind those products. It’s one thing to run ads selling products made by Black-owned brands and another thing to elevate the creators themselves. Doing so helps bring Black-owned brands to life by allowing consumers to relate to the person behind their favorite products.
#2: Be Culturally Intelligent
By collaborating with Black creators and team members directly, Target inherently ensures their marketing campaigns are culturally intelligent and relevant. Any brand that wants to market during Black History Month or elevate Black voices year round should consult with diverse groups of people to make sure their messaging is as inclusive as possible.
#3: Don’t Put Words in Anyone’s Mouth
Letting Black creators speak for themselves is something Target is historically great at. Last year, for example, they teamed up with actress, New York Times bestseller, and social media phenomenon Tabitha Brown on four limited-time collections. They wrote an entire article about the collaboration, quoting her directly, and featured her across their social media channels when they could have simply sold the designs without even mentioning her.
In Target’s own words: “Sharing Tabitha’s message of love and optimism not only helps us provide inspirational and inclusive style for all, but is also another way we’re accelerating our REACH commitment to support Black-owned businesses, Black talent, Black designers and Black creators.”
#4: Celebrate Diverse Voices Year Round
Target doesn’t highlight Black businesses just to make money. Through their marketing efforts, they display thoughtfulness and intentional inclusion of their diverse community members and consumers. Here are some of the ways they elevate the Black community year round:
Created Bet on Black, a pitch-style competition series alongside REVOLT to create more opportunities for Black-owned businesses
Spent $2 billion towards adding products from Black-owned businesses, plus having the programs to support them
Invested $10 million in support of long-standing partners such as the National Urban League and recovery efforts in local communities
Created a scholarship program that provides a cohort of HBCU students $15,000 in scholarships over four years, plus mentoring, internships, and networking opportunities
Target does values-based marketing right. We commend such a massive brand for getting it right and always striving to improve the way they market. Hopefully more companies will become more like Target in the future, especially in a moment in time where consumers are demanding more from the businesses they buy from.
If you want to market based on your values but aren’t sure how to get started or need guidance shifting your messaging, reach out to us! Our overqualified team of creatives can help you create a marketing strategy that puts your brand in front of consumers authentically.