Black College Tour Continues At Howard
DALLAS, TX -- Grassroots Promotions (GP) has reached a multi-year agreement to support Howard University in the institution's effort to increase visibility and corporate inclusion in their annual homecoming activities. Under the partnership, GP's HBCU Direct business unit will connect corporate partners with the school's week of homecoming events including a comedy show, fashion show, step show, parade and on-campus music festival. "We are enthusiastic about the partnership with the Grassroots Promotions' HBCU initiative in support of Howard University's homecoming platform," added Steve Johnson, PHd, VP of Protocol and Events at Howard. "Their expertise and experiences will be instrumental in helping us reach major strategic goals." Howard boasts a student population of over 10,000 with over 100,000 alumni including Toni Morrison, Sean "P Diddy" Combs and Taraji P. Henson. GP, a member of the MULTICOM network, formed its HBCU Direct business unit utilizing scale to bring revenue opportunities and cost efficiencies to Historically Black Colleges & Universities. For corporate and government partners, HBCU Direct serves as the gateway to department heads and leaders in their respective areas of expertise including Student Activities, Procurement, Alumni Affairs, Health Services and S.T.E.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). The entity serves as a one-stop connector reaching the "right" person on each campus. HBCU Direct also has a network of student foot soldiers to support campus activities. "We created HBCU Direct with the specific mission of helping schools improve their fiscal platforms through scale while highlighting the positive aspects of the HBCU's," said Rod Chappell, a Morehouse College graduate and Executive Director of HBCU Direct. "HBCU Direct reaches individuals directly responsible for improving the HBCU experience". The 2010 collegiate program includes the 9th edition of BET Black College tour traveling to 14 HBCU campuses, support of homecoming activities at Howard University, Morehouse College, Spelman College, Alabama A&M University and Grambling State University plus the launches of the Black College S.T.E.M. Network and HBCU Health Initiative. ABOUT HOWARD UNIVERSITY. ABOUT THE BET BLACK COLLEGE TOUR ABOUT THE MULTICOM NETWORK
ABOUT GRASSROOTS PROMOTIONS, LLC.
Grassroots Promotions, LLC (GP) is a full-service experiential marketing strategy firm specializing in the creation, planning, and implementation of targeted programs. The company was founded in 2001 and has since become a strategy and experiential marketing industry leader. In addition to the BET Black College Tour, GP has produced award winning programs including the Pantene Total You Tour®, Totalmente Latina Tour®, Ebony Black Family Reunion Tour® and the Hoops-N-Hip Hop® Tour.
Howard University is a private, research university that is comprised of 12 schools and colleges. Founded in 1867, students pursue studies in more than 120 areas leading to undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees. Since 1998, the University has produced two Rhodes Scholars, a Truman Scholar, a Marshall Scholar, 19 Fulbright Scholars and 11 Pickering Fellows. Howard also produces more on campus African-American Ph.D. recipients than any other university in the United States.
The BET (Black Entertainment Television) Black College Tour is a fourteen-city interactive fair held at historically black colleges and university across the country. Now in its ninth year, the event is designed for African-American college students and alumni complete with games, live entertainment, product sampling and demonstrations, career building and internship opportunities, free gifts and more.
Multicultural Communications, LLC (MULTICOM) is a venture formed in 2010 between Dallas-based independent agency heavyweights in the strategy, marketing, supplier development and retail merchandising spaces. GP is a founding member of the MULTICOM network along with Diversity in Promotions, LLC. The network partnered with the 2009 launch of Victoria's Secret PINK brand at HBCU's.
