Brand Camp
Helping to curate more diversity within the advertising pipeline by targeting young POC
Brandcenter X Team One Project | 2.5 months | Do Good Campaign | Real Client Project and Pitch
TL;DR
The Ask:
Generate ideas on how to fix the diversity gap in the advertising talent pipeline by getting more People of Color interested earlier on and stay in the industry longer.
The Opportunity:
If there isn’t a diverse pipeline, cultivate one. We can decrease hegemony and increase Black and Latinx representation by providing inclusive exposure to the industry through guiding creative thinking of the youth.
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My Role:
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Dove deep into the issues of D&I within advertising to see what is happening and where the real issues are coming from
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Interviewed POC who are or have been in advertising: heard their stories and got their perspective on how they think this gap can be fixed
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Helped generate ideas with creatives on how to cultivate diverse talent within the advertising pipeline
Strategy:
We need to reshape the story and present advertising as an inclusive, creative-solving problem career path.
Overview:
A “creator’s summer camp” where kids team up with real brands to creatively solve real problems and help to expose People of Color to the advertising industry at an early age to not only increase diversity but decrease hemegony in the industry.
Brand camp is a summer camp for creators - the culture lovers, the conversation starters, the doodle masters, and more.
Structure:
Age range: Teens
This is when young men and women are first gaining a sense of themselves.
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Problem-solving skills are developing
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Beginning to not take the things adults tell them at face value
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Using flexible thinking
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Beginning to develop a worldview, values, and life after school
Time Frame:
Weeks: 3
Time: Once a summer
Cost
Free..the industry should be hungry for their talent, and that means cost shouldn't be a deterrent.
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Location:
Type of camp: Sleep away/Overnight
Where: College campuses
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3 Levels
Brand Camp Juniors
Brand Camp Seniors
Brand Camp Elites
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Real Brands, Real Issues
Brands can get involved and the campers can help solve real issues in the world.
Introducing: Brand Camp
A camp to stir the imaginations of future advertising renegades.
It’s a place for brilliant minds to come together and spark each other. But unlike a storm, that comes and goes, a Brand Camp is meant to start a revolution.
To create a lasting impact. To change our industry.
Goal:
Inspire, encourage, and galvanize
more diverse youth to pursue a career in advertising by providing:
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Early exposure
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Resources
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Opportunity
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Grades: 5th to 8th
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Campers: 20
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Teams: 4
Grades: 9th - 12th
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Campers: 30
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Teams: 6
Industry professionals and camp “graduates”
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Teach and mentor the campers
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Expose them to to the creative aspects of the advertising industry
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Build connections between Black and Latinx ad professionals, the campers, AND their parents/guardians
The Real Issue:
Not enough students of color consider advertising as a career path because they don't know about it or feel like they can be a part of it.
The industry is plagued with hegemony, it’s a systematic effect. We can’t break down years of systematic racism in a day, but we can build a better system for tomorrow.
We're Playing the Long Game
Success means an influx of talent from culturally and economically diverse communities, ethnicities, and People of Color. Eventually increasing diversity in the talent pipeline and begin by fostering relationships with diverse talent early on.
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There will be a network of continued engagement after the camp. This can become a feeder program for other group initiatives, as well as an opportunity to create a scholarship for camp graduates.
Leadership Structure
Main Instructors:
These are the people that are going to be leading the projects, classes, and workshops.
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Industry Creatives
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College Professors in Advertising Programs
Agency Instructors:
Department/creative directors for each team.
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Employees on the brand accounts participating in the camp
Counselors:
This group will live in the dorms, ensure kids get to the classes, participate in bonding activities, administrative duties, help manage teams, and participate the brands.
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Current College Students
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Alumni of Brand Camp
Brand Reps:
Act as judges for the brand projects and assignments.
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Brands participating in the camp
Camp Recruiting
If they won’t come to us, we go to them.
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We'll go to the school systems that will yield a diverse body of campers and engage guidance counselors and arts teachers to help recruit students to the camp.
OOH: Schools, Buses, Lockers
OOH Comps
...we also want to get the parents and guardians on board
OOH: Bodegas, Bus Shelters, Local Businesses
OOH Comps
Social
Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Snapchat
Camp Curriculum: Example
Part 1: Gamification
Create a role-playing phone game with the dolls that tell stories about how kids are acting, and what they are doing each day.
Part 2: Reinvention
Create American Boy Dolls. Break gender norms and create a doll that boys would love
to play with, while also empowering all kids, regardless of gender/sex.
Part 3: Content Creation
Work with a known social content creator to make a video for social media to launch the new dolls to other kids.
The ultimate reward...
Their work will be featured on the brand and a younger celeb/influencer’s Instagram and TikTok channels.
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Having a major brand and a respected content creator share their work will get these kids
excited about what they can do...and be.
They will have one
overall challenge to solve:
An example could be giving American Girl Dolls a reboot. Not only to be a representation of modern society, but also to make the dolls represent and appeal to boys.
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We'll break it into assignments that
contextualize what Brand Camp wants the kids to learn and do throughout the three weeks.
Strategy Team:
Charlie Hudson: Strategist
Cat Marsh: Strategist
Account Team:
Creative Team:
Amanda Yoon: Creative Brand Manager