HOORAE’s Tiana Harris on their partnership with Walmart

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“I’m rooting for everybody Black.” ✊🏾

This statement has been echoed by Black creators both on the internet and in our everyday conversations since it was infamously spit like a bar by Issa Rae at the 2017 Emmy Awards. Since then, it has become a slogan for the culture, and it feels like a motto rooted in community and provides a sense of home for Black creators who haven’t always felt seen.

According to a U.S. Creator Demographic and Statistics report by Zippia, the most common ethnicity among creators is White, which makes up 71.4% of all creators. In comparison, 5.5% of creators are Black and/or African-American. Because of this, Black creators, despite their talent and often being the main drivers of social media trends, are often overlooked for partnership opportunities with brands. Naturally, this oversight has led to a gap in which Black creators have less access to paid opportunities or even visibility on social media and other creator platforms.

Many brands have already laid the groundwork to combat this. In 2021, TikTok launched an incubator program for Black Creatives designed to “invest in and support emerging Black creators and music artists” on the platform. Just a month later, Facebook announced a similar program—We The Culture—a commitment of “$25 Million to elevate Black creators, share their vision with the world, spark community, and empower them to build successful, entertaining, and sustainable networks across [Meta] apps.” However, social media platforms aren’t the only companies seeking to uplift and tap into the power of the Black creator economy.

Last year, major retailer—Walmart—joined forces with HOORAE, formerly known as Issa Rae Productions, to build an initiative that would also amplify the work of Black creators and creatives. This work is embedded in HOORAE’s DNA, which can be seen in Rae’s history of placing Black stories at the forefront of her work—Awkward Black Girl, Insecure on HBO, and more recently, Rap Sh!t for HBO Max. “The name HOORAE came from an actual play on words. Hooray—it’s a celebration of us, a celebration of our stories and of these times,” said Issa Rae on the company’s YouTube channel.

The partnership between HOORAE and Walmart launched in the form of a program designed to provide Black creators the tools and resources needed to bring their content ideas to fruition and on a larger scale. Called the Black & Unlimited Digital Development Program, nine creators were selected to join the program’s inaugural class. While in the program, they’ll receive creator kits with the equipment necessary to develop their content and $10,000 “to offset pay inequities traditionally experienced by Black creators and help them focus on limitless discovery and creation,” according to the company’s official press release. Additionally, the creators will connect with industry executives, participate in courses, receive mentorship, and gain access to a custom library of music selections to use in their future projects and productions, courtesy of Walmart.

Black creators getting money, tools, and connections? This is truly my favorite song.

Q&A With HOORAE’s VP of Content Strategy

I reached out to Team HOORAE to learn more about how they teamed up with Walmart to bring Black & Unlimited to life. Tiana Harris, the media company’s VP of Content Strategy, worked directly with executives at Walmart to build out the program and lead its execution, and I asked her to spill the tea on how they did it.

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Q: What was the idea behind the Black & Unlimited Digital Development Program?
A: Walmart came to us to see what working with HOORAE could look like. They wanted to do something for Black creators and were open to ideas. I saw a lot of creator programs out there, and I wanted to do one, having a lot of experience in the social and digital space. I wanted a way to empower creators with funds, resources, access, and a platform. If we had a blank slate to give Black creators all they say they need, how could we package that for Walmart? The program was the answer to that.

‍Q: Was there any hesitation around working with Walmart?

A: No company is perfect. However, we felt that Walmart was taking active strides to address internal grievances from their Black employees. It was important to us and helpful to know that the executives on the other end of our calls were also Black, so the changes we saw were already in motion.

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Q: Were there any challenges while developing the program?

A: That’s the name of the game whenever you’re passionate about building something. There are always hurdles. We were up against the timing of the holidays because we launched a week or so after Christmas. Selecting the creators was also a challenge. It wasn’t hard to find amazing Black talent; however, dwindling the list and selecting the creators who would get the opportunity was a hurdle because we had to pass on some incredible talent to meet our target number for the program. Ultimately, we couldn’t do it for them all. We also flew the creators to LA for a welcome dinner and a summit. It was a fast-paced weekend with two days of production with our small but nimble team, but knowing we facilitated an environment that left creators feeling invigorated, inspired, and seen made it all worth it.

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Q: Was there specific criteria for the creators that could participate in the program?

A: We had a few platform thresholds we wanted the creators to meet—audience size, engagement rate, and potential for high growth. Ideally, these were creators who already had an engaged audience and a unique point of view but just needed additional resources, which looked different for every creator.

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Q: What steps will HOORAE take to continue supporting these creators once they’re out of the program?

We’re in the pilot program, so we’re taking our learnings from this first group of creators. We did one-on-one calls with them to ask them what they needed to create an excuse-free environment for content creation. Our creators are employed, so content creation is a second job. We wanted to figure out how we could get them to take strides toward becoming full-time content creators.

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Q: What was the choice behind focusing on creators who were on TikTok and Instagram?

A: Our creators have presences on other platforms, and we are working with them in our sessions on how to build content franchises across platforms. However, when you’re not a full-time creator, those short-form pieces of content are easier to create, which makes it easier to grow a platform and develop content at a greater frequency.

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Q: Do you have any advice for Black creators or influencers who want to participate in a brand’s creator programs or initiatives?

A: Make the content and post it. Executives and the decision-makers at brands can’t find your content unless you post it. Your voice matters, and your unique perspective matters too. That’s one of the things that I love about Black creatives. We have a secret sauce, but we need to share it more.

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Q: Do you have any advice for brands that want to partner with Black creators or influencers?

A: Pay them on time and pay them fair rates.‍

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What Brands Can Learn From HOORAE’s Partnership with Walmart

For brands that want to partner with creators or influencers, especially Black creatives, here are some takeaways from my Q&A with Tiana Harris.

1. The time is now. Often, brands seem to prioritize incorporating Black creatives into their marketing campaigns around Black History Month or Juneteenth. While these are important cultural moments to consider, Black people are literally Black all year round. There’s no better time to collaborate with Black creators than right now. While that may not be in the form of a program specifically dedicated to Black creatives, you can ensure that you amplify Black stories and creative content by simplifying hiring Black creators.
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2. Black creators are out there. There is no shortage of talented, Black creatives. While there is a smaller percentage of Black creators in the creator economy, there is still a vast pool of talent to access. These creators have various interests, skills, and personal stories and come from diverse backgrounds. It’s important to remember that there is no singular Black experience. Black people can be immigrants, queer, disabled, and/or Latinx. The creators are out there. You just have to be willing to look. If, for some reason, you have trouble finding them, here’s a list of 25 Black creators to get you started. You’re welcome.
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3. Make the investment. “Pay Black creators on time and pay them fair rates.” Tiana said what she said. I’m only here to reiterate it. Brands set their marketing budgets each fiscal year, and often, a chunk of those budgets is set aside for influencer and creator programming or community-building initiatives. That’s the time to assess which campaigns will ladder up to your overall business goals and determine where Black creators can fit into those campaigns. It’s really that simple. Again, PAY BLACK CREATORS ON TIME AND PAY THEM FAIR RATES.

When in doubt, look to HOORAE and Walmart’s partnership as an example of how to leverage your resources to not only amplify Black creators but also boost the Black creator economy.