Application Process and Program to Commence in Second-Quarter 2021

Meredith Corporation, the leading brand-led multi-platform media company – engaging nearly 95 percent of all U.S. women and more than 190 million unduplicated American consumers every month – announced the launch of Good Impressions, a pro bono media and marketing consultation program created to help BIPOC and LGBTQIA-majority owned small businesses succeed by driving awareness, supporting sales efforts and providing mentorship. Awarded to a select group of five to 10 businesses at various stages of growth and development, individual awards will be valued around $100K and offer access to Meredith’s marketing and advertising capabilities. Good Impressions will exclusively work with food and beauty companies, including those in the consumer package goods products space. The program, including its application process and the naming of the winning businesses, is scheduled to begin in the second quarter of this year.

“Good Impressions is a meaningful way for Meredith to help bridge the economic gap for minority-owned businesses and to advance diversity, equity and inclusion in the communities we serve,” said Catherine Levene, President, Meredith’s National Media Group and Executive Sponsor of :BLACKPRINT, the employee resource group representing Black voices at Meredith. “Driven by our core values that we can make a positive impact by supporting business owners, our program’s employee founders – Peachy-Jean Retizos, Senior Manager of Innovation, and Sharuq Alam, Senior Manager of Digital Finance, and supported by executive Ahu Terzi, VP of Corporate Beauty – developed this purposeful program. I’m proud of this collaborative effort and can’t wait to meet the talented recipients and help them achieve their dreams.”

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Award packages will be based on each business’s needs and goals and will encompass various forms of assistance. This support may include video consultations with key representatives across Meredith, spanning business intelligence, research/insights, creative, and marketing experts; introductory meetings with editorial leads across print, digital and social media; and media customized for the individual business’s critical needs.

Good Impressions will be open to anyone who is 18 years or older, identifies as BIPOC or LGBTQIA, and owns a small business incorporated in the U.S. with sales around $250,000 in a calendar year. The businesses’ products or services must be geared to womxn in food, beauty and the consumer package goods categories.

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According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, BIPOC and LGBTQAI-owned businesses have been hurt disproportionately by the pandemic. Data released in 2020 revealed that 66% of minority-owned businesses were concerned about permanently closing due to the pandemic. Simultaneously, 41% of Black-owned businesses closed by April 2020, followed by 32% of Latinx businesses and 26% of Asian businesses, in comparison to 17% of white businesses during the same time, per a National Bureau of Economic Research study.

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