“The future is not some place we are going to,
but one we are creating. The paths are not to be found,
but made, and the activity of making them
changes both the maker and the destination.”
-John Schaar
Marketable Creativity (MC) is a new organization devoted to helping realize a more inclusive and diverse advertising/marketing/technology/design industry workforce.
Talented young men and women who are crazy for big ideas, in love with problem solving, infatuated with strategy, excited about making meaningful connections, and hungry to unveil the next new thing.
Source: 2010 Job Patterns for Minorities and Women in Private Industry (EEO-1)
Marketable Creativity is a nonprofit organization (501c3) committed to increasing an awareness of creative career fields in culturally, racially, and ethnically diverse students in grades 6 thru 9––career paths requiring both cognitive and aesthetic creative ability such as those found in Advertising & Marketing, Tech, and Industrial Design.
By extension, Marketable Creativity also aims to increase the participation and retention of a diverse workforce in these creative career fields.
It's in the numbers, the census numbers to be exact. The browning of America is now. Roughly 1 in 3 people in the United States today belongs to a racial or ethnic minority group. By 2020, minorities are expected to account for 40% of the population. But it’s America’s youth population that is leading the way to our becoming a majority-minority society. In 2009, 43% of children in the United States aged 19 and younger were non-white.
Diversity of thought, backgrounds and experiences are essential to unearthing the best solutions. A depth and breadth of perspectives, however, is even more important when ideas are your competitive lifeblood.
A racially and ethnically transformed marketplace will require efforts that resonate more deeply with greater relevance and cultural sensitivity. Representation and inclusion of diverse talent will help achieve this. Plus, it will also provide a more direct line to leading purveyors of pop culture.
The primary focus of Marketable Creativity is to fill the pipeline with qualified multicultural candidates, thereby silencing the oft-heard lament, “I can’t find them.” We will also work to help recruit and retain talented multicultural candidates.
Nope, they’re setting their sights on other careers—Finance, Law, Education, Communications, Engineering, Psychology. These fields and others are what these young men and women will be earnestly studying in college when we attempt to persuade them to consider Advertising.
Students of color don’t pursue Advertising & Marketing primarily because they don’t know it exists as a career choice. College isn’t necessarily the ideal time to make the introduction. Marketable Creativity will drive awareness and fuel interest in Advertising & Marketing as early as 6th grade.
Marketable Creativity will be the only organization of its kind with a national reach. It will cast a wide net with flagship chapters in New York and Los Angeles, followed by many satellite chapters in key cities across the country.
Marketable Creativity will go beyond our borders to expand and frame creativity within a global context. Students will be exposed to advertising campaigns, design, art and culture, and more from around the world and will occasionally have the opportunity to connect with industry professionals and students from other countries.
Marketable Creativity (MC) will nurture middle and junior high school students and stay connected throughout high school and college. Marketable Creativity will offer many enrichment activities and opportunities for students to network and develop relationships with peers and professionals. Industry partnerships will allow Marketable Creativity to offer summer internships and scholarships for exceptional MC members. Ultimately, MC will assist with recruitment opportunities for full-time employment.
World of Work Preparedness Workshops (along with MC peer relationships, mentors, and internships) will ease school-to-work transitions and help companies retain what are sure to become highly sought-after MC alum. Marketable Creativity will connect with parents too. We’ll introduce these important influencers to the possibilities of careers in Advertising & Marketing.
So if you’re crazy for big game-changing ideas, fanatical about staying on top and out front, radical about smart transformations, then join us in our commitment to advance meaningful change in the industry we all love. To learn more about Marketable Creativity and opportunities for partnership and/or program sponsorship, contact us.
