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When Tiyale Hayes displays on his journey from the DMV space — one among six youngsters raised by a single mom — to changing into Govt Vice President for Insights at Black Leisure Tv (BET), he would not simply see private success. He sees the ability of genuine illustration and group funding that has outlined BET’s 45-year legacy.
“The fruit of your labor is not simply what you obtain,” Hayes explains, drawing from classes realized throughout his childhood at Hampton College. “It is what you plant for others to reap.” This philosophy has change into the cornerstone of BET’s social impression technique, remodeling the community from an leisure platform right into a group catalyst that reaches tens of millions of Black People each day.
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The authenticity benefit
In an period the place company social duty usually feels performative, BET’s strategy stands out for its real connection to group wants. Hayes co-leads the social impression workforce, together with Kimberly Paige (Govt Vice President and Chief Advertising and marketing Officer), that works immediately with group members and shoppers, guaranteeing that each initiative displays real-life experiences somewhat than boardroom priorities.
This authenticity pays actual dividends. When a mom of an LGBTQIA+ youth reached out to thank BET for displaying her daughter on tv — offering what Hayes calls a “risk mannequin” — it underscored the community’s distinctive place as each a mirror and a beacon for various communities.
“We’re not simply creating content material,” Hayes notes. “We’re creating pathways for folks to see and have fun themselves and their potential.”
Strategic programming that strikes markets
BET’s signature applications show how leisure corporations can drive significant social change whereas constructing model loyalty. The Black Males’s Summit, for instance, addresses important points going through Black males, from financial empowerment to psychological well being, creating area for brave conversations usually absent from mainstream discourse.
America in Black, their 60-minute information section, fills info gaps left by conventional media, whereas Rap Lyrics on Trial tackles the intersection of music, tradition and legal justice — points that immediately impression their core viewers.
These aren’t simply feel-good initiatives. They characterize strategic investments in group engagement that strengthen BET’s market place whereas concurrently strengthening households and communities. If you authentically serve your viewers’s wants, you construct loyalty that transcends conventional promoting metrics. It is no shock that BET isn’t just the #1 community for African People but in addition ranked “Greatest in Class” throughout 5 main classes, together with prime community respecting Black viewers’ tradition, in accordance with a 2015 Model Love examine.
The partnership multiplier impact
Good enterprise leaders perceive that impression scales by means of partnerships, and BET’s collaboration technique provides a masterclass in leveraging relationships for group profit. Their work with school alumni chapters to host galas creates a number of touchpoints with educated, influential group members whereas elevating funds (and mates) supporting academic establishments.
The “School Hill” program and sponsored homecoming occasions faucet into the cultural significance of our nation’s 101 traditionally Black schools and universities (HBCUs), reaching audiences at pivotal life moments when model affinity types lasting connections.
Maybe most importantly, BET’s $25 million partnership with Paramount for “Content material for Change” demonstrates how company collaboration can amplify social impression with out diluting model id — a vital consideration for any enterprise seeking to scale their group engagement efforts. Content material for Change is a cross-brand initiative that harnesses the ability of content material creation to counter narratives that allow hate and stereotypes. It makes use of analysis, information and innovation to provide extra correct portrayals that positively affect the world.
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Constructing tomorrow’s leaders right now
The community’s company internship program exemplifies how corporations can create sustainable impression whereas constructing expertise pipelines. By offering alternatives for younger professionals to realize expertise in media and leisure, BET addresses each rapid group wants and long-term business diversification. BET provides paid internships to undergraduate and graduate college students at totally different places, together with Washington DC, California, New York, Illinois and Georgia, simply to call a couple of.
This strategy creates what economists name “optimistic externalities” — advantages that reach past the rapid transaction. Interns acquire helpful expertise, the corporate accesses recent expertise and views, and the broader group advantages from elevated illustration in media management. It is a win-win state of affairs.
Measuring what issues
Hayes’s function as EVP for Insights displays BET’s dedication to data-driven impression evaluation. In contrast to conventional company social duty applications that rely closely on feel-good metrics, BET’s strategy emphasizes measurable group outcomes. A current annual report highlighted voter registration and civic engagement, Black financial empowerment initiatives and psychological well being and wellness consciousness.
This give attention to insights somewhat than simply outputs allows steady program refinement and demonstrates return on funding (ROI) to stakeholders — a important issue for sustained funding in social impression initiatives.
The entrepreneur’s takeaway
BET’s 45-year journey provides a number of actionable classes for entrepreneurs, CEOs and business leaders searching for to construct significant group impression:
1. Begin with genuine connection: Earlier than launching any initiative or program, perceive the group you serve. Authenticity is not a buzzword — it is a dedication. It might’t be automated, manufactured or outsourced. It takes buy-in, time and belief.
2. Assume past charity: Essentially the most sustainable social impression comes from initiatives that align enterprise targets with serving group wants. Search for win-win alternatives somewhat than one-sided giving. Do not simply give — construct. Begin with the top in thoughts. As an example, you may be taught with/from the group about their pressing want for larger illustration in media, authorities or business. Then create social impression efforts (e.g., internships, practicum, fellowships) that function sustainable expertise pathways.
3. Leverage partnerships strategically: Collaboration multiplies impression whereas sharing prices and dangers. Search for values alignment, not simply model synergy.
4. Spend money on measurement: Observe significant outcomes, not simply actions. This allows steady enchancment and justifies continued funding to stakeholders. Inform a narrative that goes past numbers — however all the time begin with proof.
5. Play the lengthy recreation: Group impression requires sustained dedication. Fast wins matter, however lasting change occurs by means of constant engagement over time. Keep in mind, actual impression is not constructed in a single day. BET’s success comes from arduous work that provides rise to good work on behalf of these they serve.
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As BET celebrates its forty fifth anniversary, Hayes, his workforce and colleagues proceed constructing on a long time of group funding. Their success demonstrates that companies can drive significant social change whereas reaching business success — however solely when that dedication comes from an genuine place.
For enterprise leaders seeking to make a long-lasting impression, BET’s blueprint provides a confirmed path: Perceive your group deeply, serve their wants authentically, measure what issues, and keep dedicated for the lengthy haul. The fruit of that labor, as Hayes realized at Hampton, advantages everybody.
