Many local companies have become involved in a bold experiment that aims to introduce minority and low-income high school students in the Twin Cities to the field of marketing. The experiment is a diversity program called BrandLab, and its mission is to influence such students to make marketing a career. BrandLab garnered national attention when Advertising Age wrote about it on Monday.

More than a dozen local companies have poured money into BrandLab-including Target, General Mills, 3M, Best Buy, Land O'Lakes, Schwan Food Company, Imation, and Medtronic. Some local ad agencies-including Olson, Fallon, Carmichael Lynch, Larsen, and Colle + McVoy-have provided guest lecturers and hosted field trips.

The program aims to reach nearly 300 students at 10 Twin Cities schools this year and hopes to expand to 50 cities within the next five years.

To read more in Advertising Age, click here.

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