How This SSP Helped Blavity and Black Enterprise Grow Ad Revenue

Black-owned digital media company Blavity has seen a seven-fold increase in a share of its ad revenue from the first half of 2021 to the first half of this year, partly thanks to working with minority publisher-focused supply side platform Colossus. The two have worked together since 2020. At a minimum, Blavity expects to continue growing at this pace, but its data suggests that the company's ad revenue from the partnership will grow at a faster clip, according to senior vice president of digital, Orchid Richardson. The company did not share exact figures. Richardson said Colossus helped Blavity beyond giving buyers access to minority inventory, "as it talks about general market audiences and identifying advertisers that help grow our brand." Blavity, Revolt and Black Enterprise on Why More Dollars Need to go to Black-Owned Media More dollars for more diversity Besides minority publishers vouching for Colossus' ability to reel in more funds, the increase in demand could be the buy side putting words into action. For instance, Publicis launched Diverse and Inclusive Media Exchange (DIME) to make inventory from underrepresented publishers easier to access for brands. The Wall Street Journal recently reported Group Black, a collective that helps Black-owned-media companies bring in more ad spend, brought in $500 million in spend commitments from companies like Proctor & Gamble, WPP and Dentsu since its start in 2021. Business for Colossus has been on a steady incline since its launch in 2017, but it recently saw an uptick in the last year. The SSP went from supplying inventory from 2,000 publisher sites in Q1 2021 to 13,000 in Q1 2022, according to the SSP's chief executive officer Lashawnda Goffin. We knew that there was a rich population that just needed to have the opportunity to be connected to the ecosystem.Mark Walker, CEO and co-founder, Digital Direct Holdings This has driven a spike in the impressions available on its platform, from 15 billion in Q1 2021 to 90 billion in Q1 2022. The number of brands and media agencies tapping into Colossus SSP rose by 87% between Q1 2021 to Q1 2022, including clients like Bayer, HP and the NBA. Parent company Digital Direct Holdings is projected to make between $48 million and $52 million by end of 2022, compared to its $38 million in revenue in 2021, according to DDH. "Because multicultural represents about 40% of the U.S. population between African American, Hispanic American, LBGTQ+ and Asian American, we knew that there was a rich population that just needed to have the opportunity to be connected to the ecosystem," chief executive officer and co-founder of Digital Direct Holdings Mark Walker told Adweek. Colossus' recent success in driving ad revenue for publishers isn't limited to Blavity. According to Black Enterprise's senior vice president, digital strategy and partnerships, Justin V. Barton, the site generate between $30,000 and $50,000 in ad revenue a month, thanks to Colossus. Black Enterprise has 13 million monthly visitors, according to Barton. "Having this extra revenue source is how to grow the business outside of what we would normally do ... having this additional partner certainly helps us move to those marks," Barton told Adweek. This article has been updated to reflect that DDH is projected to make between $48 million and $52 million by end of 2022, compared to its $38 million in revenue in 2021. Vox Media Launches Concert SSP in Partnership With the Trade Desk