This summer we are excited to launch an Introduction to Digital Marketing Internship Program for our growing Youth, Arts and Media Team. This new pilot program is designed to provide arts and culture sector mentorship opportunities, foundational knowledge and hands-on experience. It’s a fun and exciting way to introduce and explore career pathways in marketing, communications, media, and advertising.
The primary objective of this mentorship program is to introduce emerging artists and cultural connectors to the fundamentals of digital marketing and to equip them with essential skills for success in the industry. Additionally, the program aims to provide real world internships with insights into various career pathways available in arts marketing, communications, media, and advertising fields.
This special program is made possible with funding from Agriculture Canada and the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy (YESS). The YESS program is a horizontal Government of Canada initiative led by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) and delivered in partnership with 11 federal departments, agencies, and Crown Corporations.
Local and Regional Collaboration
The Youth, Arts, and Media Team is also actively involved in the Niriqatiginnga program’s upcoming Youth Food Development Project. This innovative initiative works with urban and newly-urban Indigenous youth to explore entrepreneurship opportunities in the food sector while honing their skills in arts, entrepreneurship, and digital media literacy.
Throughout the project, youth emerging artists, entrepreneurs and community members engage in hands-on activities to design, market, and sell a special edition line of homemade jams for the fall and holiday season. From conceptualizing fruit and berry combinations to conducting surveys to gauge interest, participants will gain valuable insights into food sector entrepreneurship. As well, they are introduced to the creative process of designing labels and content that captivate audiences and convey essential information about their products.
Funded by Manitoba Agriculture and the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership, Niriqatiginnga not only provides comprehensive training and exposure to various roles in food sector entrepreneurship but also emphasizes the development of life, career, and job skills. Through partnerships with established mentors in the arts and food industries, youth gain invaluable mentorship and guidance, contributing to their growth as entrepreneurs and advocates for food security.
Some of the activities will be exploring this summer will include:
Early Career Pathway Exploration: Throughout the program, interns will have opportunities to explore various career pathways in non-profit marketing, communications, media, and advertising. As a sectoral capacity building initiative, the project team will engage in discussions, workshops, and guest speaker sessions focused on introducing different career options, exploring industry trends, and professional development opportunities.
Introducing Observation and Data Analysis: Youth Media Team members will discover the concept of observation in digital communications, marketing and advertising, as well as its role in collecting and analyzing data on audience behavior. They will learn how to set up observation features to monitor audience engagement and campaign performance. They will also learn to analyze observation data to extract actionable insights and inform strategic decision-making for non-profit marketing and advertising campaigns.
Understanding Audience Segmentation: Members of the project team will learn the importance of audience segmentation in digital communications and non-profit marketing and how it can influence campaign targeting and messaging. They will explore different types of audience segmentation techniques, such as demographics, interests, behaviors, and affinities. Through interactive discussions, cross-sectoral dialogues and case studies, youth, volunteers and board members will gain insights into how audience segmentation can be applied to create more effective campaigns for nonprofit organizations.
Implementing Targeting Strategies: Activities this summer will see youth artists learning how to create targeted advertising campaigns using in-market audiences, custom intent audiences, demographic targeting, and remarketing lists. Through hands-on exercises and guided simulations, interns will gain practical experience in setting up targeting strategies and optimizing campaign targeting settings. The project team will also be introduced to the use of automation, artificial intelligence (AI) and related tools and technologies as part of their digital media and technology literacy skills development.
The Youth, Arts and Media project will also focus on optimizing campaign performance through data-driven strategies and continuous refinement. They will learn how to analyze campaign performance metrics, identify areas for improvement, and implement optimization tactics to maximize ROI. Media and financial literacy activities will see collaboration on real-world advertising campaigns with industry, applying their newly acquired skills to optimize a campaign’s performance, and to achieve and communicate measurable results and outcomes. For these activities, youth will receive guidance and resources to help them identify and pursue their interests within the diverse and dynamic fields of marketing, communications, media, and advertising.
Click here to connect with the project and to learn how you can support this innovative and emergent youth-driven program.
