Advertising industry working fast to boost minority hiring, increase internships

By Marla Matzer Rose
The Columbus Dispatch
(February 11, 2007) Advertising agencies help market everything from soft drinks and lingerie to cold remedies in a country in which minorities comprise a third of the population.

But minorities are underrepresented at most agencies, which need their voices and diverse cultural backgrounds to help widen their reach.

Now, the industry is throwing one of its biggest pitches just to them.

Columbus firms TenUnited and Resource Interactive are joining about 100 other agencies across the country in the summer to take part in a minority-internship program sponsored by the American Association of Advertising Agencies.

The goals: a fresh perspective and new talent for the agencies, and hopefully a permanent job in the industry for participants.

"It is a travesty that our industry, which is supposed to market to all of America, does not reflect all of America," said Rick Milenthal, chairman of TenUnited. "This happens in many industries, but I think it’s incumbent on us to find a way for this not to be the case in the future. … The truth is, it’s just plain good business. If we’re going to do our job for our clients, we can’t be predominantly white and male."

The national ad-industry group finds its 34-year-old Multicultural Advertising Intern program in more demand than ever. A lack of diversity is not new but has come to the forefront as an issue again recently.

Last year, the major ad conglomerates based in New York City found themselves in an uncomfortable spotlight when the city’s Commission on Human Rights threatened to ask their chiefs to testify about their firms’ low number of minority staff members.

Sixteen major agencies pledged money toward programs at historically black colleges and promised to set hiring goals for themselves that are to be periodically reported to the commission.

Last month, details of those hiring goals were released by the New York human-rights commission. Agencies set their own goals at between 5 percent and 30 percent for minority hires and promotions, with 10 percent to 20 percent being typical. The issue is particularly hot on Madison Avenue but has spread to agencies across the country.

"We’re definitely seeing an increase in the number of agencies who want to get involved with the program this year, especially ones that haven’t been involved in the past and ones in markets where we haven’t placed interns in previous years," said Angela Johnson Meadows, who runs the American Association of Advertising Agency’s minority-intern program. "Our goal is to place 115 interns this summer, which will be a 10 percent increase over last year."

Many agency executives say that it’s difficult to find and recruit minorities. Resource Interactive courts many hires directly from MBA programs, where students often have higher-paying options from which to choose. The agency’s humanresources chief says the majority of people vying for jobs in advertising, which boasts a high profile but often pays relatively low wages to start, are white.

"We have to make a concerted effort to support diversity, to proactively recruit people," said Kelly Vergara, director of human resources for Resource Interactive. "It’s a challenge because hiring in the creative industry is inherently very competitive, and you want absolutely the best people."

"There’s not currently as much available talent as we’d like, which is why it’s incumbent on all of us to find ways to develop young, minority talent," Milenthal said.

Critics of the long-standing underrepresentation of minorities in ad firms counter that the minority talent is out there, but is often overlooked or directed into divisions or "ethnic agencies," where there isn’t as much potential for advancement to the industry’s highest ranks.

But Osei Appiah, an assistant professor of advertising at Ohio State University, says "there’s a lack of interest in hiring minorities ... whether it be conscious or unconscious."

He said many agencies try to "pigeonhole" minorities, once hired, by guiding them to "minority" ad campaigns.

Dante Lee, 25, moved his Diversity City Media to Columbus from Long Beach, Calif., in 2005. Lee, whose small business helps major companies such as Honda and Nationwide reach black consumers and media, says he thinks there are plenty of minorities looking for advertising jobs.

"I think if companies say the (minority) candidates aren’t there, they’re not making the effort," he said. "Thousands of people graduate every year from predominantly black colleges, and thousands more are already in the industry."

In a field as tough to break into as advertising, agencies are accustomed to picking candidates from top schools with business or marketing degrees. Traditionally, blacks and Latinos are not well-represented among these schools’ graduates.

"Honestly, I wasn’t even aware of marketing as a major until my last semester in college," Lee said. "I majored in computer science for practical reasons, for the pay."

Shanin Brooks, a 30-year-old designer for Ologie, a Columbus marketing firm, said there were few minorities in her college classes.

"I was the only African-American in most of my classes at the Columbus College of Art and Design," Brooks said. "I don’t think (minorities) are even aware of what this industry is, and that it’s open to them. I sometimes even have to explain to my family what a graphic designer is."

Brooks said she hoped more minority workers in the ad industry would help young colleagues enter and advance in the field.

Meadows, of the American Association of Advertising Agencies, says that group’s minority-internship program has an alumni group that hosts a half-dozen events throughout the year, some of which are open to people who didn’t take part in the program. Those events, though, are all in New York, where more than half the program’s interns are placed.

Many in the industry are skeptical that a significant change in racial makeup will occur soon. An Advertising Age poll in September found that 93 percent of respondents thought the agency agreements with the Human Rights Commission wouldn’t result in a quick solution.

Some say pressure needs to be kept on ad firms from outside sources, especially the people who pay the bills.

"Clients need to demand more from agencies," Appiah said. "I also think consumers need to express a greater interest in seeing people like themselves in ads."

Asked whether clients take diversity into account when hiring an agency, Milenthal said: "I don’t think there’s a penalty (from clients) for not having a diverse staff. But I think if you have a more diverse face to your agency when you’re pitching clients, there can be a benefit. … I think leadership in agencies over the next 10 years will change considerably on this issue."

mrose@dispatch.com


Go to Target Market News homepage
 

The African-American
Book Publishing Authority

Now in its eighth year of publication, Black Issues Book Review is the only nationally distributed magazine devoted exclusively to covering the latest news and reviews on black books. BIBR also provides up-to-date news on forthcoming author signings, book fairs and book clubs.
Want this issue? Get it with your new subscription.
Click Here

A TARGET MARKET NEWS PUBLICATION
_________________________



Click here to read more

________________________

 12th Annual Edition Available 
Latest 'Buying Power' report shows black consumers spending more on home life

As the American economy continues to move sluggishly, African-American households are curtailing their spending in many categories, including food, clothing and basic household items, while investing more in home repair, home entertainment and consumer electronics. Although they are trimming back, black consumers are still spending more than their white counterparts on most of these products.
Story and statistics continued
_________________________

  SUBSCRIBE TODAY! 


The trade publication for
in-depth coverage of Black
Consumer Marketing
and Media news