Black History Month Campaign Examples and Best Practices

Black History Month is an annual, monthlong celebration of the achievements and contributions of African Americans. It’s celebrated in February as a nod to two influential men who helped shape history, Abraham Lincoln and Fredrick Douglas, who both have birthdays in the month. Black History Month allows brands and influencers to talk about Black experiences, offer historical insight, educate consumers, and start productive conversations about race. If your brand is interested in a marketing campaign to celebrate, here are Black History Month campaign examples you can use for inspiration, along with best practices to follow. 

Black History Month campaign ideas

Work with Black influencers or highlight Black-owned businesses

In February, consider collaborating with Black influencers. Look for Black influencers in your community or those with industry expertise. 

You could also highlight Black-owned businesses that you work with or ask your social audience to share their favorite Black-owned business like this Insta post does:

Share Black experiences

During Black History Month, consider asking Black influencers to share their stories. You can cover much ground here, so it’s best to develop a specific topic that aligns with your brand. 

A toy maker could team up with Black fathers to talk about their experiences raising children in today’s world, for example. This 24-minute YouTube clip features three dads having that exact conversation, which could be a sponsored video. 

A dating app could team up with Black singles to talk about the trials of dating in different parts of the world. This Black female influencer, for example, talks about dating in Korea:

To find Black influencers, you can use an influencer marketing platform or look internally to employees or loyal customers. 

Educate consumers

Black History Month is the prime time to educate consumers. You could highlight important historical moments, share information about civil rights leaders, or even explain what Black History Month is. Stanford asked one of its professors to offer an in-depth explanation of the origin and lessons taught during Black History Month.

Embrace the arts

Each year, Black History Month takes on a theme. In 2024, the theme is African Americans and the Arts. There are so many ways to leverage this concept into a marketing campaign. 

For starters, consider joining the #BlackBookstagram movement, which has close to 250,000 posts on Instagram. Work with an influencer to review books by Black authors or books focusing on black communities. This Black Bookstagrammer reviewed Seven Days in June, for example:

Want to focus on more than one book? Put together a reading list like this:

You could also curate a list of Black artists or ask one artist to tell his story. Here’s a great example of a Black artist who turns Black heroes into action figures. He explains why he does it and what motivates him to keep going in this video:

Best practices for launching campaigns during Black History Month

Actions speak louder

As a brand, expressing or showing support for the Black community isn’t enough. If you want your audience to respond, your brand must put its support into action. Sharing a #BlackLivesMatter post, for example, doesn’t demonstrate the same commitment as donating money to the cause or taking an action that demonstrates your support.

Consider a multicultural campaign

The Black community is diverse in itself. When you create a campaign, focus on diversity. Make efforts to represent different cultures, demographics, and backgrounds. 

Listen to Black voices

Through the year, not just in February, listen to Black voices so you can stay tuned in to the community and show them that you’re listening. Follow Black influencers, sign up for newsletters created by Black thought leaders, include Black influencers in year-round campaigns, and seek out podcasts, books, and other resources to help you avoid creating a campaign that’s out of touch or tone-deaf. 

Black History Month offers a unique opportunity to connect with consumers and shed some light on the cultures, history, achievements, challenges, and interests of the Black community. With these marketing ideas and best practices, you’re ready to put a campaign into motion. 

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