4A’s Foundation And Spotify Launch Collaborative Fellowship To Uplift Black Creatives
As the ad industry continues to grapple with how to amend the talent pipeline and retain diverse employees, the 4A’s Foundation believes that real progress will come when disconnected, one-off initiatives become collaborative long-term projects.
This is the inspiration behind the foundation’s latest fellowship, which was created to elevate those who, according to 4A’s program manager Geraldine Mpetey, have their finger on the pulse of culture: Black creatives.
4A’s is looking for four fellows to enroll in Spotify Pulse, a year-long creative development program for Black professionals with one to three years of professional experience in the ad industry. Each enrollee will be compensated with a $65,000 salary, and candidates must be alumni of the Multicultural Advertising Intern Program (MAIP), The Marcus Graham Project, The One School or D&AD.
“We recognize there are people who are doing great work around building pipelines,” said Geraldine Mpetey, program manager at 4A’s. “We all have this goal of building a bridge for achievement, and we want to continue the work that’s already being done.”
Spotify has established a previous relationship with 4A’s through working on programs like MAIP. The brand approached the non-profit with a grant of just under $1.5 million to source fellows, manage the curriculum and build out the internal fellowship program, according to Simon Fenwick, evp of Talent Equity and Inclusion at 4A’s.
Fellows will have the opportunity to work in departments like art direction, copywriting and visual brand design, and each fellow will also be paired with a member of the Spotify C-suite.
“We really want to prepare Black creatives and make sure they feel confident stepping into this industry,” said Mpetey. “We want to show them how to illustrate the Black experience and advocate for themselves.”
Demanding more from brands
According to Fenwick, Spotify Pulse signals to the industry that in order to move the needle when it come to diversity and inclusion, agencies and brands must combine forces in launching initiatives. Most of the onus, said Fenwick, has historically laid in the agency’s hands.
“There’s a lot of pressure on agencies to have diversity within their organizations and create diverse work,” he said. “We’re adding to that by asking what brands are doing too. We can’t sit in silos, and the program really proves that we can make progress with partnerships.”
4A’s hopes Spotify Pulse encourages more brands to work with their agencies to create programs that diversify the talent pipeline, and the non-profit would also like to welcome new partners down the road.
“The 4A’s foundation is capable of doing this with any brand, and we welcome that opportunity,” he said.
