On May 10th, General Motors (GM) hosted its 2nd annual GM Road to Equity Summit, a dedicated touch point to share key learnings and highlights around its commitment to building a better diverse owned and targeted media ecosystem.
One of the ways GM is evolving its ecosystem is by offering new resources and opportunities, beginning with a quarterly content series for diverse media, found on GM’s dedicated diverse-media hub here.
GM CEO and Chair, Mary T. Barra, opened the event by sharing:
“GM has an industry-leading track record of supporting and cultivating minority-owned businesses – from our dealer organization to our supply chain relationships. We are equally committed to ensuring diverse owned media companies are adequately represented in our overall media plans and investments.”
Summit Highlights include:
- The Summit saw an increase in attendance of diverse media and marketing companies over last year’s event.
- GM achieved and exceeded its 8% investment commitment with total diverse owned and targeted media in 2021. We are currently on pace to meet our goal of 10% investment in total diverse owned and targeted media in 2022. In addition, GM offers 30-day payment terms to diverse media companies.
- GM has been number one with Black consumers for the past five years, and in 2021 GM experienced growth with Hispanic and Asian consumers.
- Host of “More Than That with Gia Peppers” and media personality, Gia Peppers, moderated a panel entitled “The Evolution of the Ecosystem” at the Chevy MyWay Studio in Detroit. The panel featured some of the top diverse-owned media companies in the U.S.
- GM announced three recipients for the first year of its $50M Incubator Fund, an investment allocated over the next 10 years to support and scale diverse marketing and media companies. Recipients for 2022 include The National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters (NABOB), the Black Owned Media Equity and Sustainability Institute (BOMESI) and the National Minority Supplier Development.
Brianne Boles-Marshall, Diverse Media Strategy & Investment Lead at GM shared:
“We are extremely optimistic about the outcomes we expect from this year’s Summit, but more than that, we are excited about the ongoing, meaningful connections that we will have as we grow together with diverse media. I, am personally committed to leading many of these connections on behalf of GM, and to building authentic relationships that drive impactful results for all.”
