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Microsoft Corp. has selected GlobalHue to handle the creative development of the company’s ethnic advertising campaigns targeting African-Americans. The agency will work with McCann-Erickson WorldGroup, the company’s general market agency of record and also part of the Interpublic Group of Companies, to ensure integration of Microsoft’s ethnic and general market advertising campaigns. López Negrete was named to handle Hispanic advertising.

The two agencies were chosen from an initial roster of more than 30 firms and after a series of invitation-only agency presentations with the 12 that qualified. The UniWorld Group, which previously provided African-American advertising for the computer software giant, did not participate in the review. 

“Microsoft is committed to developing a strong technology partnership with the African-American and the U.S. Hispanic communities,” said Gayle Cruise, manager of Diversity Marketing and Communications at Microsoft.

"Please indicate for each one if you believe in it, or not."

  Source: Harris Interactive

Russell Simmons moves Rush into financial services

(April 2, 2003) Russell Simmons has already put his mark on music, television, clothing, stage productions, cellular services, marketing services and more. Now add to that list his latest business foray; financial services.

The ubiquitous entrepreneur of hip-hop has announced the creation of the Rush Card, a Visa debit card targeted to those to whom banks traditionally will not cater. The card is a product from UniRush Financial Services, a joint venture between Rush Communications and Unifund Corp. The latter is a Cincinnati-based firm that buys unpaid consumer debts.

Enrollees will be able to make deposits on their cards by wiring money or directly from their payroll checks. After signing up for a minimum of $19.95, the user pays $1.50 for ATM withdrawals and $1 for Visa purchases. Simmons said the card will offer greater convenience and lower charges for those who now do their banking at check-cashing facilities.

UniRush Financial Services has a goal of signing up 250,000 customers by the end of the year. The service quietly debuted in January and already has 11,000 cardholders. Marketing for the Rush Card will initially rely on Unifund's database of four million customers.


Johnathan Rodgers to head Comcast-Radio One cable channel

(April 2, 2003) After working as a consultant to Radio One for a year on the development of its cable channel, Johnathan Rodgers has been named president and CEO of the venture. The channel, which for the momentis being called TV One, is a joint venture between Radio One, owner of 66 urban stations, and Comcast, the nation's largest cable company.

Rodgers has 26 years of broadcasting experience and is one of the
industry's most successful executives. His most recent tenure was
with Discovery Networks where for six years he headed the programming, marketing, distribution, ad sales and research operations. His efforts led to cable ratings records and hundreds of programming awards, including a Peabody, 11 Emmy awards and an Oscar nomination.

Prior to joining Discovery, Rodgers, 57, spent 20 years at CBS in a
variety of positions. He rose to become president of the television
stations division where he built his reputation on creating the most
profitable stations in the industry.

"There are few people in America that have as much experience as he
does in both the broadcast and cable network industry," Radio One
president and CEO Alfred Liggins III told the Washington Post, "and
certainly there are no African-Americans that even come close."

The channel's founders had hoped to launch this summer, but that's
being pushed back because the team is still being hired and
programming has not been selected.


MBC's nightly news show a sample of the channel to come 

(April 2,2003) The other cable venture that's being closely observed is the one that the Major Broadcasting Cable network (MBC) is planning as a 24-hour news channel. As a means of staking out the category as quickly as possible, MBC is launching a one-hour nightly newscast this week onFriday, April 4.

The program will air Monday through Friday at 7:00 pm (eastern). "MBC Network News is a prelude for viewers to our MBC News - The Urban Voice [channel]," said chairman and CEO Willie E. Gary. The program and channel are being produced with Florida's News Channel, a minority shareholder which is providing infrastructure for the news operation. MBC is available in 24 million homes.

Chicago ministers' boycott of Chrysler to go national

(March 19, 2003) Automaker Chrysler appears to be headed for a public relations problem.

In February, six African-American customers in Chicago filed a lawsuit against Chrysler Financial alleging they were intentionally denied low-interest car loans. The plaintiffs charge that Chrysler Financial "redlined" minority car buyers using a computerized credit-scoring system.

Local clergymen, acting in support of the suit, plan to announce a national boycott against Chrysler in Washington. this week. Their action comes after unsuccessful efforts to address what was mainly a local issue involving one dealership in Chicago. Marquette Chrysler Jeep and Sales, located on Chicago's South Side, was the dealership cited by the six customers in their suit.

The ministers requested meetings with Chrysler's top managers, including group president and chief executive officer Dieter Zetsche and Chrysler Financial president Jurgen Walker. While car company officials repeatedly expressed a willingness to have talks, none materialized. The Chicago boycott organizers, with the support of ministers in New York, Washington and Atlanta, decided to take their campaign national.

Chrysler now faces the possibility of a class action lawsuit. In its defense, Chrysler has said that the problem is a local issue with its Chicago area dealers, and that the company has been investigating. The findings thus far, said the automaker, did not turn up any wrongdoing. However, officials have not forthrightly denied that its credit evaluation does not systematically reject African-Americans in certain neighborhoods. The lawsuit additionally charges that racial slurs were against black customers.

One research company, CNW Marketing/Research said that African-Americans purchased 310,000 new Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep vehicles last year, or 14 percent of the company's U.S. sales.


BMW names Matlock Advertising its African-American agency

(March 19, 2003) After conducting a search with more than 40 African-American ad agencies, BMW has selected Matlock Advertising and Public Relations of Atlanta to handle its black consumer market campaigns.

Kent Matlock founded the agency in 1986 and it has grown to $25 million in billings. Among the clients on the agency's roster are Coca-Cola, Bell South Dell Computers and Publix Supermarkets. Matlock succeeds BMW's first African-American ad agency, Washington Daniel Advertising in Chicago, which handled the account since 2000. Billings for the agency were not disclosed.

New Internet study shows blacks' usage is gaining

(March 19, 2003) According to a new Arbitron/Edison Media study, African-Americans' access and usage of the Internet has grown substantially. Data show that the general population and African-Americans are virtually equal in having access to the Net from any location (75% vs. 74% respectively).

The Arbitron/Edison study also found that Internet access from home or work is available to 60 percent of African-Americans That's up from earlier estimates of 35 to 40 percent from other studies. This narrows the gap considerably with whites, 70 percent of whom were found to have similar access.


Nissan's Black History ad draws protests and criticism

(March 7, 2003) For Black History Month, Nissan launched an ad campaign it hoped would inspire African-Americans to think differently about civil rights. Instead the car company became the target of demonstrators and protests.

A billboard created by Nissan’s recently hired black ad agency, True, featured the words “Black History Month” with the word History crossed out and replaced with the word “Future.” Among the first to criticize the campaign was the Black Anti-Defamation League in Los Angeles. The group held a demonstration in front of one of the 8-sheet displays.

”To cross out our history is defaming to all of the successes that we’ve had,” said the group director, Pearl Junior. “They need to change this campaign immediately.”

”I would have felt better had it said ‘Black History is our past and our future.’ This billboard is causing controversy, and it’s not good for the company,” said Glenda Gill, bureau director of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition’s automotive project.

A statement issued by Nissan said the company “never intended for any elements of the campaign to engender negative feelings within the African American community, and we regret if there was any misunderstanding about our intent.”

Nissan and the True agency were the subjects of controversy last year when questions were raised about whether the ad agency was black-owned and experienced enough to handle a major account. At the time it was named by Nissan, the agency had no other accounts and was housed in the offices of the general market ad agency for the automaker.

Nielsen says 10 million blacks are online; ranks top sites

(March 7, 2003) According to the Nielsen/NetRatings survey, African-Americans are now eight percent of the online population for a total of 10 million surfers. Perhaps more dramatically, Nielsen found that 32 percent of blacks online used a high-speed connection. That’s an increase of 55 percent from last January. That makes African-Americans the fastest growing segment adopting the use of broadband services.

”The emergence of strong sites with a high concentration of African American visitors gives marketers ample opportunities to target their messages to a qualified, growing audience,” said Charles Buchwalter, vice president of Nielsen NetRatings.

The average time African-Americans spent online during January was 44 hours, with 1,186 pages viewed. By comparison, the average spent online for the general population was 50 hours with 1,444 page views. The most visited site by blacks online was BlackPlanet.com.


Chisholm-Mingo Group gets assignment from Grace Foods

(March 7, 2002) Grace, Kennedy & Co., a Jamaican-based major producer of canned goods and beverages, has selected the Chisholm-Mingo Group to create advertising for its Tropical Rhythms fruit drink brand. The campaign will run in the U.S, Canada, Latin American and the United Kingdom.

The ad agency will develop radio, TV and out-of-home ads, as well as in-store promotions. Grace, Kennedy, was founded in 1922, is the largest consumer goods company in the Caribbean. It produces more than 10,000 products generating $400 million in annual revenue.

Pepsi negotiates with Russell Simmons and avoids boycott

(Feb. 12, 2003) Hip-hop entrepreneur Russell Simmons has suspended a call for a boycott against Pepsi for disrespecting the hip-hop community. By featuring the Osbournes (famous for their profanity laced show) in its latest TV commercial, Simmons said the beverage company practiced a double standard when it pulled spots featuring rapper Ludacris.

Pepsi has agreed to contribute $5 million to the Ludacris Foundation and to continue negotiating with the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network on its other demands. On Feb. 5 Simmons outlined three demands he wanted Pepsi to meet: that an apology be issued to Ludacris, that a donation of $5 million be given to the Ludacris Foundation, and that the commercials featuring the artist be put back on the air.

The Campaign for Respect, as Simmons called it, is “looking forward to some kind of resolution. But if not, one week from today we start the boycott.” He insisted that this was not a black issue. “It’s all of young America that buys into hip-hop and has respect for this culture that will refrain from using Pepsi products.”

A Pepsi spokesperson originally responded to the boycott saying, “The Ludacris situation was unfortunate for all concerned. We learned from it and we moved on. We completely understand and respect Russell Simmons’ passion for promoting hip-hop music and we are working with his and others to do just that.”

In September, Pepsi pulled its spots featuring rapper Ludacris after Fox News commentator, Bill O’Reilly, said his viewers should boycott Pepsi because of the artist’s hardcore lyrics.

The Ludacris spots were created by the UniWorld Group ad agency in New York. When the agency’s contract ended this past December, Pepsi named Spike DDB as its new African-American agency and signed singer Beyonce Knowles of Destiny’s Child as the company’s latest endorser.


Skip Finley appointed vice chair of Inner City Broadcasting

(Feb 12, 2003) Skip Finely, the radio veteran who already serves on the board of Inner City Broadcasting, has been named vice chairman of the company. Inner City Broadcasting Corporation owns and operates 17 metropolitan radio stations, including flagship station WBLS 107.5 FM in New York.


MBC announces launch of first black-oriented 24-hour news channel news

(Feb. 12, 2003) The African American-owned and operated Major Broadcasting Cable Network (MBC), today unveiled plans for "MBC News: The Urban Voice," the nation's first 24-hour African American news channel. attorney Willie E. Gary, who is also the chairman & CEO of MBC, made the historic announcement at a press conference Tuesday following the Cable Advertising Conference in New York City.

"A 24-hour black-owned and operated news channel will bring news from a different perspective to urban communities across the country," said Gary. "This is a major breakthrough in television news. MBC News will have a tremendous impact by broadcasting the positive aspects of African American culture, which are too often ignored by other networks."

MBC will have a minority shareholder in the venture, Florida's News Channel, to assist with the infrastructure for the news operation, including production and distribution. "MBC will have total and complete control of the news content, including the reporting, gathering and editing of the news, and we will help get the news out," said Bob Brillante, managing partner of the Florida News Channel.

The four-year-old MBC is now available in some 24 million homes and 2,400 cities. The announcement of the news service comes of the heels of BET recently dropping most of its news and public affairs programming. Radio One and cable giant Comcast announced last month a joint venture to launch a new black-targeted cable and digital channel this summer.


Howard School of Communications to be named for John H. Johnson

(Feb. 12, 2003) Howard University is to receive a $4 million contribution from John H. Johnson, publisher and chairman of Johnson Publishing Company, publishers of EBONY and JET magazines.  The School of Communications will be named in Johnson’s honor.

Johnson’s gift supports “The Campaign for Howard: Leadership for America and the Global Community,” a five-year initiative to raise $250 million.  Launched in March 2002, the goal of the campaign is to harness resources to further enhance the University’s academic programs and create new facilities for learning and research. To date, the campaign totals more than $75 million in contributions.

“Mr. Johnson is a pioneer in African-American publishing,” said Swygert.  “His contributions to journalism have played an extraordinary role in chronicling the struggles and successes of African-Americans in all facets of life for six decades. It is very fitting and with a deep sense of gratitude that we look forward to recognizing Mr. Johnson by naming the new Howard University School of Communications in his honor,” said Swygert

“ I have been a big admirer of Howard ever since I attended the first NAACP meeting in Baltimore when Thurgood Marshall was named assistant counsel,” Johnson said. “I knew that he was a Howard graduate and I have been so inspired by the marks that he and so many other alumni have made on this nation. I am honored to make a contribution that will help to advance the cause of Howard.” Johnson Publishing Company employs a number of Howard University graduates in many facets of the business including journalism, advertising and public relations.

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