A look at the psychographic dynamism in black culture and what it means for brands trying to engage 21st century African Americans and, potentially, the greater African diaspora. The deck also highlight audience research done in conjunction with Bold As Love Magazine in 2010: "Black Rock Music and the Evolving Urban Mindset" http://www.scribd.com/doc/37785234/Black-Rock-Music-and-the-Evolving-Urban-Mindset

1. TheRiseof the
Black
Alternative
Understanding The #NewBlackImagination
September 10, 2013
Rob Fields
robfields.com
@robfields
1

2. Hip Hop
Comedy
Basketball
Gospel
It’s time to look beyond the
same old, same old if
you’re serious about engaging
African Americans in the
21st century.
2

3. You’re missing a big opportunity
In fact. . .
3

4. A new audience segment has emerged
• Culturally omnivorous
• Globally-minded
• Tech-savvy
• Entrepreneurial
• Determined to make their
own voices heard
4

5. 70% of the nearly 60,000 who showed up for
the 2013 Afropunk Festival were part of it
5

6. Race
Gender
Representation
Sexuality
and especially
Academics call their sensibility “post-modern”
It’s a way of looking at things that
makes us re-evaluate assumptions
about
6

7. We like to call it the
New Black Imagination
7

8. It’s about defying convention
and breaking out of boxes.
Ebony Bones
8

9. You see it in their comedy
Baratunde Thurston
Elon James White
Dave Chappelle
W. Kamau Bell
Key & Peele
9

10. Kara Walker
. . .in her art
10

11. Or in these films
11

12. The aesthetic isn’t this. . .The heroes are less him. . .
12

13. . . .and more her.
13

14. Bet you never saw this coming, huh?
photo: James Lee
14

15. It was just a matter of time. The
signs were always there.
15

16. Music
(black alt,
black rock,
Afropunk)
Literature
Theater
Fashion
Visual Art
Film
Technology
Politics
Music’s the hub, so that’s where we’ll start
16

17. 1950s - 1970s
Betty Davis
Willie Mae Thornton
17

18. 1980s
In 1985, Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid, along
with two other arts activists, forms this
progressive arts organization dedicated to
supporting convention-defying black musicians
18

19. 1980s
In 1989, author & screenwriter Trey Ellis publishes
“The New Black Aesthetic” about a then new
generation of artists who were global cultural
polyglots and who made “art that shakes you up”.
http://kintespace.com/kp_trey_ellis0.html
Ellis identified an initial group of
artists that included comedian
Chris Rock, filmmaker Spike
Lee, Living Colour’s Vernon
Reid, downtown luminary Fab
Five Freddy, director George
Wolfe, rappers Run-DMC, and
writer Lisa Jones, among
others.
19

20. 1980s 20

21. 1990s 21

22. 2000s 22

23. The film “Afro-Punk” strikes a nerve
2003
James Spooner’s raw and poignant
documentary about blacks in the
American punk rock scene serves as
a rallying cry for those who feel like
they’re too black for the white
community, but too white for the black
community. Turns out there are a lot
of them.
A movement is born.
23

24. 2004
“Thrivals” enter the scene
Futurist Dr. Nat Irvin II, currently an
endowed chair at the University of
Louisville School of Business, introduces
the concept of “thrivals”. He defines them
as “the first generation of blacks who
will aggressively compete in the battle
to shape the images, ideas and the
future of global culture” across every
area of endeavor.
http://business.wfu.edu/apps/files/thrivals.pdf
24

25. Social networking explodes
2004
2005
2006
Geography is no longer a hindrance. It’s easier
than ever for creators, curators and fans to
connect. Technology drives community
growth. . .
2000s 25

26. And amplifies global influences & inspiration
26

27. The film “Electric Purgatory” debuts
2005
Raymond Gayle’s film highlighted the
music industry’s lack of receptivity to
black musicians who want to do
anything outside of hip hop or R&B.
Despite the odds, the bands persevere.
27

28. 2007
“But 40 years after black
musicians laid down the
foundations of rock. . .some
blacks are again looking to
reconnect with the rock
scene. . . It is not the first time
there has been a black
presence in modern rock. But
some fans and musicians say
they feel that a multiethnic
rock scene is gathering
momentum.”
--Jessica Pressler, “Truly Indie
Fans,” January 28, 2007
The New York Times notices. . .
28

29. 2008
. . . and takes home a
Tony Award.
Black rock heads to Broadway. . .
29

30. The Daily News highlights the trend. . .
2008
“So why are such stunning changes
happening now?
Observers cite the same factor that
has had the greatest impact on
culture in general: the Internet. With
digital downloads ‘people hear music
before they see it,’ [Earl] Douglass
[executive director of the Black Rock
Coalition] says. ‘They’re not
necessarily putting a face to it. All
that matters is if it’s a good song.’
And this download mad shop-a-thon
has changed the very notion of
what’s marketable.”
--Jim Farber, “Rock is the new black,”
May 23, 2008
30

31. 2008
Other media give it more credence
31

32. 2008
A sense of new possibilities emerge. . .
32

33. 2009
Maybe “rock” is no longer that
bad four-letter word in the
black community. . .?
. . .and it ripples into unlikely spaces
33

34. It was time to learn
more about the audience
34

35. Initial research
• Online survey via Bold
As Love Magazine
(boldaslove.us)
• Fielded November
2009 - January 2010
• N = 316 full completes
35

36. Audience Topline
Multigenerational, primarily 26-44
Multicultural, but skews African American
Even male/female split
Socially conscious
Tech-savvy
Actively seeks progressive arts and music culture
36

37. Audience Datapoints
62%
Percentage who have
undergrad or post-graduate
degrees
55%
&
40%
Percentage with HHI over
$46,000
Percentage with HHI over
$60,000
37

38. Audience Datapoints
69%
Percentage who said that
black alt, black rock or
Afropunk music had become
a bigger part of their regular
listening
74%
Percentage who said their
feelings about hip hop had
become indifferent or more
negative
38

39. Audience Datapoints
~90%
Percentage who said they
often seek out black artists
who defy convention. Over
half said they consistently do
50+%
Percentage who said their
feelings about black rock/
Afropunk/black alt music had
become more positive over
the previous two years
39

40. Audience Datapoints
46% Percentage who said the
amount of world music they
listen to has increased
70%
Percentage who said it’s
important/very important to
stay “in the know” about
cutting edge music & culture
40

41. Audience Datapoints
63%
Percentage who said
expressing their individuality
takes precedence over
allegiance to group identity
32%
Percentage who said they
equally feel a need to express
their own identity, while
maintaining a connection to
the larger group (race,
ethnicity, gender, etc.)
41

42. Follow-up Research
• Fielding quantitative survey in late 3Q13
• Deeper exploration into audience’s evolution
• Focus on psychographics, needs, lifestyle and
interests
42

43. The bottom line?
the #NewBlackImagination
at work across all areas of
creative expression
You can find
43

44. Literature
Percival Everett
Victor LaValle
Mat Johnson
Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts
Kiese Laymon
Catherine E. McKinley
Tayari Jones
44

45. Film
Ava DuVernay
Andrew Dosunmu
Ryan Coogler
Dee Rees
Tanya HamiltonTerence Nance
45

46. Theater
Lynn Nottage
AA
Dominique Morisseau
Marcus Gardley
Suzan-Lori Parks Keith Josef Adkins
Katori Hall
Radha Blank
46

47. Visual Art
Sanford Biggers
Mickalene Thomas
Wangechi Mutu
Rashaad Newsome
Renee Cox
Kara Walker
Glenn Ligon
47

48. Music
k
r
r Mykki Blanco
Flying Lotus
P.O.S.
Boston Fielder Jean Grae Mykki Blanco
Saul Williams
The Brother Moves On
Bad Rabbits
The Skins
Tamar-Kali
48

49. Technology
Kathryn Finney
Sian Morson
Wayne Sutton
Angela Benton
Evan Narcisse
Kimberly Bryant
Hank Williams
Tristan Walker
49

50. In 2011, we launched an entire TED-inspired festival
to showcase the #NewBlackImagination
visual artists
cultural critics
architects
designers
poets
social innovators
shit disturbers
music icons
entrepreneurs
filmmakers
technologists
writers
futurists
remixers
Watch a quick video
50

51. And that was just the
TIP of the iceberg
51

52. What are the opportunities for brands?
52

53. First, there’s WAY more to choose from
It’s time to think more broadly about the
cultural palette you can work with to
engage the #NewBlackImagination
Hip hop
no longer defines the limits
of black authenticity
53

54. Discovery Amplification
• Space & resources
to help the creators
create
• A “lab” situation
Incubation
• Helping consumers
find out about new
voices across
disciplines
• Brand as guide
• Focus on the “about-
to-break” creators
• The brand helps
them make that leap
Second, think curation
Brand engagement will be a result of
the commitment to this audience and
the creators & curators they support.
54

55. By dealing with emerging culture, your
brand won’t have to spend $50- or $20
million like a certain soft drink or
electronics company did. . .
Just sayin’. . .
Third, it’s still a ground floor opportunity
55

56. • support the next round of research?
Contact Rob Fields
robfields.com | @robfields
• get smarter about capturing the #NewBlackImagination?
Want to. . .
Rob is an award-winning cultural strategist, who focuses on the intersection
of marketing, business and contemporary culture.
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