5 Minutes with... Len Burnett

Hero Media is a new Black-owned media network and technology company that aims to empower the next generation of diverse-owned publishers and creators. Now reaching over 300 million impressions per month, the growing network consists of first-party platforms that the network owns or holds an ownership position in. These include companies like women-led social media platform Goodfeed.com, as well as Hero Traveler, Uptown magazine, Shadow League and the Atlanta Black Star. Hero Media also represents Ebony, Level, Black Girls Rock, Official Latino Film Festival, Urban Edge, and others as second-party platforms.

After years of underinvestment in diverse-owned media, Hero Media’s goal is to support the growth and expansion of these businesses through empowerment, digital innovation and ownership. The network aims to build and launch data-led media platforms, marketplaces and communities, and has a mission to help take back ownership of the Black community’s narrative and cultural contributions to the mainstream. 

LBB’s Ben Conway caught up with Hero Media’s chief revenue officer Len Burnett to discuss his career journey so far, the challenges facing diverse-owned businesses in the media and advertising spaces, and how the network is taking back ownership of Black culture and narratives.

LBB> You’ve been in the media and publishing space for 30 years. What was your experience like as a Black person in this space, which historically has under-represented and under-supported Black media and talent?

Len> I got my start in the business back in 1988 when I launched my first magazine Urban Profile out of my apartment in New York City. One of the earliest lessons I received was that freedom of the press belonged to those who own it. Owning a magazine was inspired by a lot of racial unrest in NYC at the time, specifically with Reverend Al Sharpton and the Tawana Brawley case. At the time there was a sense that college-educated men and women were apathetic and not part of the movement, but Urban Profile was set out to fulfil that mission. It was built to fill that void of ‘understanding the need and accepting the challenge’.

I was also part of the team that launched Vibe, and I ended up owning the magazine a few times. Being part of Vibe was a special moment in time. It gave young Black and brown people opportunities to contribute to media where there weren’t many before - everybody from the publisher, editorial, photographer were Black or brown and influenced the pages of the magazine.

This really reflected what was going on in the culture and in hip-hop. At the time, we believed that this generation was going to be the new ‘general market’ - a foretelling of what the future was going to be. Music and style influenced by the legacy of hip-hop and the African-American community. 

LBB> How far has diverse-owned media evolved since you started in the industry? Are Black- and other minority-owned businesses receiving a fair share of the advertising dollars?

Len> There are major discrepancies between diverse-owned media and the general market. Often, we face challenges getting advertisers to participate earlier on, wanting to wait and see results and growth before signing on - as opposed to those targeting the general market, of which advertisers are eager to get in on the ground floor.

Another major change is the slow understanding that African Americans are not a monolithic group. When we were starting Vibe, we often got the question: ‘Is there a need for another black magazine?’. To a certain extent, we still face the same battles of being under-served and underrepresented, but at least now we are having the conversation.

LBB> What are some of the key hurdles that have prevented - and still prevent - progress in this area? How can Black-owned media and BIPOC creators be supported and empowered by the industry?

Len> Many of the counterparts start off well-funded on the general market side. Diverse-owned media isn’t very well funded, it is a very entrepreneurial sector but we don’t have access to the same capital. And as mentioned, the advertising community often wants to wait and see versus getting in on the ground floor - waiting to see if other advertisers are able to make certain benchmarks before signing on. The other huge hurdle is consistency. The advertising industry should invest in diverse-owned media with a sustained, consistent amount of advertising and support.

LBB> Tell us a bit about Hero Media! How did the company start and what are your roles and responsibilities there?

Len> Joe Anthony and I founded the company about three years ago, Joe was a client of mine back when I owned Vibe. We saw this as an opportunity to support our own media brands, but to also support other Black-owned media companies and invest in their growth, and provide advertisers with a solution that is a one-stop resource for diverse-owned media investment with well-reported data and follow-up.

My role as CRO is to continue to find opportunities to work with ad agencies and clients to deliver platforms, influencers, experiential programs and content ideas to address the needs of their clients to bring ideas and opportunities to reach the Black and brown community. We want to bring more brands under the tent of Hero Media in order to set them up for success. One of the challenges diverse-owned media faces is that there are some great media entities, but they aren’t able to deliver at scale. The Hero Media network allows them to do that and uses key data points that provide efficient advertising opportunities. 

LBB> How has Hero Media supported the expansion of the diverse-owned media community? What are some recent projects or business wins that show this?

Len> We help to aggregate an opportunity to speak to clients at scale, leveraging the brands we work with, placing them first and providing them with an opportunity to pitch clients in various categories and match them with the appropriate publisher.

We recently announced a collaboration with Urban Edge Network LLC (UEN), a Black-owned media company and premier advertising network with owned publishers. It focuses on distributing content from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and other Black-targeted audiences are announcing a partnership to create an even larger network focused on helping brands directly engage and invest in Black and diverse-owned publishers at scale.

LBB> You also say that Hero Media seeks to help diverse-owned publishers and creators “take back ownership of our narrative and cultural contribution to the mainstream” - what do you mean by this? And how are you helping your partners do so?

Len> What has happened over the years is a culture or narrative driven by the Black community co-opted by mainstream culture. Take for example Vibe. When we first started, we were the only ones featuring rappers and hip-hop artists. Rolling Stone and Spin were our competitors - they hadn’t ever had a rapper on their covers. But when they finally did, it was in direct competition with what we were doing. As hip-hop became more mainstream, white men and women bought into our culture and it became general market culture. Brands, magazines and other media companies, started co-opting our culture for their benefit, but now, as Black voices in media, we want to take it back - especially now that the general market is the most diverse it’s ever been.

LBB> What are some of your key goals for 2023 - both personally and with Hero Media? How can the ad industry hold itself accountable to working on its improvements and promises?

Len> We want to bring strong brands under the Hero Media tent, including additional publishers, influencers, content and events, in order to provide more opportunities for advertisers and agencies. One of our other goals is to provide more data-led outcomes to our clients.

In terms of holding the industry accountable - it comes from everywhere. Many companies committed a certain amount of dollars after 2020, some have started trending the right way, but some have not fulfilled their promises or failed to continue sustained investments.