BLACK-OWNED

FRIDAY

THE CHALLENGE

For four years, Google has celebrated Black-owned businesses during Black Friday with its Black-owned Friday campaign. This program has been both a commercial and cultural success, driving incredible reach, consistent engagement, and real results for Black-owned businesses.  

As we entered our fifth year, we had a legacy to build on. At the same time, we were seeing huge shifts in cultural consumption behaviors, impacting how we approached Black-owned Friday. While Black-owned Friday celebrates Black-owned businesses, it's a campaign for everyone. Each year, we strive to reach the broadest possible audience, and this year, we were particularly focused on inviting everyone to participate in supporting Black-owned businesses. 

So - we faced a fourfold challenge:

  • How could Google maintain the authenticity and impact of previous campaigns?

  • How could we break through the broader noise of Black Friday?

  • How could we drive audiences to actively participate and support Black-owned businesses?

  • In an evolving cultural and media landscape, how could we continue to drive real cut through for Black-owned businesses?

OUR INSIGHT

Black creators, musicians, and influencers are key cultural arbiters of the modern internet. They have an unparalleled ability to connect with audiences across generations, shaping the digital landscape and fostering a sense of community. This connection extends beyond their own communities and across the whole internet.

By centering our campaign around these influential figures, we had the opportunity to not only celebrate Black-owned businesses, but also create a culturally resonant experience. This approach allows us to connect authentically with the communities surrounding these businesses and reach a broader target audience.

OUR IDEA

→ "Black-Owned Friday: A Day of Black-Owned Shopping”

A crew of creators, a fully engaged community, three incredible culturally connected talent and a selection of their favorite Black-owned businesses  - brought together for a day of Black-owned shopping.

We decided to center the 2024 Black-owned Friday campaign on a call to action, inviting everyone to join the movement by telling us who they were supporting this Black-owned Friday. To amplify this message, we partnered with cultural icons Druski, GloRilla, and Jayda Cheaves, along with an ensemble of YouTube creators.  

This collaborative approach allowed us to reach a vast audience and inspire them to engage with Black-owned businesses.

By focusing on real business owners and showcasing the diversity and vibrancy of these businesses in a docu-style approach, we aimed to create a powerful moment on Black Friday and beyond. 

Our execution

Our 2024 Black-owned Friday campaign had four components that worked together with a compelling call to action inviting everyone to participate, and support Black-owned businesses.

→ A Hero Film & Creator Campaign, celebrating a day of Black-owned shopping

We partnered with cultural icons Druski, GloRilla, and Jayda Cheaves, along with an ensemble of YouTube creators, to create a hero film and a series of engaging videos that showcased the diversity and vibrancy of Black-owned businesses. Through our YouTube creator activation, we identified leading Black voices on YouTube and beyond, like WillOnAWhim and Taty Cokley, and partnered with them to celebrate their favorite Black-owned Businesses nationwide. This content launched alongside our hero content on Black Friday, and was featured in a playlist to drive further engagement. 

→ Owned content on Google’s biggest channels

We leveraged Google's owned social media channels, including YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and TikTok, to promote the campaign and encourage further audience participation.

→ Comprehensive Paid Media Amplification

We ran paid media campaigns on YouTube and Meta to extend the campaign's reach and drive engagement with Black-owned businesses.

→ Unmissable Spotlights on Iconic Black Businesses

We featured Black-owned businesses from the campaign on Google's social channels, and even had a Google Keyword blog post authored by one of the hero video’s featured businesses, giving them further exposure and a significant platform to share their stories.



This multi-platform strategy allowed us to effectively reach a broad audience, inspire them to take action, and ultimately drive meaningful support for Black-owned businesses.