A newly formed partnership relies on Ohio State students to improve black representation in marketing.

A newly formed partnership relies on Ohio State students to improve black representation in marketing.

Ohio State’s Black Advertising Strategic Communication Association and The Shipyard, a Columbus-based marketing agency, have partnered for the past two years to create internship and job opportunities for black students. Over the next five years, The Shipyard CEO Rick Milenthal hopes to hire 40 to 50 additional interns.

Richard Dixon, who was fourth year in marketing and intern at The Shipyard this summer, said that black voices matter in advertising agencies and that black life is many aspects of the marketplace.

“Black lives, black dollars, black experiences – if they want our money, they have to be able to market us. We don’t often fit into the lens that white people imagine. You have to study and research, ”said Dixon. “You need us in these offices, rooms, boards, jobs and careers.”

Milenthal said agencies need to diversify their workforce to speak to all of America, not just part of it.

“I’m not thinking better than anyone on this issue, that’s why we need changes,” said Milenthal. “It’s foolish to pretend there’s no bias from all of us – it’s not realistic. So diversifying an agency makes it much better for an agency to change that perspective. ”

According to the Association of National Advertisers, 3 percent of chief marketing officers and equivalents are black, 88 percent white, 5 percent Asian, and 4 percent Hispanic. Osei Appiah, BASCA faculty advisor, said it is vital to bring people with the colored work experience necessary to acquire entry-level jobs such as internships.

Although BASCA currently works exclusively with The Shipyard, Appiah hopes to expand the internship program. He said he wanted to include additional locations and other companies to take the lead. He said BASCA was negotiating with a few other local companies, including Paul Werth Associates, a PR and marketing agency in Columbus.

Appiah founded BASCA in 2012 to create a partnership between students, faculty and professionals. Appiah said he worked with Milenthal to find ways to diversify advertising agencies across the country, including through the internship program launched at The Shipyard in the summer of 2020.

Appiah said Milenthal also tried to make a real change in the realm of systemic racism for black students following the assassination of George Floyd.

Jelani Gibson, associate strategist at The Shipyard and an Ohio State 2021 graduate, said representing blacks in advertising agencies was critical and beneficial to the business.

“At the end of the day, America is a melting pot. Black people were part of America from the start, ”Gibson said. “This is extremely important because if blacks are not in these industries, companies lack an important demographic, an important audience, and they put themselves at risk of offending not only blacks but people of other races and ethnicities as well. ”

Milenthal said he was proud of what The Shipyard is doing and hoped to continue pushing for changes in how businesses diversify.

“These young people are a gift to us and they are a gift to the industry. You just need a little help cultivating business connections and getting to know the business world, ”said Milenthal. “It will matter to our customers, and it will depend on how effective we are. It will be important for these young professionals to grow into great leaders in our industry. “