ATLANTA — Atlanta is a hub for creativity across many industries. This weekend, the founders of Black Girl Digital Media, CEO LaToya Shambo and CMO Latoya Bond, curated an entire weekend focused on bridging the gap between the creator economy and the marketing industry.
In addition to being Black-owned, "BGD Media is one of the fastest-growing multicultural and independently-owned marketing agencies in the creator space," according to a release.
Shambo and Bond both believe that providing knowledge to brands and creators during BGD Media's Inaugural Black Influencer Weekend is the key to fruitful partnerships that push the media industry forward.
"The importance of this weekend is really just to have a community, a place for creators in the city and around the city," Shambo said. "A lot of creators flew in to connect with their peers, to connect directly with brands and platforms, and really just build deeper relationships with each other outside of [Instagram]."
Black Influencer Weekend brought together over 1,500 people who have an audience of nearly 80 million combined. Black Girl Digital Awards celebrated Black women trailblazers and visionaries in media, such as VH1's Mona Scott-Young.
"I think after this year, this will become one of the things that people look forward to because it's just going to be a lot of information you can't get anywhere else," Bond said.
According to Shambo, the knowledge gained at the summit and the impactful influence found throughout the whole weekend can encourage all the creators to stand with a new level of confidence.
"The beauty in the creator economy and the creators themselves is that they're just naturally authentic," Shambo said.
This authenticity is what fuels the creator economy and why curated spaces such as Black Influencer Weekend are pivotal for those interested in becoming creatives.
"No gatekeeping," Bond said. "We want to be able to come together once a year and be a great big melting pot, and then just put everything on the table because why gatekeep? There's enough for everybody."
