TheGrio Awards celebrates excellence in film, music, comedy, television, sports, philanthropy, business, fashion, social justice, environmental justice, education and the cultural icons and innovators, whose many contributions positively impact America. TheGrio Awards pays tribute to, and amplifies, the history makers, change agents, and artists who define and influence our world.
TheGrio Awards honored some of the best-known and most accomplished names in the business, including Tyler Perry (theGrio ICON Award, @tylerperry), Norman Lear (theGrio Champion Award, @TheNormanLear), Patti LaBelle (theGrio Music Icon Award, @mspattipatti), Ben Crump (theGrio Justice Icon Award, @AttorneyCrump), Robert F. Smith (theGrio Philanthropy Award, @RFS_Vista), Allyson Felix (theGrio Sports Icon Award, @allysonfelix), and Queen Latifah (theGrio Television Icon Award, @iamqueenlatifah).
We also planned performances by industry stars Yolanda Adams, Tyrese, Fantasia and Patti LaBelle.
Booking these names was a major undertaking but an essential aspect of our strategy to draw viewers and sponsors, and generate a balanced show that highlighted excellence in the Black community.
We (Allen Media Group) co-produced the show with Backhand Productions. We worked hand-in-hand with our Creative Director and graphic design team, to ensure the physical event translated to an online experience for viewers at home. Most importantly, our Chairman and CEO, Byron Allen, served as an Executive Producer and was intimately involved in every aspect of planning to translate his original vision to a reality.
Despite having only a year to plan it and generate sponsors, we pulled off this inaugural event at The Beverly Hilton hotel and turned around a plethora of digital content in record speed to get it to our online community.
TheGrio Awards has reached over 1.1 million households and counting and ranked #1 with Black viewers 25 years and older on the night of its TV/digital debut. For the digital presentation of the show, 88.7% of website visitors were new, compared to 67.1% of total users, which means we grew our digital community by creating an online platform for the show.
Grio Awards visitors spent 265% more time per session than total users on our website, which means they were drawn in by the content and willing to stay awhile. We also had people searching for the show online-- 79% of users reached the page through "organic search." On our streaming platform, a total of 954,077 total minutes were racked up watching the show.
As an independent, Black-owned media brand, this is a huge win for us. Our goal was to defy stereotypes of what a Black awards show was expected to be and present inspiring images of Black excellence. We created a family-friendly, uplifting, and entertaining experience for our audience, making it accessible to a broader community through our digital presence.
