Group Black's Media Strategy

A strategy to capitalize on corporate commitments to spend advertising dollars with minority-owned media companies by acquiring existing media companies and converting them to minority ownership.

Key Points:

• Market Opportunity:

  • Major ad agencies (WPP, GroupM) committed to spending 2-5% of budgets on diverse-owned media
  • McDonald's pledged to increase spend from 2% to 5% on black-owned media
  • Total commitments amount to approximately $500M+ per year in guaranteed ad spend
  • Current shortage of minority-owned media companies at scale to receive this spend

• Business Model:

  • Secure advertising commitment contracts from major agencies/brands first
  • Partner with private equity firms using guaranteed revenue commitments
  • Acquire established media companies (e.g. Bustle, Vice)
  • Convert them to minority ownership to qualify for diversity spend

• Revenue Structure:

  • Guaranteed revenue through corporate diversity spending commitments
  • Leverage existing media company infrastructure and audience
  • Scale through multiple acquisitions to absorb committed ad dollars

• Example Implementation:

  • Group Black secured $500M in annual ad commitments
  • Currently in talks to acquire Bustle (does ~$200M/year in sales)
  • Looking at additional acquisitions including Vice
  • Partnering with private equity firms to fund acquisitions