Page 19 - Diversity Report for the Advertising/Marketing Industry

VERIZON’S DIVERSITY INITIATIVES

The first year of the program, with 19 participants, was an immense success, with Verizon and
its agencies achieving a 90 percent placement rate for full-time positions for the Fellows (the initial
goal for the program). And in internal interviews, the AdFellows mentioned that they experienced
both professional and personal growth, revealing that the program has helped prepare them for
the real world and the fast-paced, rapidly evolving marketing industry.

Due to the success of the first year of AdFellows, Verizon and its agencies have pledged even
more resources to expand the program. Now in its second year, the class size has grown to
30 Fellows and two additional agency partners have joined the ranks. The program has also
expanded geographically to Miami.

The long-term goal is for the AdFellows program to be adopted and operated independently by
companies nationwide with the mission of building a more inclusive marketing industry at large.
Verizon also created an AdFellows program template for other companies to use free of cost to
create their own AdFellows programs.

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