Interpublic Enters Third Year of Howard Adopt-A-Team Program
To kick off the program in 2010, a team of 12 students from Howard visited IPG's corporate offices in New York and participated in agency tours at Avrett Free Ginsberg, Draftfcb, ID Media and Initiative. The Howard University IPG Team includes the Executive Committee of the AAF College Chapter that is competing in the national Student Advertising Competition. A new component of the IPG program will include matching the students with mentors from the Black Employee Network, one of several IPG employee resource groups initiated during the past year. The mentoring relationships will last for one year and will include monthly meetings, conference calls, and assistance in promoting IPG agencies on campus.
During the students' visit to IPG, Michael I. Roth, Chairman and CEO of IPG, met with the students to answer their questions about the industry, the economy and IPG. The students are planning an "IPG Branding Day" on campus in April. This event will promote IPG brands to the Howard University community and increase awareness of the opportunities available at IPG agencies.
IPG's partnership with Howard University is multi-faceted and also includes a recent financial contribution to the University's Center for Excellence in Advertising to sponsor a scholarship recipient for the Making a Lateral Move into Advertising pilot program. This program provides intensive training for minority mid-level managers interested in making a lateral career move into the advertising industry.
"The Howard University program is just one example of our commitment to being the world's most inclusive network of marketing services companies," commented Heide Gardner, Senior Vice President, Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer at IPG. "Working with young people and preparing them for entry into the workforce is a key element of our diversity commitment that also includes the highly successful InterAct Associates Fellowship Program, a two-year program at IPG that recruits, retains and develops an internal pipeline of multicultural talent with multi-disciplinary experience. Now in its fourth year, the program has had more than 35 recent graduates move through its ranks, with most of these individuals hired by Interpublic agencies at which they've worked." Gardner continued, "our additional work with the Lateral Move program extends this important partnership to mid-level managers, the hope being that they will move onto the more senior level once a successful lateral move is complete."
About Interpublic
Interpublic is one of the world's leading organizations of advertising agencies and marketing services companies. Major global brands include Draftfcb, FutureBrand, GolinHarris International, Initiative, Jack Morton Worldwide, Lowe Worldwide, Magna, McCann Erickson, Momentum, MRM Worldwide, Octagon, UM and Weber Shandwick. Leading domestic brands include Campbell-Ewald; Campbell Mithun; Carmichael Lynch; Deutsch, a Lowe & Partners Company; Hill Holliday; ID Media; Mullen; The Martin Agency and R/GA. For more information, please visit www.interpublic.com.
About The John H. Johnson School of Communications at Howard University
The John H. Johnson School of Communications boasts more than 1,400 students and 5,000 alumni from its four departments: Radio, Television and Film; Journalism; Communication and Culture; and Communication Sciences and Disorders. With an energetic Student Council and student body, the faculty and staff work to keep students informed and engaged in a wide array of activities within and outside of the classroom. Taking an entrepreneurial and experiential approach to learning, students are exposed to professionals and scholars during their time at Howard.
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SOURCE: Interpublic Group
Interpublic
Jemma Gould, 212-704-1327