Article courtesy of the Star Tribune
Best Buy, UnitedHealth Group’s Optum unit and marketing firm Wunderman Thompson have pledged $1 million to launch a paid fellowship program with the BrandLab that will train college graduates and help diversify the marketing and advertising industries.
The three-year LabFellows partnership announced Monday will be run by the Minneapolis-based nonprofit BrandLab. It will start in the spring with 16 marketing fellows who will rotate through eight-month internships at the three companies.
The first year will also involve a stint at the media agency Essence, a division of the British-owned advertising firm WPP.
BrandLab officials said their partners have a shared commitment to boost equity, inclusion and diversity within their organizations. The fellowship comes at a time when corporate marketing departments and advertising agencies nationwide have acknowledged that people of color are severely underrepresented in their ranks.
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