Group Black, the home for Black-Owned media properties, and SHE Media, a mission-driven publishing collective with a focus on elevating independent media, today announced the joint launch of the Group Black Network. This partnership brings more than 250 premium Black, Women-Owned SHE Media publishers to the Group Black Network, and provides a direct channel to deploy advertising investments to said publishers — increasing visibility and earning opportunities. Group Black can leverage the entire SHE Media Collective to drive higher revenue for multiple publishers within packaged deals.
Together, Group Black and SHE Media will empower and monetize SHE Media’s incredible editorial network by directly connecting publishers with Group Black’s brand and advertising partners. The infrastructure of the Group Black Network enables the company to command premium rates for these publishers by offering compelling ad inventory on both an individual or collective basis. While SHE Media is composed of a diverse community, inclusive of Women-Owned, Black, Hispanic, Latinx, AAPI and LGBTQAI+ independent publishers, Group Black will bring increased demand specifically to the community of Black-Owned publishers — including The Baby Sleep Site, IceCreamConvos, Black Girls Eat, FashionBombDaily, The Jasmine Brand and more — who independently develop culturally-savvy and engaging content across multiple channels. Collectively, SHE Media is a Top 10 Lifestyle property per comScore, and reaches 80 million monthly visitors.
“SHE Media was built to empower diverse, independent publishers to scale their business,” said Samantha Skey, CEO, SHE Media. “The media landscape is undergoing dramatic change, led in part by the efforts of initiatives like SHE Media’s Meaningful Marketplaces program, designed to allocate more advertising dollars to minority-owned publishers, and the birth and expansion of Group Black. A transparent and empowered ecosystem — where Black publishers are armed with the full understanding of their earning opportunity — will be transformative in who leads, what values reign and how media operates.”
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“Group Black and SHE Media share an important mission to elevate Black voices in the media world,” said Travis Montaque, Co-Founder, CEO & Director of Group Black. “By enabling our reputable brand partners to reach more diverse audiences through partnerships with Black publishers and creators, Group Black is facilitating real action and opportunity for all media entities. Welcoming SHE Media to Group Black is an incredible way to create even more impact and possibility.”
Creating an equitable framework where Black publishers are appropriately recognized and compensated for their contributions to the industry and culture at large is at the core of both this strategic partnership and Group Black’s mission. Using Group Black’s pipeline-opening model, Group Black and SHE Media’s partnership will create opportunities for historically under-served and under-valued Black publishers that yield mass exposure and drive incremental advertising revenue. SHE media publishers in the Group Black network will be equipped with media revenue, branded content opportunities, editorial connections and education on best practices to help bring their diverse content types and personal stories to the world.
“As a Black-Owned and Woman-Owned publisher, I feel extremely supported and valued by SHE Media and am eager to be a part of the Group Black Network to unlock new opportunities to expand my business,” said Nicole Johnson, Founder of The Baby Sleep Site. “Both entities continue to impress upon me that we are partners and are striving for all publishers in the Group Black Network to succeed. As I begin to work more closely with Group Black, I am confident they will develop the right opportunities to further support and grow The Baby Sleep Site. I truly appreciate SHE Media and Group Black, and look forward to a great future together!”
At the recent 2021 Google Certified Publishing Partner Summit, SHE Media received the 2021 DEI Driver award for continuous efforts promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion among their publisher base through She Media’s Meaningful Marketplaces initiative, an effort to help advertisers drive programmatic and direct deals across Black-Owned partner sites. Leveraging this platform will arm publishers in the Group Black Network with the required data to trigger ad investments and equip them with the technology needed to compete with legacy publishing houses at the highest level. Group Black will work with SHE Media to identify Black publishers in its network, exclusively representing and pairing individuals with relevant brand and advertising partners. Brands and advertisers will also have access to detailed first-party metrics needed to understand the opportunity, and, ultimately, purchase media and branded content, at scale.
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“UWG is proud to partner with Group Black and SHE Media to amplify diverse voices that speak to and for BIPOC communities,” said Gregory Edwards, President & COO, UWG. “As the country’s longest-standing, full-service, multicultural advertising and marketing agency, UWG is committed to supporting Black, Women-Owned publishers who produce quality culture-driving content that is aligned with our client Ford Motor Company’s values and look forward to helping these publishers take their brands to the next level by supporting both their growth in revenue and exposures.”
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