My Black Is Beautiful (MBIB), a long-term, community-building program created by Procter & Gamble to spark a broader dialogue around black beauty, will celebrate its seventh year as a title sponsor of the Essence Festival by inspiring attendees to put their “Beauty into Action” during the Independence Day holiday weekend and beyond. MBIB also will create hands-on, engaging experiences for festival-goers that deliver beauty in action in creative ways by connecting attendees with their favorite beauty and household products. These experiences range from MBIB booth makeovers, transformational and “Beauty In Action” programming, celebrity meet-and-greets, social media surprise gifting, influencer interviews, expert panels, main stage moments. The brand will also introduce its six newly crowned MBIB ambassadors to consumers on July 4, 2014, and they will be on hand throughout the weekend to motivate, excite and galvanize attendees to affect positive change in their local community.
As part of its purpose-inspired “Imagine A Future” program—created to reach and teach one million black girls over three years to believe that their black is beautiful—MBIB is commemorating the last year of this three-year program with the “Beauty In Action” Challenge designed to engage the community to put their beauty in action every day. MBIB will encourage Essence Festival attendees to accept the challenge and provide confidence building engagement activities throughout the event.
“The P&G My Black is Beautiful family is honored to celebrate Essence Festival’s 20th anniversary with thousands of extraordinary women who put their beauty in action daily,” said Grace Janes, brand manager for My Black Is Beautiful. “We look forward to inspiring more phenomenal women this year to join the movement and help us achieve our goal of reaching and teaching one million girls to believe their black is beautiful.”
A key component of the MBIB Essence Festival experience is the signature beauty experience booth. Centered around the “Beauty in Action” theme, beauty and lifestyle brands CoverGirl Queen Collection, Pantene, Olay and Clairol Professional are offering free makeovers, consultations and expert advice on personal grooming and styling. Guests also will be treated to swag beauty bags and a unique social photo experience designed to compel them to share their inner and outer beauty with the world. The new MBIB Ambassadors will also be on hand to share their inspiring stories and community plans with attendees. The MBIB booth will also include a live social news station to bring the best of MBIB and Essence Music Festival moments to the community live and in real time.
MBIB is also excited to team up again with Walmart, a like-minded partner that recognizes and caters to the unique needs of African-American women. Together, MBIB and Walmart will share booth experiences that include gift card giveaways, celebrity appearances and customized entertainment for 400,000 consumers to build buzz around “Beauty In Action.” MBIB will also host informative panel discussions with African-American influencers at the Walmart’s Live Stage booth.
To celebrate the Essence Festival’s 20th anniversary, MBIB will also host an intimate transformational “Beauty In Action” dinner on July 5, 2014, in New Orlean’s Red Light District with motivational speaker Lisa Nichols. Nichols will invite attendees to join the “Beauty In Action” movement she helped spearhead, to help realize the MBIB vision and put their beauty in action to reach and teach one million Black girls. Additionally, the six new MBIB Ambassadors share their plans to help pay it forward within their local communities.
To learn more about MBIB partner brands and the “Imagine A Future” initiative, join MBIB and change the conversation visit myblackisbeautiful.com and follow on Facebook at Facebook.com/MBIB, Instagram (@MBIB) and Twitter (@MBIB), using hashtags #MBIB and #BIAJourney. There, consumers will be able to find updates on MBIB activities at Essence Festival and keep up with “Imagine A Future” news and resources. Consumers also can download the “Imagine A Future” discussion and facilitator’s guides and view the Imagine A Future documentary on YouTube.com/mbibvideo.
