An ad agency in Minneapolis has formed an academic partnership with Baltimore’s Morgan State University to expose more students of color to the profession.
Solve, an independent advertising agency and two-time Ad Age “Small Agency Of The Year,” recently announced the initiative taking place this semester to deliver an in-depth agency perspective and curriculum.
Solve’s weekly guest lectures cover a range of topics, including “What Is Advertising?” “Emotional Positioning,” “Media Connections,” “Working At An Ad Agency” and “Bringing An Idea To Life.” Each class integrates a series of activities to keep students engaged and provide an open mic platform for asking questions.
“Diversity is central to Solve’s mission and culture,” says Solve CEO/Founder John Colasanti, in photo above. “Ultimately, we’re committed to making our agency and industry more diverse by fueling a pipeline that hasn’t previously existed.”
According to a story in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the idea came to Colasanti, who founded Solve in Minneapolis nine years ago after career stops in Chicago, Detroit and Boston. Solve’s staff is 84% white and its leadership team has no people of color. The newspaper reported that nationwide, only 0.7% of ad and marketing executives are Black and 5.8% of all ad staffers are Black, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the American Association of Advertising Agencies.
He contacted the communications deans at 35 of the nation’s 107 historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), offering to teach
advertising classes via Zoom. Morgan Professor and Chair, Department of Strategic Communication in the School of Global Journalism and Communication (and incoming president of the PRSA Maryland chapter)
Dr. David Marshall, Ph.D., APR responded, telling Colasanti: “I don’t want this just to be dating. I want this to be a marriage,”
The newspaper reports that Marshall wants the first ad class at Morgan to morph into project work, internships, advertising degrees and solid careers in the creative field for his students. He wants an accredited advertising degree program at the school by 2022. Solve’s work at Morgan is a first step.
“When we can get on an airplane again, I want the students from Maryland to come to Minneapolis to Solve,” Colasanti told the Star Tribune. “Selfishly, we want to be able to get great people out of this.”