Going Beyond Minority-Owned Status: Our Commitment to a Diverse Advertising Industry

srose@triplelift.com

Written by Thomas Brandon, VP, Agency Strategy and Economic Inclusion

At TripleLift, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) are more than just words – we’re taking action to drive change and support meaningful initiatives that extend beyond our status as a minority-owned business. In the month of September, we’re partnering with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, to aid efforts that mentor kids of all backgrounds to go to college and be more prepared for a career in an industry like media and advertising. More on that in a moment.

There is a big movement underway for the advertising industry that embodies a significant shift to help build a more equitable and inclusive world, by growing and elevating diverse-owned media and setting measurable targets. In fact, many brands and holding companies have signed up to meet goals of 2-5% of their spend going to minority-owned inventory providers.

As a minority-owned business, we qualify for diverse spending goals. But, our commitment to DE&I is not just about revenue – we are focused on educating and empowering people through the work we do, the employees we support, and the communities we serve.

Certified Minority-Owned Business

TripleLift is one of the few ad tech businesses certified by the National Minority Supplier Development Council. The NMSDC is the largest third-party organization that sets business standards for supplier diversity and has a rigorous certification process that our business partners rely on when seeking partners for opportunities.

We are recognized as a diverse supplier by the Association of National Advertisers. The ANA Certified Diverse Supplier list has been created to support marketers starting or improving their supplier diversity program. A diverse supplier is a business owned and operated at least 51 percent by an individual or group that is part of a traditionally underrepresented or underserved group.

We are registered in the M.A.V.E.N Diversity database, which ad agencies use as a tool for verifying ownership and tracking spend with diverse media vendors. This tool is usually utilized at the HoldCo level.

Supporting Minority-Owned Publishers

TripleLift is advancing equality by enabling advertisers to buy impressions on sites operated by owners in underrepresented communities. Our UNREP (Underrepresented Voices) deal represents impressions on sites majority owned by women, minorities, and members of the LGBTQ community. These media owners – and their audiences – have been historically underserved by advertising. With over 5B available weekly impressions on sites like Black Enterprise, Essence, and El Mundo, we’re a standard bearer in the space.

In the past, and in times of great need, we have spurred greater investment in these publishers by waiving our normal fees to drive more spend, more quickly and helping these publishers capture more of the revenue.

Helping Greater Diversity in Advertising

This month, we’re demonstrating our commitment to diversity in a tangible way. For every meeting we hold in September, we’re giving $10 USD to Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (BBBSA).

BBBSA is the largest donor- and volunteer-supported mentoring network in the United States. It currently has 6 million participants and pairs mentors (“Bigs”) with mentees (“Littles”) servicing 5,000 communities across all 50 states. Two-thirds of Littles are Black, Indigenous, People of Color and since 1904, Big Brothers Big Sisters has operated under the belief that inherent in every child is an incredible promise. With a goal of helping children reach their full potential, data shows that Littles are more likely to improve their grades, go to college, and start a career if they have proper mentorship.

Helping them helps us all.

As BBBSA themselves say: “It takes little to be big.” Please join us to help make a difference.