Venice ad agency 72andSunny LLC can’t find the kinds of workers it wants. So it has started a “university” to produce them – complete with tuition.
Called 72U, the school will accept 10 to 12 students every year. Each student must pay $10,000 for the 10-month program.
John Boiler, a partner at 72andSunny who’s in charge of the school, said today’s ad business needs creative minds that aren’t pigeonholed into one discipline such as copywriting or brand strategy. So Boiler will recruit students who’ve been business consultants, entrepreneurs, computer programmers and fine artists.
“In the seven years since we started the agency, we’ve found some great people to hire but it’s been tough (to find creative people with the right skills), so we decided to train our own,” he said.
The agency employs about 150 people, up from 52 in 2009.
The 72U curriculum will include class sessions, group projects and real work for the firm’s clients such as video game studio Activision Inc., shoe manufacturer K-Swiss Inc., fashion retail chain Pacific Sunwear Inc. and BlackBerry-maker Research in Motion Ltd.
The teachers are Geoff McGann, a former advertising instructor at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, and Kelly Schoeffel, a strategy director at 72andSunny who holds a doctorate in social psychology from Harvard University.
The goal is that upon graduation the students will work at 72andSunny. But Boiler realizes everyone won’t pursue that path and he is prepared to help graduates find work at competing agencies and mentor them during their career.
“It’s a kind of pact we’re entering into with these people,” he said. “The success of 72U will be judged on the success of the individual students.”
Despite the tuition, Boiler said the education business will be a money-loser for the agency, at least initially. The payoff will come in a few years if a brilliant 72U alumnus creates a memorable ad campaign for one of the agency’s clients.
“So as long as we’re investing, we want to make sure we’re investing in the right people,” Boiler said.
