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The Gotham Pages: Tahira White is Building an Accelerator for Branded Content Storytellers
Knixteen 19th & Park is a lot of things—a creative marketing hub, a branding and production powerhouse—but perhaps equally important is what it’s not. Tahira White, the agency’s co-founder and president, will be the first to tell you that 19th & Park isn’t interested in the linear approach of traditional agencies. Instead, it does its business holistically, taking a 360-degree approach to working with brands by offering creative direction, social media strategy, robust production and more—all while foregrounding underrepresented talent in front of and behind the camera.
For White, who started her career in media at Hearst before segueing into production via fashion shows and live experiences for brands, driving authenticity and relatability in marketing is key to making audiences feel seen. And she’s been doing it for years, scaling 19th & Park into a powerhouse that now works with brands like L’Oreal, New Balance, Facebook and Healthcare.gov.
Fresh off the selection committee for Gotham Week’s first-ever Branded Storytellers Initiative—which kicks off in September—White sat down with me to talk about her production philosophy, centering diverse audiences and her advice for filmmakers looking to grow their careers in the branded content realm.
Dessane Lopez Cassell: You’ve been in this industry a long time. Could you describe your process of building contacts, networks and resources into what’s now become 19th & Park?
Tahira White: I wouldn’t say there was an intentional build, so much as it was about intentionality and forming loving, close relationships with everyone that I worked with. I really think about my crew and partners as a family.
I say this a lot to people [who] are coming into the industry: remaining open to connection outside of the transactional experience of hiring someone to do a thing is what really allows for the magic to happen on set. I never liked being treated transactionally, so I try to instill that in my team as well.
DLC: Let’s stay on your philosophy. For years now, 19th & Park has been championing the value of culturally informed advertising and marketing. Could you talk about why that’s important to you and how it drives the agency’s way of working?
TW: Over time, I grew to understand that the people who really control media narratives (and the way they represent communities) are the executive producers, financiers and the advertisers behind it. With 19th & Park, we’re starting to build the types of stories that we want to see on an even larger platform, beyond advertising and in long form, which can reach broader audiences. And that’s the whole purpose—showing the diversity that exists within our diaspora and amongst women and making sure that those narratives and pictures exist for the generations that come after us. Because it’s one thing to inform Black media (and that’s important, too), but it’s another thing to inform the general market; to sit in the rooms with these executives, the chief health officers, the chief marketing officers and explain that we are non-monolithic people. The fight is just education.
Another part of what we continue to see are requests for diverse talent, but the hiring of the same talent—over and over again. So, we’ve taken it upon ourselves to become a bit of an accelerator, so filmmaking talent can build their portfolios in a way that may feel more fitting to the advertising world. That way, we can go to brands and say “Hey, they did this for us. They can do this for you, too.”
DLC: I want to get into the monetary value of appealing to diverse audiences. How have you made brands understand that it’s good for business?
TW: I think the numbers speak for themselves, and that information has been available for a really long time. It’s more about how you speak to [diverse audiences], and how you relate to them is what’s going to drive your economic value.
What we’re pushing for is the importance of authenticity in the storytelling and relatability. In order to do this, you absolutely need to be in the community. Authenticity and relatability drives trust and creates loyalty, which ultimately leads to an increase in sales.
The interesting part is we still haven’t seen a shift in the budgets. At 19th & Park, we have a film department, and we’ve created a strategic partnership with another production company, Alldayeveryday. They’re phenomenal and have started an entertainment business. One of the projects we’re advising on for them is a documentary called The Color of Cola, based on the book The Real Pepsi Challenge. It tells the story of the first Black sales group that was created for a product back in the 1940s and how they worked to amplify the sale of Pepsi to the black community by making them feel seen in their ads. This was what ultimately created multicultural marketing budgets.
The issue is that those budgets are typically 60 to 70 percent lower, so there’s less allocated towards your spend, towards your production, towards your media, etc. Over the years, we’ve seen that multicultural audiences bring in so much more value, and yet we still haven’t seen a shift in the budgets allocated to reaching them.
DLC: I want to dive a bit deeper into 1Park9 (19th & Park’s sister company) and its expansion into long form and original content through 360-degree production. Walk me through the thought process behind creating that branch.
TW: Besides making our messaging and our narrative more visible, for me it was about exploring other creative mediums. I’ve done the social, done the digital, done a million commercials and experiences, but I haven’t really touched film and TV. I like the way it allows us to expand the stories that we tell beyond 60 seconds. That gives more visibility to the talent that we’re representing and the stories they’re telling.
We’re starting to see more brand representation within films and more branded support behind films. It’s been happening for the last five to six years but has obviously been amplified over the last year. Barbie has every brand feeling like it can make a film. While we’ve always had product placement, we’re now figuring out what that looks like in terms of storytelling. I think Alldayeveryday has been quietly ahead of the curve.
DLC: Speaking of storytelling, what are some of the qualities that you look for in the filmmakers and the photographers you collaborate with?
TW: One of the most important things is consistency and growth, especially in terms of lighting, cinematography and approach; that’s part of what I have to think about when it comes to selling an artist to a brand. You can always tell [from a portfolio] when artists are continuing to improve their craft.
When talking to filmmakers, I’m always big on saying: “Find your style, find what it is that you want to do”; if it’s humor, if it’s dark lighting—whatever it is that’s your thing— and then live within that. It’s much easier to be able to build and expand with an artist when they have an identity versus a diverse portfolio that has a little bit of everything in it.
The other thing I look for is being multidisciplinary and a great collaborator. Someone able to direct and write, or direct and produce, or direct and shoot stills, etc. Energetically, the way you show up on the phone, how you control your tone when you’re talking to individuals or even on pitch calls with clients—all of that makes a difference. Your vocal and visual presence really is what helps you land a job, especially on that very first call. Having the ability to connect with people, both virtually and in person is really important, so I recommend learning a lot of soft skills.
DLC: I want to close by chatting specifically about what it takes to transition into the branded realm. We’re in a moment where budgets are being tightened across many of the industries that filmmakers usually make a living in—from Hollywood and media to academia. Do you have any advice for filmmakers who might be looking to transition into branded content from other fields?
TW: People overthink the transition. I think it’s about not being intimidated and really understanding what your transferable skills are. What are your strengths and what can you provide to these production studios or agencies? Rework your portfolio—cutting interesting 30-second and 60-second and short-form pieces to help you become legible as someone who can do short form—or shift your resume and how you talk about yourself. Think about your strengths as a connector; as someone who has their pulse on what’s happening; or depending on the role, your strength in being an executor and building a team. That’s more what people want to hear within agencies, especially when we’re talking about executional roles or executive roles. We want to hear about your ability to bring people together, to manage teams and relationships. So, just go for it—you know what your skills are.
