2023 Winner

CASE SUMMARY

The Black Elevation Map by Black & Abroad is a revolutionary domestic travel platform that leverages Black cultural data to provide an uplifting and tech-forward travel experience for the brand's audience. With the pandemic disproportionately affecting Black-owned businesses and conversations about systemic racism retraumatizing the Black community, the Black Elevation Map is a timely and necessary tool for Black-centered domestic travel.

At the center of the Black Elevation Map is a visualization of over 330 million points of data, which reveals insights about population distribution, Black-owned businesses, and cultural institutions. The platform utilizes a custom choropleth monochromatic visualization that uses census tract polygonal data to show total and Black populations, computed and visualized using quantile (equal count) categorization. Self-identification was prioritized in the data-gathering process to minimize race-based bias.

The Black Elevation Map incorporates data from a range of sources, including Google My Business API, Yelp! API, 2020 Decennial United States Census XML, Historical Markers Database API, and NASADEM natural topography. The map features over 28,000 Black-owned businesses, 6,500 cultural markers, and 1,500 social sources across 53 embedded data feeds. The platform also includes a Black travel social feed that pulls in related conversations from Twitter and Instagram based on hashtag use.

The Black Elevation Map has been successful in building the Black & Abroad brand and driving business. The platform has led to a 116% brand lift, 647% greater campaign awareness than the benchmark, and 45.4 million impressions across paid and earned channels. There has also been a 302% increase in traffic to BlackAndAbroad.com, a 360% increase in unique visitors, and a 971% increase in event sales and site merch. The platform has exceeded benchmarks for key traffic clickthrough rate from digital media PR.

Overall, the Black Elevation Map is a groundbreaking platform that addresses the unique needs and experiences of the Black community when traveling. By prioritizing Black cultural data and self-identification in the data-gathering process, the platform provides a counterpoint to narratives of Black pain and trauma. The success of the Black Elevation Map demonstrates the demand for Black-centered travel experiences and the need for more inclusive and equitable travel tools.

Credits

Black & Abroad:
Co-Founders: Eric Martin & Kent Johnson

Performance Art:
CCO: Ian Mackenzie
ACDs: Pedro Izzo, Benson Ngo
Copy: Hemal Dhanjee, Tobi Adebowale, Paula Purdon,
Jasmine Mans
Experience Delivery Lead: Nzegwhua Anderson
Sr Experience Designer: Joe Szabo
Experience Designer: Leon Mullings
Designer: Emily Plewes
ECD: Colin Craig
Producer: Sharon Nelson-Bailey
VP Strategy: Kirk Linkletter
Strategists: Leandra Legendre, Simran Kaur, Eli Ferrara,
Cassandra Cervi
SVP Head of Strategy: Priyanka Goswami
Program Manager: Kaylen Dillon
Digital Producer: Darwin Garcia
SVP Managing Director: Jordan Dinning
Account Supervisor: Ricky Gunawan
Account Director: Jon Rae
VP Tech: Stuart Cheesmond
Technical Solutions Consultant: Suraj Patel
Group Director, Product Development: Arnaud Icard
Lead Dev: John Iacoviello
Dev: Cody Schreiber
Solutions Consultants: Kaivalya Kashyap
Analytics Manager: Anil Iqbal
Jr Analyst: Shaista Meghji
Analytics Analyst: Abdul Dau
Consultant: Gigi Basanta
CEO: Andrea Cook
COO: Elizabeth Sellors

Initiative Media:
CSO: Nish Shah
Strategy Director: Christian Kern
Director Comms Design: Lara Senbanjo

Reprise:
Sr Director, Head of Social & Strategy: Tyler Dmytrow
Associate Director, Strategy: Jessica Singh
Associate Performance Strategist: Jacob Ziegler

Mediabrands Content Studio:
President: Cynthia Steele
Creative Strategist: Alisha Dayaram

Kinesso:
SVP Global Client Solutions: Wendi Dunlap
Director, Audience Solutions: Mandy Wong
Manager, Audience Solutions: Rory Materson
VP Audience & Identity: Whitney Chamberlain
Sr Associate Marketing Data Operations: Bridgette O’Connor
VP Analytics: Yerddy Lanfranco

Matterkind:
Managing Director: Michelle Primrose
Sr Associate: Bree Monture

Alfredo Films:
Director: Kelly Fyffe-Marshall
DOP: Shivam Pandya
Producers: Alex Henry, Holly Rowden
Editor: Michael Ofori-Attah

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