Someone in the Entertainment industry has noticed the need for a diversity outreach strategy involving the marketing of niche films. Recently, I wrote about the need for Hollywood to make film for diverse audiences. After the current success of “Think Like A Man” which caught most of the industry off guard, Allied Integrated Marketing announced the launching of an African American division. Years of movies by Tyler Perry and Tim Story have provided a long overdue need to an underserved community. The following is the press release detailing the expansion:
Clint Kendall
HOLLYWOOD, CA (May 10, 2012) – Allied Integrated Marketing announced today it is launching a new African-American marketing division, Allied Moxy. The new division will create innovative campaigns that integrate publicity, promotions, digital and grassroots outreach to speak directly to the full diversity of African-American consumers.
Spearheading Allied Moxy are industry veterans Kim Walters and Gloria Jones. Walters will oversee national strategy from Los Angeles, while Jones will oversee regional/local strategy from Washington, D.C. Walters brings over a decade of marketing experience working with entertainment companies such as Codeblack Entertainment, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, and A&E Lifetime Television, as well as consumer brands such as KIA and L.A. Gear and awards programs such as NAACP Image Awards and Soul Train Music Awards. Jones has been with Allied for five years running publicity and promotional campaigns for clients including Universal Pictures, Focus Features and Relativity Media, and previously worked for WBDC-TV in D.C. and MTV Networks’ Nick @ Nite and TV Land.
Allied President Clint Kendall remarked: “African-Americans represent a diverse audience that is very important to our clients, and we are excited about the opportunity to reach out to the community in innovative ways. Allied Moxy is a natural extension of our company, and Kim Walters and Gloria Jones have the right combination of experience and creativity to deliver strong results.”
Of interesting note, Allied Moxy is collaborating with Universal Pictures for Snow White and The Huntsman. This is not a standard or expected film to target an African American audience.
Let me say that the publicists at Allied Integrated Marketing work very hard on their client’s campaigns. This is executed with focused strategy, creative promotions, and a positive attitude. The selected audiences for their screenings, which I normally attend, seem to be a perfect fit. I have confidence this organization will succeed in this new venture. Allied will continue to do a great job bringing brand awareness for Hollywood studios.
Targeted outreach is vital for an industry figuring out how to harness technology to market their products. Movies that focus a segment of the population usually do relatively well at the box office. If low budget, these films provide high return on investments for producers. I look forward when Hollywood figures out how to tap into the Latino population. Few have figured out how to get the specific demographic to theaters. Allied already has a Hispanic and faith based outreach ‘alliances’ and the extension of Moxy for the African American community further places Allied as an industry leader for integrated marketing.
