Five attend Publicis Media conference, report on sessions
Five Media School students attended the 2016 Multicultural Talent Pipeline hosted by Publicis Media Sept. 29 in New York City.
The Multicultural Talent Pipeline is an annual one-day conference aiming to provide opportunities to multicultural students in the media, marketing and advertising industries. The program provides students with perspectives from current professionals on key areas, including strategy, analytics and branding.
Tierra Brown, Noni Ford, Erin Powell, Tony Pringley and Hannah Thomas were selected by Publicis Media to attend the event. The students viewed panels, attended workshops and networked with other students and professionals. After the conference, they wrote about their experiences.
Making connections
By Erin Powell
On Wednesday night of the Multicultural Talent Pipeline, we headed down to the Mediavest l Spark building off Broadway in New York City. Once we were checked in, we went to an atrium that overlooked Times Square. We had appetizers and light beverages as we took NYC into our little Hoosier hearts.
While we were there, we networked with young professionals in the media buying, planning and strategic communication fields. Publicis Media recruiters introduced themselves to students and explained the internship program.
After about an hour, we were directed to a small conference room where a panel of multicultural professionals discussed their experiences in the industries. The panel included Xica Andrews and Tomas Martinez, who are associate media directors at Starcom, and Ashok Sinha who is a senior vice president of corporate communications at Starcom. All of them had started out in small agencies, but had made it to a large company by networking and teaching themselves different trades of media and parts of the advertising industry.
Lessons on success
By Tony Pringley
On Thursday morning, we headed to the official offices of Publicis Groupe for a day full of panels and networking. We started the morning off with a yummy catered breakfast and began to take our seats for a fun filled day of advice and knowledge.
Of all of the panels, the one that stood out to me was the “Black Execs in Media and Technology.” It was filled with beyond successful and driven black execs, including Danielle Lee, a vice president of at Spotify; Alvin Bowles, head of global publishing sales and operations of Facebook; and Navarrow Wright, vice president of engineering at Reelio.
The execs started their discussion by emphasizing the importance of not just having a mentor but having an advocate. They explained that most of the decision making and conversations about hiring and new employees happen when you are not in the room. Therefore, it is essential that you have someone in a higher up position advocating and talking you “up” when you are not around.
The business of millennials
By Noni Ford
This panel was the third of the day at the Publicis Media Multicultural Pipeline conference, and it was one that appealed to so many of us as it had a focus on business professionals closer to our age talking about their experiences and the lessons they’d learned in their careers.
One of the youngest panelists, Tashi Nyima of Mediavest/Spark, had graduated from college only five months ago and already worked at a successful ad agency.
All panelists reflected on how their can-do attitude helped them grow in their companies because an ability to take chances and risks were seen as benefits as it showed their passion to learn and grow on the job.
During the discussion, the concept or idea of millennials came up and though the term has been used to describe less than flattering characteristics, the panelists chose a positive spin. Being millennials means that people expect us to do things differently, and we’re given the opportunity to be more creative and innovative in our tasks. One of the speakers capitalized on the fact that millennials “work smarter, not harder.”
Shifting focus
By Tierra Brown
After attending the 2016 Multicultural Talent Pipeline hosted by Publicis Media in New York, I have decided to change my career path completely. The experience convinced me to pursue a career in advertising, but I still want to combine it with journalism.
After the Black Execs in Media & Technology panel, I found Kedma Brown, a senior vice president of ROAR Groupe, whose position is one I admire. We discussed what kind of career I was interested in, and she informed me that her position isn’t exactly what I was looking for. She did guide me in a different direction to a company that has positions that I was looking for. I also learned about the different positions within advertising, the internships Publicis offers, and the opportunity the company gives their employees to rotate to different assignments and clients to gain a plethora of experience.
After attending the workshop, “What do you look for in new hires?”, I left with three things in mind. Publicis Media is looking for millennials who are go-getters, unafraid of change and who can wear multiple hats.