Engaging HBCUs: An Advertising Industry Roadmap for Advancing Diversity

quotAdvertising is so exciting who wouldn39t want to do that if they had the exposure and opportunityquot Marshall asked Among about 106 HBCUs in the US Marshall said none of them have accredited fulltime advertising degree programs As a result students are missing opportunities to learn about the industry and explore a rich array of courses Advertising agencies and media organizations could help schools to establish programs that educate and train students and provide funding Marshall suggestedFor a model Marshall said advertising and media companies should look to finance banking technology and STEM industries which have made progress working with HBCUs to train and recruit young talent The first step he added is offering students access to an industry That can be through classes clinics internships or mentorships The key he explained is to give students exposure and accessStudents might be surprised to learn about all the options Marshall continued including accounting business support client relations adtech and creative servicesOff campus Marshall said the industry needs to get more BIPOC students inside agencies He suggested that firms create paid apprenticeship programs that would provide ontheground training and could lead to fulltime employmentquotWhat would it take for 15 to 20 agencies to take 11 or 12 students as apprentices put them through paces for six months and then give them the opportunity they39ve earnedquot he asked quotWe need a pathway to give students opportunities on the ground in the agencies and a direct pathway to getting hiredquotWhile they39re apprenticing students would be able to interact with other young professionals and company leaders which helps build their professional network quotThe best mentor a student can have is called 39boss39quot Marshall saidIn a separate conversation with Phil McKenzie titled quotHBCU Career Meet Up Bus Tourquot American Advertising Federation president Steve Pacheco explained that to help BIPOC students remove financial academic and logistical barriers to careers in advertising the AAF created its quotHBCUs for Advertisingquot program You can watch their full conversation in the video belowOne focus of the program is developing advertising clubs at HBCUs The AAF currently has over 140 college chapters nationwide but for many years only a handful were at HBCUs The AAF39s efforts have helped launch 14 chapters at HBCUs and by the end of 2022 he expects there will be 25 clubsquotOur goal is for BIPOC students to be on the same level and to be able to compete and make sure it is a level playing fieldquot Pacheco saidAlong with sponsorships Pacheco said professionals can engage directly with students and professors by hosting oncampus and virtual events and share valuable research data and white papers quotElevate don39t relegatequot Pacheco declared quotStudents want to connect and learn and stay up to date but they don39t always have the right resourcesquotWhy wait until college High schoolers can also benefit from outreach and training The AAF hosts a summer Ad Camp for high school students in underserved markets to learn about the advertising industry and how agencies work Ad agencies and industry organizations including MediaVillage provide financial and technical supportWhile companies have stated their commitment to DEI Pacheco said it will take more action and investment to make true progressquotI believe the advertising media and marketing industries are going through a talent crisis like we haven39t seen in 25 years and to fill the pipeline with diverse talent that is ready to work and make change is something we are vitally interested inquot he asserted quotAs an industry we all have to step up and do morequotClick the social buttons to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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Engaging HBCUs: An Advertising Industry Roadmap for Advancing Diversity

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Alli Romano

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