ONE Creator Lab Inaugural Graduates Trained to Work at Agencies and Brands

NEW YORK — In a concrete step to help the ad industry fill a critical talent need, The One Club for Creativity, in partnership with TikTok, has graduated the inaugural class of 22 students from its ground-breaking ONE Creator Lab, an intensive, free 20-week training program that bridges the gap between creators and creative teams at agencies and brands.

The program, with hybrid classes in New York and Los Angeles, launched last fall to teach diverse creators the advertising fundamentals and skills they need to land jobs at agencies and brands.  It’s also designed to help agencies and brands who find it difficult to attract this new breed of creator talent who can quickly produce effective branded content across media platforms that’s relevant to the current social conversation.  

Creator demand to be part of the first cohort last fall was overwhelming, with 772 applications received for only 22 available slots.  

Sessions were led by 20 instructors, including top creatives in New York at Dentsu Creative, Ogilvy, and VML, and in Los Angeles at ATTN:, Day One Agency, Deutsch LA, and Whalar.  Students spent two days per week meeting online with instructors and mentors, and one day presenting their work and receiving feedback.  

Students worked on real-world assignments and presented their ideas and prototypes to instructors and peers for feedback.  Course topics included making short-form video first campaigns, developing your personal voice, and how to work with creative teams at brands and agencies.

In keeping with The One Club’s long-running DEI focus, 77% of the first group of grads are from marginalized communities, including but not limited to disability, gender identity, racial or ethnic backgrounds, and sexual orientation.

“Pivoting into new career opportunities, especially within the fast changing world of social media, can feel daunting no matter your age or background,” added LA-based creator Ben Rhinesmith.  “ONE Creator Lab came along at a time when I was searching for guidance, and the experience to work with the best minds in marketing and advertising who have embraced social content as their new creative canvas has been truly invaluable.”

“When I first signed up for One Creator Lab, I had no idea what I was getting into,” added Jamar Rogers, based in Los Angeles.  “But after we started learning how to ideate and put decks together, I realized that I was really into learning how to bridge content creation with advertising.”

Program background

After collaborating with founding partner TikTok and 160 creative industry subject matter experts from around the world to identify the skills and capabilities critical to emerging creators roles at agencies and brands, The One Club developed a first-of-its-kind curriculum in the form of supplemental learning content focused on advertising and digital marketing fundamentals. 

"At TikTok, we recognize the important roles that creative teams and creators play in developing brand campaigns, and we're always looking for ways to continue to empower our partners to collaborate with creators on branded content,” said Krystle Watler, Head of Creative Agency Partnerships NA, TikTok.

“Partnering with The One Club for the ONE Creator Lab provided the perfect opportunity to offer equitable chances for creators while enabling brands and agencies to build a pipeline of emerging talent fluent on the platforms that influence culture,” she added.  “Their team's belief that 'stagnation is the enemy of creative' felt like the right approach to help empower the industry to meet the needs of modern marketing."

Target applicants for ONE Creator Lab already create their own personal content but struggle to grow their audience and meet potential brand sponsors, often leading to burnout.  The program offers them a potential new career path opportunity: studies reveal only about 12% of creators producing content independently full-time make more than $50,000 per year, and most are not aware of alternative career opportunities available on creative teams at brands and agencies.  

In addition, independent creators typically don’t have the time (two-to-six years) and financial resources ($40,000 or more) to attend traditional ad schools, many of which haven’t fully adapted their curriculum to fit the new digital ecosystem.  

Graduates gained the skill sets needed to develop a professional portfolio to interview for entry-level roles, apprenticeship, and paid internship opportunities at agencies and brands, as well as do freelance work.  Allies in Recruiting (AIR), part of The One Club, provided mentorship on developing a professional brand, portfolio and interviewing skills.  

“In addition to working through technical discussions and creative briefs, my favorite component of ONE Creator Lab is the community,” said Chayanne Joël, a creator based in New York.  “I've met many talented people in my class and received direct feedback on my work from authorities in the creative agency space.  It's been a pleasure growing my professional network and joining a community of like-minded creators.”

By offering a two-way learning model, agency partners discovered mutual value in the exchange, learning as much from the creators as the creator students did from them. 

Bridget Jewell, ECD at Dentsu Creative and a member of the TikTok Creative Council, explained how creators have to be copywriters and art directors, photographers, editors and talent, combining the skills of many other creatives all at the same time. 

“Yet our industry undervalues their contributions and doesn’t effectively train creators to work in an agency environment,” Jewell said.  “Our partnership with ONE Creator Lab was purpose-built to change that situation.  We see creators as an important part of the future of creativity, and are excited to see the rest of the industry take notice and start to make change.”

“Our agency is dedicated to liberating the creative voice and committed to supporting initiatives that allow us to channel that mission into action. One Creator Lab is just that,” added Neil Waller, cofounder at Whalar.  “It provides a platform to help guide creators with the skills to grow their careers and navigate the evolving advertising landscape.  The students provided remarkable displays of creativity, engagement each week, and asked insightful questions.  We're honored to have played a part in the creator's journey, and can't wait to see what they accomplish in the ever-changing creator economy."

The One Club CEO Kevin Swanepoel points to ONE Creator Lab as the latest example of the nonprofit organization’s mission to support the global creative community.

“The program addresses an urgent need of agencies and brands, and opens the door to a new career path for creators,” he said.  “It’s a win-win, and aligns with our DEI focus to help make the industry more diverse.  We congratulate the new graduates, thank TikTok and the agencies who supported this first cohort, and look forward to expanding the program moving forward.”

ONE Creator Lab is led by Jerrod New, program director, and Melanie Sejdic, program manager, with support of Molly Crossin, The One Club chief growth officer, who oversaw the agency and brand partnerships.

The next ONE Creator Lab cohort kicks off on April  2, featuring an updated 16-week curriculum in New York and Los Angeles.  

Program branding was created by COLLINS New York, and the initial Fall 2023 recruitment launch was supported by a campaign created by R/GA.

ONE Creator Lab follows on the success of ONE School, The One Club’s groundbreaking free portfolio program for Black creatives that, in just its third year, has a 72% hire rate at 147 agencies and brands for its 224 grads, 60% of whom are women.

The One Club for Creativity – home of The One Show, ADC Annual Awards, Art Directors Club of Europe (ADCE) awards, ONE Asia Awards, Type Directors Club and competition, TDC Ascenders, Young Guns, Young Ones Student Awards, Next Creative Leaders, ONE Screen Short Film Festival, and more – is the world’s foremost non-profit organization whose mission is to support and celebrate the global creative community.  Revenue generated from entries to its global awards shows goes back into the industry to fund programming under the organization’s four pillars: Education, Inclusion & Diversity, Gender Equality, and Creative Development.