In 2020, in partnership with the U.S. Black Chambers Inc., Google launched Black-Owned Friday - a reframing of the busiest shopping day of the year into a time to support Black-owned businesses. This yea, we wanted to cement the movement into culture and directly impact even more businesses.
After a time of high-profile activism for Black-owned businesses, which we disproportionately affected by COVID, 70% of US shoppers were looking to shop Black-owned - but identifying them can be a difficult, tedious process. So we set out to remind consumers that whatever they're shopping for, they can find it at a Black-owned business - and our massive digital, social media, and OOH effort showed how Google's tools make it easier to identify and support these businesses online and nearby.
The interactive music video featured real business owners alongside Grammy-award winning rapper T-Pain and Normani. It made 100+ products from 55 Black-owned businesses shoppable on an innovative custom microsite and encouraged businesses to raise their profiles with Google's Black-owned business badge. Launched just before Black Friday and brought to life by Nigerian-born director Daps, the film let us tap Black creators to share a story about the importance of Black-owned businesses for all consumers.
T-Pain's original song highlighted inequality, spotlighted Black businesses being overlooked, and encouraged shoppers to wake up and consider Black businesses for their shopping needs.
"Im sick and tired of getting undercut undersold
Most things that you need is right under your nose
Just shop Black even if you not that
even T-shirts do some research
you don't need sleep first you need to wake up"
Our talent was featured on billboards from LA to Atlanta, directing people to shop on the website. Exclusive content was shared online, like T-Pain's six-hour Twitch livecast. And in partnership with the National Basketball Players Association and Think450, them film played on a double-decker bus that made stops around NYC where products from some featured businesses were given away.
The goal of getting people to act was achieved. They didn't just watch the film, they were spending money at Black-owned businesses: 1M+ visitors came to the Black-owned Friday shoppable experience.
The campaign was picked up in 60+ publications with a total of 3.71B in readership. It had 7M+ YouTube views in the first two weeks, with 11M+ over the first month (126% YoY increase) with over 54.6K total hashtag engagements (362% YoY increase). There was a major lift in social conversation around Black-owned businesses, with a 115% increase in posts and 83% increase in overall mentions.
The query featured in the spot - "Black-owned shops near me" - grew 610% during the week of Black Friday, compared to the week before. Searches for "Black-owned businesses" more than doubled from the month prior, indicating sustained interest. Searches also spiked during Cyber Weekend - a peak shopping moment in 2021.