Advertising Summer Camp for High School Students: A Recruitment Tool for Industry Diversity

AbstractThe U.S. advertising industry has long struggled to recruit ethnic minorities and other underrepresented groups to its work force. In addition, working in the technology sector and entrepreneurship have become increasingly more desirable options for minority candidates, attracting younger and creative talent that once considered advertising a viable career choice. Efforts from the advertising community and academics could help to recruit younger candidates before they have solidified their impressions of the job market or early in their undergraduate careers. This paper analyzes the shifting industry landscape and recruitment efforts and provides a case study of the American Advertising Federation (AAF) AdCamp as one potential solution to the challenges of recruiting minority candidates to advertising. Additionally, the paper provides teaching techniques and implementation suggestions whereby professors and universities can create their own own advertising "camps" to increase interest and diversity in the industry.Recruiting students, particularly minority students, interested in advertising and related careers is a challenging goal for many university advertising programs. According to the 2012 Annual Survey of Journalism and Mass Communication Enrollments, student numbers declined over the last two years in journalism and mass communication programs (Vlad, Becker, Simpson & Kalpen, 2012), while enrollments in the specialized programs of advertising and public relations showed gains.In an attempt to raise interest among students to consider studying advertising at the college level and interest diem in joining the advertising workforce, the American Advertising Federation (AAF) developed a summer program for high school students called AdCamp. The program is cunently based at three college campuses: Howard University, Columbia College and The City College of New York/ CUNY. This article presents the AdCamp concept as an example of an initiative that serves as both a recruitment tool for college programs in advertising, public relations and communications, as well as a means to increase diversity and funnel new talent into the advertising industry. Additionally, the article will provide suggestions on how such programs can be adapted for use in other universities.Review of the LiteratureHigh school may not seem like fertile recruitment ground for human resource executives in the advertising field, but evidence shows that industry outreach efforts must begin to target a younger, more diverse demographic in order to cultivate and sustain a dynamic workforce. Today's high school students, most often labeled as "Generation Z" (frequently classified as those bom between mid-1990s and 2010), are in or entering high school and documented as being different than their Generation Y/millennial older siblings. This generation is composed of 24/7 tech-fluent digital natives who have grown up with smartphones, constant digital multitasking cross-platforms, and swiping for "Google it" answers. Also, a recent study by Millennial Branding, a research and consulting firm, and Memships.com, found that today's high school students have more Merest in entrepreneurial opportunities than college students, and many are Merested in obtaining Memships so they can gain new skills, network opportunities and practical work experience (Salpeter, 2014). Additionally, according to Harris Interactive, nearly 40 percent of Generation Z members would like to start their own business someday (Harris Interactive, 2010, p. 13).In this environment, entrepreneurially minded young people often view the advertising industry as less innovative and appealing. Tech-driven companies and startups can be seen as "more creative" according to Nancy Hill, president and CEO of the American Association of Advertising Agencies (Hill, 2012). Indeed, Deutsch L.A.'s study for the American Association of Advertising Agencies (the "4A's") titled "Ending the Agency Talent Rotisserie" found 65 percent of study participants stating "the most creative person they know isn't in advertising" (4A's Bulletin, 2012). …