Groundbreaking free portfolio school for Black creatives has goal of bringing diversity to advertising industry
DAYTON, Ohio, March 25, 2021 — TriComB2B, a national agency focused on business-to-business (B2B) marketing of technical products and services, announced today it is a sponsor of the ONE School, a free portfolio program for Black creatives. Backed by The One Club for Creativity, the ONE School collaboration is a concerted effort to help diversify the advertising industry.
TriComB2B will be part of the ONE School’s Midwest program. As the first Dayton-based agency sponsor, TriComB2B joins other advertising agency sponsors, including Curiosity Agency, Burrell Communications, BBDO, Leo Burnett, The Martin Agency, and many more.
The ONE School, founded by Oriel Davis-Lyons, creative director at Spotify, helps to overcome the high cost barrier of U.S. portfolio schools for creatives of color. In the program, the briefs are written by Black strategists and taught by Black tutors and lecturers, while students are paired with Black mentors within the industry. The goal is to help students build a portfolio that is both creatively excellent and authentic. In addition to putting their books together, the ONE School helps Black students to navigate the industry. Tutors and mentors provide an open forum to discuss important issues of culture and instill personal confidence.
“The events of this past year have brought systemic bias to the forefront and have reinforced the fact that we need to bring more diversity and opportunity to the advertising industry,” said John Buscemi, principal at TriComB2B. “With only 11 percent of industry jobs filled by minority ethnic people, there is a lot of work to be done. Our employees were vocal about wanting to take action and were instrumental in identifying ONE School as one of the ways we can help to affect change. The ONE School’s vision for affecting systemic bias in the advertising hiring processes and in addressing the prohibitive costs of a two-year portfolio school is already making a difference. We are so excited that we, alongside some of the biggest names in our industry, can be a part of it by sponsoring a student.”
Each semester, 15 students who have not previously attended an ad school are accepted in one of four schools (New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Chicago) for the 16-week program. Applicants are accepted based on creativity, passion and commitment so as not to discourage those with no prior knowledge of advertising. The ONE School launched last September, and this spring there are 60 students in the program. The students will have their portfolios reviewed by sponsor agencies and brands, who will have first opportunities to hire the students. Those applicants who are not accepted into the program are placed by the One Club in mentorships with sponsor agencies, such as TriComB2B.
About TriComB2B
TriComB2B is a full-service agency that provides strategic marketing and communications to a worldwide client base of technical and industrial businesses. TriComB2B has been recognized as a Top 25 U.S. B2B marcomm agency and one of the Top 15 fastest-growing B2B marcomm agencies in the U.S. by B2B Marketing; a Best Place to Work by the Dayton Business Journal; and a B2B Top 200 Agency by Chief Marketer. TriComB2B was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Dayton, Ohio. To learn more, visit TriComB2B.com.
About The One Club for Creativity
The One Club for Creativity, producer of The One Show, ADC Annual Awards and Creative Week, is the world’s foremost nonprofit organization whose mission is to support and celebrate the success of the global creative community. The One Show is a top global awards show for advertising, design and digital marketing, focusing on the creativity of ideas and quality of execution. The global ADC Annual Awards honors creative excellence in craft, design and innovation across all disciplines. Creative Week takes place in New York every May, and is the preeminent festival celebrating the intersection of advertising and the arts. To learn more, visit www.oneclub.org.
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Media contact Michelle Crawley, public relations director
937.890.5311
Michelle.Crawley@TriComB2B.com