NeAndre Broussard, chief executive of BMW Digital and founder of the Black Menswear movement, wants marketers to stop chasing virality and start building long-term relationships with the communities behind them.
Speaking at ADWEEK’s Social Media Week on Tuesday, Broussard drew on six years of growing the Black Menswear movement to argue that consistency, not trend-chasing, is what builds cultural relevance.
His agency, BMW Digital, helps brands reach Black consumers, specifically Black men. Since its founding, the agency has amassed nearly 1 million followers across platforms and hosted more than 40 activations across three continents.
“We were not trendy, but we were consistent,” Broussard said. “We were committed.”
Too many marketing campaigns, he argued, are built around fleeting moments rather than the communities that give those moments meaning.
“Culture isn’t a media buy—it’s a relationship,” he told the audience. “Communities don’t operate off of campaigns.”
To combat this fixation on ephemeral returns, Broussard outlined four principles for brands seeking to build authentic community ties:
- listen before launching a campaign
- partner with platforms that already have established trust
- invest beyond individual campaign cycles
- amplify the voices those communities already follow
The goal, he said, is to make consumers, not the brand, feel like the hero.
Campaigns built on those principles, including work tied to the Kentucky Derby, have generated net sentiment scores in the high 90% range, according to Broussard, who cited the metrics as evidence that the approach delivers positive results.
“Ask them, and they will tell,” he said. “Empower them, and you will sell.”
