Dive Brief:

• Kargo has added three new publishing platforms — Gold House, equalpride and PinkNews — to its Multicultural Content Amplifier (MCA) program, which helps connect multicultural-owned media outlets with global advertisers, according to a press release.
• Discover Financial Services, a brand partner in the MCA initiative, will make undisclosed investments to support content platforms.
• The news comes as recent research shows minority-owned media publishers are still struggling to fully capitalize on the industry’s pledges to increase their spending with the outlets in the wake of George Floyd’s murder in May 2020.

Dive Insight:

In the three-plus years since George Floyd’s murder led to self-reflection among brands about their role in supporting diversity, equity and inclusion throughout their supply chains, the advertising industry has yet to make good on its promises, particularly when it comes to minority-owned media properties.

In April of this year, the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) found that while more than half of marketing executives said they were interested in supporting diverse suppliers, fewer than 40% of those suppliers said they had received increased investment from the marketing or advertising communities. Further, the ANA’s Alliance for Inclusive and Multicultural Marketing estimated only 1.85% of ad spending was going to diverse-owned media outlets, far below the group’s recommendation that diverse-owned media should account for 6.5% of spending by 2025.

One challenge that minority-owned media companies may be facing in attracting advertisers is a lack of infrastructure to work with brands at scale, something Kargo’s Multicultural Content Amplifier, introduced earlier this year, is designed to address. The program helps publishers increase their content supply and supports their programmatic advertising capabilities so they can connect with advertisers and grow their business. The program also includes editorial workshops and engineering support for publishers. 

One element of Kargo’s MCA program is to supply publishers with frequent and engaging content that will appeal to both consumers and advertisers. To that end, Kargo has hired 30 writers and estimates it will hire 100 more in 2024 to support its publisher partners. Kargo’s stable of writers has already generated 1,500 articles in collaboration with publishers.

“Joining Kargo’s Multicultural Content Amplifier program is not just about scaling our reach, but about pioneering a new era where multicultural voices are amplified, celebrated, and given the tools to thrive,” said Mark Isom, vice president and publisher of equalpride, in a statement. “We're grateful to be in partnership with Kargo, as together we pave a path of innovation and inclusivity for both publishers and global brand advertisers.”