By 2025, the advertising business is facing reckoning on how diversity, equity and inclusion budgets are allocated. Agencies are breaking through tokenistic campaigns, associating DEI spend with measurable outcomes and durable relationships. Meanwhile, a new generation of Black-owned media executives are showing that equity and ownership are business imperatives, not optional.
Shift in DEI thinking
When advertisers committed billions to diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in 2020, the reaction was met with optimism and skepticism. Five years on, the question is not whether businesses are spending, but how they are spending, and if those dollars produce systemic effect.
In 2025, agencies are compelled to prove that DEI is more than a marketing checkbox. The expenditure decisions are scrutinized for their ability to build durable infrastructure, foster ownership and generate real returns. Representation in advertisements matters, but ownership behind media platforms that host those advertisements matters even more.
Agencies are shifting their strategies in three different ways:
- Shifting from symbolic to structural. Rather than one-off sponsorships, budgets become more tightly tied to long-term relationships with diverse-owned outlets.
- Connecting spend to ROI. Clients expect DEI dollars to fuel tangible audience engagement and business growth, not just great headlines.
- Prioritizing sustainability. Investments that build infrastructure (ad tech access, training and ecosystem support) are seen as most impactful.
This shift repositions equity as not charity but good, sustainable business practice.
Business case for equity
Black and diverse communities are among the fastest-growing, most influential consumer markets. Black consumers alone have more than $2 trillion in purchasing power, per Nielsen. But Black-owned media historically receive just a fraction of total ad dollars spent.
For agencies, forgetting these markets is no longer a moral failing; it is a competitive error. Brands that genuinely connect with multicultural audiences not only increase market share, but also establish cultural credibility when consumers demand accountability.
Equity in media spending yields a twofold gain: it rectifies systemic underinvestment and opens up new opportunities for growth. That truth is reshaping the way agencies approach DEI commitments.
Next generation of Black-owned media leaders
The greatest story of 2025 is not only the manner in which agencies are rethinking spend but the manner in which Black media founders are rising up to take the hour. A fresh generation of leaders is pairing cultural acuity with business acumen, positioning themselves as must-haves for brands.
These founders possess a number of key qualities that distinguish them from the past generation:
- Digital-first focus. Others are building on social, streaming and new media platforms, going head-to-head with traditional outlets.
- Community trust. Their deep ties to audiences fuel engagement and loyalty that traditional media can’t even begin to replicate.
- Business orientation. They get the language of ROI, programmatic purchasing and infrastructure, framing equity talks in terms of profitability.
Some are constructing niche sites into national networks. Others are acting in concert, sharing resources and partnering with each other in an effort to increase negotiating muscle with agencies and brands. Together, they are rethinking what it means to be a Black-owned media company in 2025.
Advice for agencies
For agencies operating through DEI in 2025, the path is becoming clearer. Successful equity initiatives share four attributes:
- Connect budgets to outcomes. DEI needs to be considered as an investment with quantifiable milestones, not discretionary spending.
- Invest in infrastructure. Providing access to technology, training and delivery mechanisms enables publishers to develop in a sustainable way.
- Show respect for ownership. Representation without ownership is incomplete; publishers need to share financially in the campaigns that they help to deliver.
- Plan for the long term. Long-term equity equates to multi-year investments, not seasonal initiatives.
When agencies adopt these practices, they not only meet diversity goals but also open up new business growth.
Looking forward
The evolution of DEI in advertising signals that change is possible when equity is coupled with accountability. Agencies are finding that true impact is found in structural investment, not symbolic gestures. The next wave of media leaders is proving that profitability and equity go hand-in-hand.
The question for 2025 and beyond is not whether the industry can afford to implement such changes but whether it can afford not to. Equity is not merely a moral imperative. It is the basis for long-term growth, cultural relevance and business success.
Opinions expressed by SmartBrief contributors are their own.
If you want to stay on top of the latest marketing news, trends and ad campaigns, explore and subscribe to the partner SmartBrief newsletters we offer.