MAGNA Hosts 2nd Annual Equity Upfront™ Focused on Deep Engagement and Collaboration with Diverse-Owned Media Companies in 2022 and Beyond

Launches Black consumer report highlighting the continued importance of Black-owned media in providing representative content to valuable Black audiences

MAGNA, the investment and intelligence company of IPG Mediabrands, today announced its second annual Equity Upfront™, taking place on April 5 – 7^th, 2022. The theme for this year’s event is “Invest for Impact” and will be a hybrid experience, both virtual and in-person, focusing on highlighting the impact of diverse audiences on media consumption and their impact on brand loyalty. The Equity Upfront™, which aims to accelerate support of Black-owned media businesses, will also allow brands to schedule collaboration workshops with media owners to plan for upstream investments in critically important diverse audiences. This year’s Equity Upfront™ will also coincide with the launch of MAGNA’s latest research on Black consumers and will feature the release of MAGNA’s new equity portal, a media guide of diverse owners designed to further media investments.

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2022 MAGNA Equity Upfront™; art credit: Abbe Sublett, Mediabrands Design Director (Photo: Business Wire)

Over the last year, through its monthly equity experiences and top-to-top equity workshops, MAGNA has now hosted forums with nearly 100 diverse-owned media partners and welcomed over 2,000 attendees. These dialogues have highlighted the strategic significance of diverse audiences, and the effective impact of brands speaking to these audiences in new ways, across dynamically diverse owned platforms. MAGNA’s latest report, Multicultural Audiences: The Black American Consumer, shows that representation and addressing stereotypes are important to making video content culturally relevant, among a host of other insights.

MAGNA’s overarching goal of the Equity Upfront™ is to redress gaps in how our industry engages with media businesses that are diversely owned. By enabling deep collaboration with diverse-owned media companies, this year’s Equity Upfront™ will create a critical pathway towards achieving Mediabrands’ previously announced commitment to invest an aggregate of 5% in Black-owned media by 2023. Confirmed media partners include Byron Allen's Allen Media Group, Ebony Media, ReachTV, REVOLT, Group Black, Urban Edge Network, NuTime Media, Black Enterprise, and more.

“After last year’s inaugural Equity Upfront™, we pledged to invest a minimum of 5% in Black-owned media to reverse long-standing inequities in the advertising industry,” said Dani Benowitz, President, U.S., MAGNA. “We’re very happy to report that since then, MAGNA has added new bespoke partnerships that extend to innovative integrated marketing programs and content solutions. We remain committed to creating more breakthrough opportunities and using our audience insights and consultative reach to support diverse-owned media suppliers in impactful ways.”

The 2022 Equity Upfront will also include media partners from Hispanic, Asian American Pacific Islander and LGBTQIA+ communities in an effort to inspire a greater understanding of how these audiences are growing in economic and cultural influence. The hybrid experience will host media sessions that will showcase the opportunities around GenZ/Millennial focused outlets, across sports and influencer markets, as well as health and pharmaceuticals.

Benowitz added, “As part of our mission to understand the impact of diverse audiences on brand loyalty, for this year’s Equity Upfront™, we’re broadening our lineup by including Hispanic, Asian American and Pacific Islander, and LGBTQIA+ owned media companies.”

“We are thrilled to be working together with MAGNA and Mediabrands to bring bold and brilliant conversations about issues that matter most in Black communities, to brand marketers,” said Michele Ghee, Chief Executive Officer at EBONY & JET. “At EBONY, we are committed to telling stories – for us and by us – and those important life moments that matter and contribute to the American fabric. Our partnership with Mediabrands has shown that brands care about real impact in Black communities.”

About MAGNA:

MAGNA is the leading global media investment and intelligence company. Our trusted insights, proprietary trials offerings, industry-leading negotiation and unparalleled consultative solutions deliver an actionable marketplace advantage for our clients and subscribers.

We are a team of experts driven by results, integrity and inquisitiveness. We operate across five key competencies, supporting clients and cross-functional teams through partnership, education, accountability, connectivity and enablement. For more information, please visit our website: https://magnaglobal.com/ and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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