How Dentsu Is Using Audio to Promote Diversity

Following last spring and summer's protests for racial equality, dentsu's chief product officer Douglas Ray said his agency's committed to taking action. In the advertising industry, media agencies can influence where and how brands spend their dollars, including marketing to diverse audiences or spending on minority-owned publishers. But Ray said that simply wasn't enough.

"We needed to go above and beyond that," he said. "There was an opportunity to do more." Ray wanted to forge a new path.

"Instead of just using our influence to direct advertising dollars to black and minority-owned businesses, how could we bring consumers into this and do good for them?" Ray asked. "How could we create systemic change in the marketplace through storytelling and influence the stories, and not just the dollars?"

The answer, he said, was an original audio series with stories about Black Americans told by Black Americans, then distributed on minority-owned AM/FM stations.

More Than That with Gia Peppers is an ambitious -- and unprecedented -- effort between stakeholders committed to a common cause. On each episode, Peppers, a seasoned entertainment journalist and BET host, digs into topics vexing Black Americans with guests from the Black community.

Dentsu produces the show with One Solution, Urban One's in-house studio, and in partnership with the National Association of Black-Owned Broadcasters (NABOB) and founding clients, General Motors, Procter & Gamble, and Kroger. The show is distributed on three of the country's largest minority-owned broadcasters, Urban One, Spotset and American Urban Radio Networks.

As plans developed last fall, the creators targeted a February launch tied to Black History Month. Facing a tight timeline, Ray said audio emerged as the best medium. "Audio had the flexibility and agility to conceive, define, develop, produce and get on air," he explained. "Also, the trend right now is audio. Audio is booming."

With such an ambitious plan, Ray said the right host was an essential ingredient. Peppers, he noted, brought rich journalistic experience, a commitment to the mission and the necessary gravitas. "Her energy and her passion are such critical components," he said. "When you don't have sight and motion, the host needs to transcend the station and come into your living room. She does that."

But More Than That with Gia Peppers isn't just another new podcast on iTunes or Spotify. Rather, the series uses a novel hybrid of terrestrial AM/FM and digital distribution to reach the maximum audience. Over the nine-week debut season, minority-owned, urban stations run bite-size, one and two minute "micro-episodes" during the week, designed to expose audiences to the concept and generate interest in the long-form show. The 20-minute episodes debut on Saturdays and Sundays and are then made available as podcasts, which Ray said will help new audiences discover More Than That and create a digital library.

The show's unique distribution isn't the only wrinkle, as Ray also wanted to upend the usual advertising process. As he and his team pitched the show, he said marketers asked to hear samples. Rather than signing on to advertise in preconceived or even completed episodes, the idea was that sponsors would create the show alongside producers. Episodes are inspired by a sponsor's own priorities, and the process is collaborative and holistic.

"We identify the client and the areas of importance from a DE&I [diversity, equity and inclusion] standpoint," Ray explained. "We then identify the topic and theme, find the right guests and bring it together into a show."

For instance, the first two episodes were sponsored by GM, and Ray said the automaker wanted to highlight its overarching commitment to diversity and inclusion, and tackle representation in other major industries. Episode one delved into the Black community's experience in entertainment, with Peppers speaking to Andrew Sparks, TV showrunner, writer-producer and playwright, and the second show addressed African Americans' experiences with finance, including Peppers' own father reflecting on his relationship with money and Arian Simone, founder of Fearless Fund, the first VC for women of color. The third episode, backed by Kroger, focused on wellness and food, with guests including celebrity chef and farmer, Chef Ahki and Pinky Cole from Slutty Vegan.

"Our hope is that we are creating stories that create meaningful change so that the stories we're telling benefit minority-owned businesses and our clients, and the perception consumers have of those clients because of their support," Ray explained.

While More Than That speaks to issues in the Black community, Ray said the stories will resonate with all listeners. In the future, he said plans call for shows to spotlight other minorities and social groups. "This is not just a one-off," said Ray, who has had preliminary conversations with leaders from the Hispanic and LGBT+ communities. "[We hope to] extend this to other underrepresented audiences."

Future series could be released during corresponding themed months, such as content for the LGBT+ community for Pride Month in June, or a series speaking to Latinx consumers during National Hispanic Heritage Month in September. Once again, Ray said it will be essential to work with media publishers and production partners from those communities.

Ray is so bullish on the project that he predicts More Than That may inspire a new ad model, one that moves from disrupting programming with ads to actually becoming the content. At a time when consumers have more media choices than ever, he said brands need to earn their attention.

"If you're going to interrupt their experience, it better be personalized and relevant. Alternatively, by creating and sponsoring original content, you have a good chance to earn their gratitude for bringing the stories to them," he concluded.

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