Black History Month

Authors Pepper Miller and Herb Kemp, whose book What's Black About It? was released a few months ago have some advice for companies that are thinking about a campaign related to Black History Month in February. They suggest going beyond the "short, slow retail month of February," creating a long-term campaign that shows respect for the achievements of Black Americans and downplays their products. Many African-Americans are turned off by retail fliers, for example, that exploit Black History Month just to try to get more customers into their establishments. A better way to build rapport with African-Americans and other ethnic groups would be advertising campaigns that featured achievements of different ethnic groups throughout the year, rather than limiting such campaigns to one month a year.