‘Brand Pillars’ Are the Foundation of BET’s Success

BET Networks is having a great year, according to Ad Age, because it has refocused on its audience and once again become culturally relevant.

In 2009, the network polled 70,000 African Americans and identified five “brand pillars”: “‘We Are Family’ (family-oriented, parent-friendly), ‘Fresher Than That’ (trend-setting, music-focused), ‘Shine a Light’ (politically aware), ‘Backing Black Dreams’ (aspirational, career-focused), and ‘Not on Our Watch’ (socially conscious, cause-minded.)”

“The pillars were created to help guide us to not do certain things. If it didn’t respect, reflect or elevate our audience, we had to ask ourselves, why are we doing this?” EVP and CMO Janet Rollé told Ad Age. The story continues with a Q&A that further discusses the network and how it’s reaching and growing its audience.

Just a couple of years ago, ratings were at a standstill and advertisers were fleeing some of the network’s programming.

After the jump, check out our video with digital PR pro James Walker, whose PRSA conference workshop “Socially Diverse: Engaging with Diverse Communities Online” focused on reaching African-American and Hispanic audiences online.

“The Web is way more diverse than you may know,” Walker says.

Launch a social media campaign that will build your brand and deliver results in our online Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting June 7. Speakers include Abigail Cusick (Bravo Digital), Gregory Galant (Sawhorse Media), Alex Leo (Thomson Reuters Digital), Jim Tobin (Ignite Social Media), and many more. Read the reviews.