Center for Excellence in Advertising at Howard University.

The Center for Excellence in Advertising (CEA) will launch the first of a series of sessions for its “Making a Lateral Move into Advertising” pilot program. The primary focus of this module is to provide non-advertising minority mid-senior level managers who have transferable skills with insight and intelligence to be successful in advertising via intensive training and hands-on experience in agency and client communications. The purpose of the launch event is to recruit and identify qualified candidates for the pilot program and share with potential candidates what it takes to be successful in the advertising industry. The sessions will also include a 3-day “Day in the Life” Agency Leadership Simulation (ALS) conducted by the Columbia Consulting Group. The ALS program is an accelerated learning tool that provides real agency work experience.

The December 15th session will be held in New York City and hosted by JWT. It will include a panel discussion featuring advertising professionals who have made a successful transition into the advertising industry from other professions. Featured speakers include GlobalHue’s Najoh Tita-Reid SVP, Group Account Director formally of Proctor & Gamble, Wieden+Kennedy’s Desmond Marzette, Lead Planner, formally of Def Jam Mobile, Blue Flame’s Ericka Pittman, VP Brand Strategist and the Martin Agency’s Danny Robinson, SVP Creative Director.

In June 2010, CEA will also be launching its first Annual Advertising Boot Camp with the support of a $100,000 commitment from Wieden & Kennedy. The boot camp is a two-week intensive training program specifically designed to identify and recruit talented HBCU students for entry-level positions in the advertising industry. Twenty- Five (25) selected students will get the tools they need to enter the advertising industry and more importantly, learn what they must do to advance within the industry. Camp participants will also be competing for 10 available six-week internships at high profile agencies across the country that will start immediately after the boot camp. CEA’s HBCU Advertising Boot Camp will be June 7 – 18, 2009 on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C.

“We have received a great deal of industry support from agencies representing the four major holding groups, Interpublic, Omnicom, Publicis and WPP,” said Adrianne C. Smith, CEA Executive Director. “Industry groups and executives like the Roundtable of Advertising Diversity Executives (RADE) and Connie Frazier from the American Advertising Federation have been playing very active roles in CEA’s curriculum development as well as helping us find subject matter experts to help teach some of our modules.”

The American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A’s) has committed to funding CEA for a second year. The 4A’s Board of Directors once again agreed to fund CEA with a grant amount of $250,000. According to David Prince, Senior Vice President, Talent Development, it was important for the 4A’s to support CEA to show the industry “…in a down economy you don’t completely stop spending, you prioritize. Diversity in middle and senior management is a high priority for us.”

“CEA needs the support of both agencies and their clients to guarantee the success and credibility of our program” said Dr. Jannette L. Dates, Dean John H. Johnson School of Communications. “CEA was created to become the advertising industries certified talent resource and pipeline for people of color. The goal of CEA is to be the preeminent training facility for individuals who are interested in advancing their career in the advertising industry. CEA will also help to identify and address challenges, eliminate barriers and identify opportunities to achieve a more diverse and inclusive advertising industry workforce at middle to senior management levels.”

For more information and ways to support the Center for Excellence in Advertising at Howard University visit www.ceahoward.org or call 202-865-8354.