Brianna McMillan and Mya Bolds: Adobe’s Black History Month Campaign Case Study

Background

For our Case Study we chose to follow Adobe’s Black History Month campaign. This campaign started on February first, 2021 and went on throughout the month of February (Black History Month). Adobe is an American computer software company that specializes in creativity and multimedia software products. Some of Adobe’s products include Photoshop, Premiere Pro, Illustrator, After Effects and many more. Adobe’s mission is to give digital art creators the appropriate tools that will help them succeed at their digital dreams. Whether it is video producers, graphic designers, animators, or others, Adobe gives these creators a wide base of platforms to work with.

Adobe’s vision is “Adobe For All,” a workplace where everyone has equal opportunity and is equally respected. Adobe partnered with their Black Employee Network (BEN) to celebrate Black History Month by creating a platform for Black creators to be heard, celebrating Black art and culture, and raising awareness on issues such as race/being included. BEN’s theme for Black History Month of 2021 is celebrating Black love, life and legacy. One of the specific ways Adobe will be contributing to Black History Month is by hosting events that revolve around this theme. Some of the events being held are: a virtual kick off event, volunteering events and a Black women creatives panel discussion co-hosted by female staff at Adobe and Black Employee Network.

Campaign Goals

During the campaign, Adobe is showcasing Black creators who use Adobe’s software programs to create their work. Adobe’s campaign is about recognizing those who have made an impact on society as a marginalized group of people. Not only that, but Black History Month is also about recognizing Black people and their culture. In the case of Adobe, it is about Black art, music, and overall creativity. In doing this campaign, Adobe is showcasing how Black people are creating art history in this present moment. Adobe has displayed all types of Black artists so far this month, singers, graphic design artists, musicians, video animators, etc. Each Wednesday, Adobe chooses a different Black female creator that uses their software, for a segment in their campaign titled #WomenCreateWednesday. Not only has Adobe been diverse in choosing different types of artists, but they are also giving Black female creators a platform to speak their voice and be heard through their art, which is a large part of Black history. The apparent overall goal of the Black History Month campaign is to show that Adobe supports Black creators and respects their contributions. Adobe portrays their campaign posts as wanting to show the way in which Black people express their culture, identity, and history.

When it comes to social media posts for the campaign, Adobe is primarily focusing on Twitter as the main platform. We have been monitoring Instagram and Facebook as well, but Twitter is where the campaign is being posted about the most. Although they have kept up more on Twitter, they receive the most likes and engagement on their Instagram posts. Adobe has created hashtags that they use when posting on socials, specifically for the Black History Month campaign. The two main hashtags used for the campaign are “#CelebrateBlackCreativity” and “#WomenCreateWednesday”. Adobe has also used other hashtags when posting but these are the two consistent hashtags being used on campaign posts. Not only is Adobe showcasing the campaign on three social media platforms, they also had a website linked in their Instagram bio that was specifically for February’s campaign. The website showcases Black creators work, as well as has helpful articles about Black history, culture, art, and more.

How the Campaign Unfolded

Adobe’s campaign started off very well, posting almost daily, or sometimes more than daily, on at least one social media platform. But, throughout February they posted less and less and started to become very inconsistent. Adobe posted similar posts on each of their three platforms, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, but was most consistent with posting on Twitter and least consistent with Facebook.

Twitter

Twitter was used the most out of all social media channels used for the campaign, with a total of eighteen campaign posts. Adobe posted either once or twice everyday about the campaign during the first half of February. Then, once February thirteenth hit, Adobe decided to post only four more times on Twitter about the campaign for the rest of the month. They posted on February seventeenth, twenty second, twenty third, and twenty sixth. Not only did Twitter have all the posts that Instagram and Facebook had, but Adobe also posted more articles on Black History Month, as well as showcased more artist’s work on Twitter. Adobe received both positive and negative feedback on the campaign tweets but did not reply to any comments or quote tweets made about the campaign.

Adobe’s first tweet introduced the campaign as their “responsibility to give diverse creators more opportunity to share their stories.” This was a strong headline considering the way it is highlighting their intent with the Black History Month campaign. They also mentioned their partnerships with Vanity fair, as well as Black Archives. Adobe made sure to include the campaign’s hashtag #CelebrateBlackCreativity to include the audience and entice them to share their work and follow along with the campaign. As a result, the first post to kick off the campaign only received fifty retweets, two quotes and a total of 156 likes.

Adobe posted this tweet towards the start of their campaign and it is the most liked campaign tweet, with a total of 938 likes. In this post Adobe showcased photographer, Thandiwe Muriu’s work. They also added a link to an article on Muriu’s upbringing and how her love for Africa and African culture is expressed through her photography. Something important to point out is the quality of the post. Adobe chose wisely when it came to the content they included in the campaign, while also utilizing the multiple photo functions that Twitter provides. As seen in this post, the photos used are extremely vibrant and full of life.

Instagram

Adobe used Instagram as the second main platform for their campaign, with a total of thirteen campaign posts. Unlike on Twitter, Adobe did not start out with consistent posts on Instagram. Adobe posted on February first and second, then took a break from posting all the way to February eighth, posted from the eighth through the tenth and then took another break from posting until the sixteenth. They posted from the sixteenth through the eighteenth, took another break, posted from the twenty fourth through the twenty sixth, and then posted last on the twenty eighth. Adobe slacked on posting on Instagram and should have at least kept up as much as they did on Twitter. Adobe’s likes on Instagram were always in the thousands range for the campaign, but on Twitter they were only in the tens to hundreds. A smart idea for Adobe would have been to post on Instagram either more or equal to as they did on Twitter because of how much more engagement and impressions Adobe receives on Instagram.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Adobe (@adobe)

Adobe posted a video for their #WomenCreateWednesday and it became the most liked Instagram post for the campaign, with 5,899 likes currently. Adobe posted this video to not only showcase the twins but also because they were dancing to a song by Kyla Imani, another young Black artist that uses Adobe software. Adobe did not usually respond to comments during the campaign, but under this post a user commented something negative and asked what this has to do with Adobe and why Adobe is focusing on Black creativity instead of all people being creative. Adobe replied that as a company they have a responsibility to speak on the inequality towards Black artists and that by amplifying Black voices they are working towards a society where everyone is equally empowered.

Adobe posted this piece by Natasha Cunningham and it is Adobe’s second most liked Instagram post for the campaign, with a total of 5,349 likes currently. Cunningham is a Graphic Designer that uses Adobe software to create her work. The majority of the comments on the campaign posts, including this one, consist of mostly just emojis, such as fire emojis, heart emojis, thumbs up/clapping hands emojis, etc.

Facebook

Facebook was the platform to be used the least out of the three, with a total of eleven campaign posts. Adobe posted on Facebook on February first through the third, then took a break until February tenth and posted the tenth/eleventh. Their last posts were on the seventeenth, twenty third, twenty fourth, and twenty sixth. Adobe’s Facebook posting for the campaign was very inconsistent and most of the posts had very low numbers of likes (in the tens). Most of the comments on the campaign posts on Facebook are unrelated to the campaign. Many of the comments are about needing help with customer support or having complaints about the software and they are repeated on many posts (posted by the same people). On the posts that Adobe got over 100 likes, there were more positive comments and love instead of customer complaints.

Adobe shared this Vanity Fair Post about their partnership for Black History Month on celebrating diverse voices. The original Vanity Fair post had over a thousand reactions with hundreds of comments and shares, but Adobe’s post only got thirteen reactions. Adobe’s Facebook page gets very little engagement and awareness compared to Instagram. This shows that Facebook is not a main place that Adobe strives and the amount of posting they did on Facebook compared to Twitter and Instagram seemed appropriate, although still could have been better.

For their very last Facebook post for Black History Month, Adobe released a video for their partnership with Black Archives. This video became Adobe’s most liked Facebook post for the campaign, with a total of 902 likes, receiving hundreds of more likes than any of Adobe’s other Facebook campaign posts. For this video in the series, Adobe looks into Brittney Janae and her career of being a documentary filmmaker, as well as the things that motivate/inspire her work and creativity.

Adobe Campaign Compared To Microsoft Campaign

A top computer software company alongside Adobe, Microsoft, also did a Black History Month campaign. This campaign was specifically on the Microsoft Bay Area social media accounts, not the main Microsoft accounts. Although Adobe’s campaign was not outstanding, Adobe posted more frequently and had more types of content than Microsoft, as well as posted on multiple social media platforms. Microsoft posted their Black History Month campaign on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram but posted very inconsistently. They posted four times on both Facebook and Instagram (the same posts on both platforms) and five times on Twitter (the same posts with one additional tweet). That is much less than Adobe’s nineteen posts on Twitter, thirteen posts on Instagram and eleven posts on Facebook. During Microsoft’s campaign, they focused on head African American employees at Microsoft, their positions at Microsoft, how they feel about the company and any tips they have for young Black creators. Adobe’s and Microsoft’s campaigns were similar in the way that they both showcased Black artists. Adobe showcased young Black creators that use Adobe products and Microsoft showcased successful Black Microsoft employees. Both campaigns delivered a similar message in showing Black youth that they can make it and be successful multimedia artists. Although both companies showcased artists, Microsoft only showcased four artists the entire month without other posts, whereas Adobe showcased multiple artists throughout the month, as well as had other posts. Compared to Microsoft, Adobe’s campaign seems exceptional. Although Adobe fell off a couple times throughout the month with posting, they were much more consistent than Microsoft and overall had a better campaign with much more diverse forms of content.

Adobe Campaign Compared To Apple Campaign

Apple, a similar technology company that offers editing software, also introduced a Black History Month campaign in a similar way that Adobe did. However, Apple kept up with the month and actually decided to do a thirty two day series called “The Hometown Series”. They showcased Black photographers and filmmakers around the world who utilize their products to achieve art. This was very much like Adobe considering they both had user generated content to promote their Black History Month campaign. Apple integrated their “shot on Iphone” campaign within this campaign since they were showcasing photographers and filmmakers. I believe that was extremely effective, considering they were not only advertising their products, but also including Black culture into the campaign to celebrate the month. Adobe was also integrating Black culture at the same time as promoting their products by highlighting the programs Black creators were using. Apple was noticeably more organized with the way they presented each post compared to how Adobe presented their posts. Apple utilized Instagram’s option to post multiple photos and used the artist’s photo as a cover image. On the next slide they introduced who the artist is and where they are from geographically, followed by more of the artist’s work. One thing that stood out the most when comparing the two technology companies was the fact that Apple stayed much more consistent with the campaign than Adobe did. Instead of posting on an irregular schedule like Adobe, Apple followed a different approach. They stuck with a daily schedule of posting as part of their campaign, labeling each day as they went on (1/32). Another thing that differentiated the two companies was that Adobe showcased multiple different creators and their work, but Apple only showcased photographers and filmmakers. I feel as though Apple was more effective when it came to targeting people since they had a more narrowed down audience. Adobe’s audience ranged from a variety of creators such as filmmakers, graphic designers, dancers, singers, etc. Their campaign was not as specific as the way Apple formed theirs. Looking at the big picture of the campaigns, I believe Adobe could have created a more effective campaign if they followed Apple’s consistency and thought out posting schedule. Adobe and Apple both stayed true to their main themes and celebrated Black history through current day creators.

Measuring Campaign Success

To encapsulate our findings, Adobe did an adequate job when it came to their Black History Month campaign. They could have improved in many areas including organization and consistency. This is largely because throughout the month of February I couldn’t help but notice how much the amount of their posts fluctuated. As mentioned earlier, Adobe posted daily to start the campaign off and then slowly became more inconsistent by leaving week long gaps. Also, the number of posts varied depending on the social media platform they used. For instance, if Adobe posted more on Facebook, they potentially could have received more engagement, but they decided to post a scarce amount. Facebook is not the main channel Adobe works with, but they still could have utilized it to the fullest in order to reach maximum engagement. The same goes for Instagram because they had plenty of room to utilize more of Instagram’s features and post consistently, but chose not to. Therefore, I would not say that Adobe did their job to the fullest. Nevertheless, the posts that Adobe did create were colorful, bright and full of quality. The posts themselves were excellent and Adobe took them in the right direction, which is another factor to take into account. Overall, internally Adobe had some serious room to improve, but I do appreciate their efforts. Now, looking at the external indicators, the engagement this campaign got on these different platforms was both excellent in some ways and poor in others. Compared to previous posts, the amount of likes, comments and views between the different platforms remained steady. Comments were a huge factor when it came to deciphering how well Adobe’s campaign performed. The negative backlash was definitely present, especially on Facebook and Twitter, but there were also numerous positive comments reinforcing Adobe’s intention, especially on Instagram. Overall, the positive feedback outweighed the negative feedback. This leads back to the conclusion that Adobe’s Black History Month campaign was adequate. Celebrating Black history and creating a company campaign is genius for Adobe when it comes to inclusivity. As a result, Black creators can feel more acknowledged and drawn to the companies representing them. The Black History month campaign Adobe has presented to the public was somehow, in our eyes, both successful and unsuccessful.