At Mahogany Insights, we are insight advocates in relentless pursuit of the cultural truths and Black human insights that help companies achieve more inclusive strategies and better business results. We're here to help marketers, researchers, advertisers, and business leaders avoid pandering and create authentic connections with black consumers.

When it comes to connecting with black consumers, my clients often ask:

• What's motivating them?
• What does it mean to be authentic?
• How do we create meaningful connections?
• How do we show that we are serious and we care about this consumer group and we're not just pandering?

In this podcast we'll talk about the disconnects between black America and corporate America, and share some solutions. We've done the research and the brands that connect authentically with black consumers have 3 things in common. We'll explore those here.

In August 2020, I found myself sobbing after a focus group discussion about bottled water. The question that turned the tables? “Give me 2020 in a word.” Everyone had the same reaction: Hopeless.

I had been a researcher for almost a decade and I had always worked with black consumers. That discussion was a turning point for me in my purpose. I had done a lot of work with a lot of high profile businesses, so it was time to use my skills and my calling to make sure that black voices were heard.

I started Mahogany Insights in September of 2021 with the goal of shifting the way that companies view, communicate with, and portray black consumers so that brands can then bridge the gap between us and society as a whole.

My purpose of this podcast is to give everyone the baseline knowledge of some of the basic things out there so when you get ready to do your research and advertising, you have a set point that allows you to go deeper.

Thank you for being here. Being here shows that you’re willing to put in the work to learn how to connect better and more authentically with black consumers.

Today’s Thought Starter: What is your intention for being here?

Connect with Dawn and her team at Mahogany Insights: https://www.mahoganyinsights.com/

Music credit: Mavericks by Harrison Amer

A Podcast Launch Bestie production

In Episode 1, I explained why black consumers matter to me, so now I’d like to talk about why black consumers should matter to you. I’ve often been given the advice that I should expand my company’s focus to multicultural consumer groups instead of focusing on black consumers. The problem with that is that by lumping all brown people together, there is no deep understanding of each individual culture. This is why I have decided to focus on black consumers with my own business.

Why should you think about black consumers?

1. Black people are often at the fringes and that is where innovation happens
2. Black people have power and influence above just their spending power. We make up 13% of the population, with about $1.57 trillion of spending power, and the power and influence reaches way above that.
3. The needs of black consumers are changing faster than companies approach us. Since 2020 there’s been a marked shift in black consumers and what they’re needing and wanting from brands.

If there’s something going on with black culture that is influencing your category above and beyond, why wouldn’t you want to leverage that?

Today’s Thought Starter: Have you been giving your black consumers enough credit in your business?

Connect with Dawn and her team at Mahogany Insights: https://www.panderless.com/

Music credit: Mavericks by Harrison Amer

A Podcast Launch Bestie production

Now it’s time to talk about my Authenticity Framework that I use to help brands create that really authentic connection with black consumers. 

Brands that stand out at the apex of connection with black consumers have these things in common:

• They’ve found a way to find common ground
• They do, then they say
• They have found a way to elevate black voices

To get there, look at your brand consumer strategy through these 3 lenses:

• Lens of Intention - finding your inner compass
• Lens of Immersion - developing empathic connections
• Lens of Inspiration - ideation and content creation

Trying to find the quick hacks and getting those quick wins leads to distrust from black consumers. There’s no shortcut to strategic relationship building.

Connect with Dawn and her team at Mahogany Insights: https://www.panderless.com/

Music credit: Mavericks by Harrison Amer

A Podcast Launch Bestie production

When I go in to talk with clients about connecting more authentically with black consumers, they jump right into the execution phase. They want to talk about the ads, the actors they use, the focus groups, but that’s too far down the line. It has to start with your intention.

The strategy piece is my favorite part of the process. You don’t need focus groups, you don’t need a fancy workshop session, it’s all about finding your inner compass. You have to have the thought power and honesty and the right people to sign off on it in order to set you up with a strategy that allows decision making and execution to happen much more seamlessly.

Black consumers are used to brands letting them down. They’re used to brands showing up with a lot of support, with a big shindig, then a year later all of that is gone. I believe that those brands acted with good intentions, but there wasn’t enough strategy in order to follow through in the long term.

When doing our intention work, we talk about 3 things:

1. Knowing your why - both a social and business reason, based on brand values
2. Establishing a baseline - knowing who you are, knowing what your history is, and knowing what the impact of your category has with your consumers
3. Creating a roadmap - how do you identify, measure success, what are the key questions, and what are the hypotheses moving forward?

Connect with Dawn and her team at Mahogany Insights: https://www.panderless.com/

Music credit: Mavericks by Harrison Amer

A Podcast Launch Bestie production