America’s got talent, and the ANA is helping to recruit it

The ANA in the US has launched a campaign in partnership with the digital platform WayUp in order to attract diverse and talented students to the marketing industry. The ‘Best Jobs Ever’ campaign and job board will connect university students to a network of marketers and allow access to summer internships and entry-level roles at companies such as Sephora, IBM, Mastercard, Verizon, McCann, the Ad Council, Publicis Media, R/GA and Nasdaq.

Accompanying this campaign is a video created by McCann Worldgroup celebrating the creativity involved in marketing careers. It showcases marketing’s broad and varied applications in everything from creating Spotify playlists using data and analytics to “developing tech that makes adulting easier”.

Recent ANA reports have sought to identify factors influencing the epidemic talent void in the industry. The study found that “students are unclear what defines a career in marketing or advertising and are unsure it constitutes meaningful work”, while ad agencies and marketers are frustrated by “trying to understand the student mindset and find many recent graduates unprepared to enter the workplace.” A further report in October revealed that the ANA’s client-side membership is “significantly female (68%) and white (75%)”, so ‘Best Jobs Ever’ also represents a drive to diversify the marketing workforce.

ANA CEO Bob Liodice stated: “Top-quality talent is the lifeblood of our industry, but the current system for attracting and retaining talent isn’t working, and we need to take immediate action […] This campaign demonstrates just how creative, innovative, and powerful a career in marketing can be, and I urge all ANA members to support it in whatever way they can.”

Materials will not only be provided on the student side, however. In addition, marketers and prospective employers will be able to find resources on the ANA Educational Foundation’s website to help them to communicate their role when presenting on campuses and via the job board.

For more information, please contact the ANA.