The BrandLab, Preston Spire partner for year-long in-office residency

Meet our new office mates — The BrandLab! The BrandLab is an incredible non-profit that started in Minneapolis with the mission to change the face and voice of the marketing and advertising industry by introducing, guiding and preparing students of color for careers in marketing and advertising.

They’ll be sharing office space with us this year and in just the first few months of cohabitation, here are the top five things we’ve learned:

1. Since 2009, The BrandLab has worked with over 6,000 students across the Twin Cities and Kansas City.
2. Founded in the Twin Cities, The BrandLab also works with students in Kansas City and starting this summer in Milwaukee. 
3. The BrandLab’s core pillars are directly correlated to the programs they offer:
   1. Exposure: The BrandLab meets high school and college students in the classroom, sharing innovative, experiential curriculum for students to learn about marketing and advertising careers.
   2. Access: Paid internship program that provides students with training and coaching led by industry professionals to support and guide their career path.
   3. Opportunity: The College and Beyond program provides thousands of dollars in college scholarships, ongoing mentorship and training sessions, and leadership opportunities for talent hungry for more experience as they approach full time employment.
   4. Equity: The Fearless program–a combination of workshops, events, and a podcast– enable workplaces to focus on how they can reduce bias and create more equitable and inclusive spaces for talent of color to thrive.
4. The team has a shared fondness for peanut butter pretzels and recently introduced us to Trader Joe’s chocolate covered peanut butter pretzels.
5. In 2021, The BrandLab unveiled its newest program – ​​LabFellows – an 8-month fellowship program providing participants hands-on experience working on real brands (the inaugural cohort worked with Best Buy, Optum, Essence, and Wunderman Thompson).