Omnicom agency Hearts & Science has launched an education programme for rising stars among its media owner partners.
Access All Agency seeks to help media owners better understand how agencies work in order to improve collaboration.
Thirty participants from companies including ITV, Reach, JCDeceaux, Global and Google are taking part in the inaugural initiative. They were nominated by senior leadership at the partaking media owners and have all worked in the industry for less than five years.
The programme comprises six full-day sessions running from September to December, with the goal of providing participants a deeper understanding of a media agency’s operations.
Sessions will focus on different business functions, including client experience, planning/strategy and data/effectiveness.
Importantly, participants will also get the opportunity to respond to a live client brief, providing them with a practical challenge to apply their learning.
Direct mentorship
The rising stars will have access to Hearts & Science’s executive committee and receive direct mentorship from the agency’s senior leadership team.
Tom Cornell, Hearts & Science UK’s chief investment officer, told The Media Leader: “We really do mean it when we say Access All Agency — we felt it was important that participants should be able to meet everyone at Hearts. That means at all levels and across all specialisms.”
Executives who will be part of the initiative include Cornell, CEO Garrett O’Reilly, managing director Rachel Peace and chief strategy officer Simon Carr.
“We pride ourselves on our future-facing approach to client work and this extends to nurturing partnerships with media owners across the industry,” Cornell continued.
“With Access All Agency, we are setting the stage for rising stars at partner media owners to not only gain valuable insights, but also forge lasting and deep connections across the industry.
“This initiative opens up a vital pathway for sharing expertise and enhancing collaboration within our partnership network and I am delighted to see this initiative get under way.”
Mark Trinder, director of commercial sales and partnerships at ITV, added: “An agency initiative like this is long overdue in the sector. By immersing our young talent in the agency world, we’re investing in their growth and equipping them with invaluable industry insights from the other side of the fence.
“Access All Agency is going to be crucial for developing the next generation of specialists and leaders, while strengthening our partnership with Hearts.”
The programme will culminate in a “graduation ceremony” in the new year to celebrate participants’ efforts, Cornell added.
