A—B, the pioneering Black-owned full-service strategic insights company behind film studio A24, social justice philanthropic organization Ford Foundation and leading civil rights organization Legal Defense Fund campaigns, is growing.
Yesterday, the company founded by Andre Banks, a skilled political communications executive, announced its acquisition of a polling and civic research firm, Avalanche Insights. It’s proving to be the perfect amalgamation for Banks’ visionary leadership as he seeks to bridge the gap between brands and the diverse communities they aim to reach.
“People of color are the fastest growing segment of consumers and we’re on track to be a majority of the electorate in just a few years,” says Banks, founder and CEO of A—B. “But despite billions in spending power and the ability to swing elections from the local school board to the White House, even the biggest brands and organizations struggle to find the tools and expertise to reach our communities consistently and authentically.”
Banks says A—B hopes to fill this gap with its acquisition of Avalanche and bring the next level of precision and innovation to multicultural marketing. “Our clients and partners know that this change is no longer a choice – they must connect quickly, deeply, and with nuance to diverse communities if they want breakthrough growth and impact”
As the powerhouse strategic insights company grows, Banks tells Brand&Culture about his vision and the difference he wants to make for progressive causes.
“A—B is working to become the faster, smarter, cheaper alternative to ‘multicultural marketing,’ and a destination for top diverse talent, with a focus on emerging Black and other underrepresented leaders. We are building this practice for transformative leaders in every sector who want to lead in new ways, center new voices, and address the most persistent problems in our economy, politics, and culture.”
The buying power of multicultural groups in the U.S. is exploding. According to Insider Intelligence, it was $4.2 trillion in 2020 and is now projected to reach $7 trillion by 2025. According to one expert, Asian and Hispanic households on average will out-spend non-Hispanic households by more than $800,000 and $300,000 respectively, during the remainder of their lifetimes.”
Consumer packaged goods company, P&G is one organization that is successfully engaging multicultural audiences. Last week, in Cincinnati at Black Tech Week, a senior marketing executive at the world’s biggest advertiser revealed that more than 60 percent of its profit growth came from multiculturals. This is a signal that brands are increasingly becoming aware of where the demand is coming from.
Avalanche Co-founder Tovah Paglaro says, “We know that brands and organizations are challenged in reaching Black and brown audiences but A—B’s unique Identity-Powered Design approach paired with Avalanche’s innovative research model, will help organizations truly unlock the power of Black and Brown voices.”
For Avalanche, their goal has always been to build power by using the strength of research to drive campaigns to victory. Paglaro adds that, inside A—B, Avalanche will now be able to offer more comprehensive services to help transformational leaders better understand people.
The importance for brands and leaders to invest in research about people of color now has never been more urgent, as companies seek to recoup losses during the pandemic and navigate economic uncertainty.
“For the last 70 years, consumer and political marketers have focused on increasingly sophisticated tools to understand predominately white audiences, while largely leaving diverse communities as an afterthought,” Banks tells Brand&Culture. “But smart leaders know that if they want to grow, change is no longer a choice in a country where Black, Latino, and AANHPI consumer spending power grew twice as fast as white spending between 2000 and 2023.”
He cheerfully adds that brands and leaders are investing in seeing communities of color in higher resolution because they know multicultural consumers are driving growth in every sector from banking and tech to renewables and politics.
As Avalanche becomes part of A—B, the team will now be led by head A—B head of research, Sian Lewis. Lewis, previously a lead data scientist & analytics manager at Booz Allen Hamilton and principal campaigns & elections consultant for a political data firm, is credited for setting the company’s standard for its data and research practice.
“Across industries, our clients need to build relationships with people of color in order to win campaigns, market share, or attention. With the acquisition of Avalanche Insights, A—B is better equipped than ever to foster those connections and generate even more impact for our partners,” Lewis explains.
She has been recognized as a 2021 Society of Women Engineers Spark awardee, a 2021 Black Engineer of the Year, a 2020 Women of Color in STEM All Star, and a 2019 DCFemTech awardee. She adds, “As a Black woman, I’m immensely proud to work for a Black-owned company with women and people of color in leadership that is flipping the script on what power is and who holds it.”
Brian Fallon, former director of public affairs for the U.S. Department of Justice during the Obama Administration and National Press Secretary for Hillary Clinton’s presential campaign, and now executive director of Demand Justice, recently worked with A—B.
“Earlier this year, the A—B team jumped in quickly to use their unique research methods to help design a compelling brand and narrative for the newly formed Just Majority campaign. They were great partners who helped us build a campaign that delivered on our objectives, and with this expansion, they will continue to be an invaluable resource for the progressive movement,” Fallon says.
Before founding A—B in 2018, Banks served as executive vice president for social impact & philanthropy at BerlinRosen, founding partner at Purpose, and co-founder and executive director of All Out. Under his leadership, A—B has garnered impressive results for clients using its “Identity-Powered Design” approach to campaign development, which puts culture first to uncover messaging that connects, paired with persuasive strategy and research-driven visual design created by an award-winning, in-house brand studio. The company has worked with many notable clients, such as Win Black, Amnesty International, Open Society Foundation, Highlander Center, Aspen Institute, Mozilla Foundation, NARAL Pro-Choice America, and We Act for Environmental Justice.
The hybrid company with anchor offices in New York, Washington, D.C., and Toronto, and its team of strategists, campaigners, brand builders, and designers will now expand to 60 employees and offer end-to-end services, including research, strategy, and creative. The company will move full speed ahead to take on more barrier-busting challenges and re-center audiences and issues that have often been marginalized. A—B has also set an ambitious goal of surveying 100 times the number of voters of color this election season to add to its audience profiles.
“Avalanche Insights’ deep-rooted research expertise will be a key differentiator for us, especially as we head into the 2024 election cycle when many clients are looking for quality data, polling, and voter audience analysis that can help them tap into the power of a rapidly diversifying electorate and deliver results,” says Banks.
