For marketers, the commemoration of Juneteenth should not be approached as just another opportunity to push products to Black Americans. In actuality, it should be used as an opportunity for brands to learn and engage with their Black consumers who have supported them for years. It’s an opportunity for brands to address and learn more about issues of inequality and exclusion, so when they do begin to build messaging around events like Juneteenth, it’s aligned and authentic.
Why is Juneteenth So Important?
The Black Lives Matter movement re-emerged in 2020 as a social justice force with immense transformational power, thus giving even more credence to the importance of celebrating Black excellence beyond tentpoles such as Black History Month.
Juneteenth is an annual rallying point for furthering the nation’s commitment to recognize African American culture and progress. It shifts the focus to the need for equality, the end of discrimination, and the further development of the United States into a land of justice.
While Juneteenth marketing campaigns can be celebratory, they also must be precise in direction, intent and messaging. Juneteenth presents an opportunity to honor and acknowledge the Black community in a number of ways.
Tips for Running a Successful Juneteenth Marketing Campaign
- Educate: Use Juneteenth as a day to educate your audience about the history of the holiday beyond just Black Americans. Black History is American History. Championing stories that embrace contributions to the development and growth of the country is just one option.
- Do The Research – Be Smart when Commercializing Juneteenth: It’s okay to use Juneteenth to show your support and thereby grow your brand awareness as an ally of a just cause, but don’t try to sell anything specifically or monetize it. Increasing sales should not be your goal here; raising awareness and connecting with social justice campaigns that you can help should be.
- Raise Black Voices: Many social justice organizations don’t have enough resources to reach the wide audience they deserve, yet they have many relevant things to say. Use this opportunity to give them more reach by re-tweeting, quoting, and linking organizations like the Color of Change, the Movement for Black Lives, and the Black Alliance for Peace.
- Show Continued Support: Juneteenth is a great day for you or your organization to pledge support to the movement for racial justice, and that support may inspire others to do so. This can be a financial contribution to one of the many organizations that do this work.
Make Juneteenth more than just a day on the calendar by using it to mark a sustained commitment to equality and continued celebration of Black Excellence.
To learn more about how Black consumers feel about brands acknowledging the holiday, reach out to My Code.
