The partnership will see both brands launch an ongoing integrated campaign that will combine print, digital and social, with a series of Instagram Stories highlighting talented black-owned businesses and encouraging people to shop locally at their stores on Black Pound Day. The campaign launches on the 3rd November with a special Time Out London magazine edition featuring only black businesses, restaurants and contributors - including all photographers, writers, and illustrators.
The issue was curated by Time Out London in collaboration with guest editor Ashley Walters (who also takes over Time Out London’s Instagram for the day), alongside an array of contributors including: TV personality June Sarpong, British historian David Olusoga, viral comedian Munya Chawawa, Labour MP David Lammy, 12:51 chef James Cochran and the creator of Black Pound Day, Swiss.
The issue also features the founder of Dope Black Dads, author Candice Carty Williams, Black Girls Camping Trip and lots of Black business owners.
In a Time Out London first – Google, through its partnership with Black Pound Day, is 100% solus advertiser of this special issue of Time Out London and has donated 80% of the ad space to black owned businesses to showcase their creative talents and goods to Londoners. Other Google integrations include: an online hub that will sit on the homepage and navbar of Time Out London website. This will include articles championing Black-owned businesses, and Google reviews will be integrated into Time Out London content.
Time Out London Director of Creative Solutions, Wayne Mensah, says: "Time Out is all about celebrating inclusion and diversity, and this partnership with Google showcases how brand collaboration is crucial to shedding light on marginalised or minority causes and voices. We are thrilled to collaborate with Google to spotlight and amplify local Black-owned businesses in our community and celebrate the first time a brand has ever bought and donated ad space within our magazine to help businesses thrive during this time.”
Nishma Robb, director of brand, reputation and ads marketing at Google, said: “We are proud to work with Time Out London and Ashley Walters to bring this extraordinary campaign to life and celebrate Black Pound Day, which encourages consumers to shop at Black-owned businesses. Black-owned independent businesses have suffered greatly this year because of Coronavirus and we wanted to support them by dedicating this issue to the amazing, creative Black community in the city.”
Time Out London Guest Editor, Ashley Walters, says: “It was an honour to work with Time Out London and Google to bring this important edition together. I am proud to support Black Pound Day, founded by my So Solid crewmate Swiss and shed light on the incredible Black-owned businesses in our multicultural city. Whether you’re Black or a non-Black Londoner, we all have a duty to ‘wake up and understand that we’ve got to help each other to climb up the ladder’.”
