In September, Channel 4 launched their ambitious “Black to Front” campaign, demonstrating the British public service broadcaster’s continued commitment to challenging the status quo and driving positive change when it comes to Black representation and visibility on TV. This week’s egtabite takes a closer look at the initiative and how the broadcaster’s sale house played a key role in this ground-breaking initiative.

On 10th September, “Black to Front” saw the channel transform its usual programming by dedicating an entire day to ‘Black-fronted’ content. The project centred around Black talent, both on and off screen, shining the spotlight on Black presenters, actors, writers, contributors and programme-makers.

Existing shows, like The Big Breakfast and The Channel 4 News, were aired with Black presenters and guests, while primetime scheduling premiered brand new commissions, such as scripted comedy, Big Age and docu-reality show, Highlife. Viewers enjoyed special editions of flagship favourites like Gogglebox and Countdown featuring all-Black line ups of TV personality and celebrities.

“The purpose of the project is two-fold: firstly, to challenge us all to see our content differently, and secondly, to leave a lasting legacy in terms of increased Black representation both on- and off-screen.”

C4, Everything you need to know about Channel 4’s Black to Front Project.

On the day, the channel doubled its average daily reach for Black audiences, achieving the highest number of Black viewers since the London Olympic Games in 2012. The initiative also made a huge impact online, sparking thousands of social media conversations featuring the hashtag #BlacktoFront, reaching a staggering 321 million Twitter impressions.

Black-led ads and sponsorships

The ground-breaking initiative was not limited to editorial content only. 4Sales, the broadcaster’s commercial arm, also transformed the channel’s entire day of advertising space.

Collaborating with over 60 brands, the sales house was able to fill 55 linear ad breaks with 70 unique advertising campaigns, all featuring a Black-led or Black-majority cast, with even more campaigns featuring on their video-on-demand platform, All 4. Sponsorships were no exception, with brand partners updating their creative to ensure sponsorship idents were also aligned with the objectives of “Black to Front”.

The 4Sales teams worked closely with clients, Direct Line Group, HSBC and Tesco, to create a unique ad-break takeover, ‘The Joy of Black’, which aired at 9pm, during the first break of Celebrity Gogglebox. Three 30-second clips shone the spotlight on black employees from the participating brands who spoke about what brings them joy, bookended by a branded intro and outro.

“Far too often, the lived experiences of black people are presented though a lens of trauma” explains Raj Morjaria, diversity and inclusion lead at Direct Line. “’The Joy of Black’ ad-break takeover presents a different perspective – and we’re incredibly proud to be part of that.”

“We’re proud to be partnering with Channel 4 as part of this historic moment. Although Black to Front may only be one day, we hope that this will go on to leave an impactful legacy on the adverting industry, opening up even more opportunities for Black individuals to showcase their talent, and help us all to create a more inclusive and tolerant society,” says Sarah Mayall, Head of Brand Marketing HSBC UK.

Channel 4’s Chief Revenue Officer, Veriça Djurdjevic, emphasises the public service broadcaster’s commitment to reflecting the UK’s cultural diversity on the TV screen, not only through editorial content but through commercial airtime as well.

Djurdjevic explains, “We have seen an incredibly strong appetite from brands and agencies to work with us on this ambitious project to help us achieve Channel 4’s biggest cultural intervention ever. We hope that many of these spots will run beyond this day and herald a step-change in behaviour and a commitment to a lasting legacy for better representation in the TV advertising industry.”

Through this project, Channel 4 has fostered new relationships, invested in new content and made contact with new Black talent, both on and off-screen, which the channel says will shape the work they do going forward.

The network has made clear that the “Black to Front” project is not just a singular day of action, but part of a wider ambition to create a meaningful and long-lasting legacy. “We have put steps in place to make sure that what we learn on this project will help us make wider changes to make TV more inclusive for talent from all under-represented backgrounds,” Djurdjevic says.

The channel has announced a series of further initiatives, starting with the ‘Mirror on the Industry’ research project and a special audit of diversity and inclusion in the UK advertising industry. By the end of the year, Channel 4 aims to report on the “Black to Front” project by sharing learnings and information with the wider industry.

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