Hear from the S4 Fellows on Why You Should Apply

Read more about Hear from the S4 Fellows on Why You Should Apply

Hear from the S4 Fellows on Why You Should Apply

2 min read

Welcome! We’re the inaugural class of S4 fellows, and we want to introduce you to an incredible program that we helped develop, open to HBCU graduates interested in the advertising and digital marketing industry. The two-year, immersive (and paid!) S4 Fellowship Program aims to empower exceptional college graduates with hands-on experience working in the industry directly with and learning from leading executives and colleagues on global teams at Media.Monks.

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Hailing from the Atlanta University Center’s Morehouse and Spelman College, we are excited to extend the program's reach to HBCU graduates nationwide.

We went into this experience cold—inspired by a desire to learn and driven by an opportunity to pioneer, all while embracing the discomfort of growth. Now, as we celebrate our one-year anniversary in the fellowship, we’re delighted to share the experiences we’ve had alongside the nitty-gritty details of this incredible program to inspire and encourage recent graduates to apply.

The application process will prove to be an introspective experience—heightened by discussions with stakeholders all across the globe—that will equip applicants with a rich toolset they can carry well into their futures.

If you haven’t already, take a look at our video above, directed and produced by our own Arion Kidd-Weeks, for some of our candid thoughts about the fellowship and tips on how to apply.

Erena Reese - Spelman College ‘20, Atlanta, GA
Alfred Mohammed - Morehouse College ‘20, New York, NY
Arion Kidd-Weeks - Morehouse College ‘20, Los Angeles, CA

S4 Fellowship program details

The S4 Fellowship was conceived to give college graduates embarking in their careers a strong start in and an enthusiasm for the advertising and digital marketing industry. As we were preparing to launch the application process for the inaugural class of fellows, the tragic events of June 2020 pointed a spotlight on racial injustices and the need for action. So we pivoted our approach to take steps in addressing the imbalance in employment and future opportunities for underrepresented groups. Our focus on inviting graduates from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to apply for the fellowship was a first, small step. Our hope is that the S4 fellows will serve as role models for young people in the field, and inspire the next generation of talent.

The S4 Fellowship is a paid, two-year immersive accelerator program. Fellows work on the essential practicalities of digital advertising and marketing and learn in-depth how the industry and brands are adapting to the continually changing digital landscape, gaining a fundamental understanding of everything we do—firsthand. This includes how data and analytics inform better content, how we use programmatic to plan and buy advertising for our clients and how technology is applied to the outcome. All for clients in technology, FMCG, pharmaceutical, financial services, manufacturing and many more areas as part of a planned curriculum for the fellows’ career development.

Our company is evolving fast, and we expect our fellows to do the same. The S4 Fellowship provides a secure platform and scope to grow. Each role and responsibility is designed so fellows can contribute directly to the company’s success, which is contingent on all of our individual successes. We’re in this together and will learn from each other.

S4 fellows invite HBCU graduates to apply for the S4Capital Fellowship, a paid accelerator program in advertising and digital marketing. S4 fellows invite HBCU graduates to apply for the S4Capital Fellowship, a paid accelerator program in advertising and digital marketing. S4Capital Fellowship Program S4Capital culture

Looking Forward

Read more about Looking Forward

Looking Forward

4 min read

When we started Firewood, a full-service agency built on the belief that good people are good business, we wanted to change the industry with a people-first approach. And we always said if we can move the dial even 1% on how the industry operates in order to make it a more people-friendly industry—then we've won. From the very start Sir Martin Sorrell believed in what Firewood was trying to accomplish, and in partnering with S4 our ability to move the needle grew exponentially given his influence and the much larger platform S4 brings to the table.

From day one, we set out to build a company committed to providing fresh viewpoints, doing social good, and helping people—both employees and members of our surrounding communities—grow both personally and professionally. We wanted to build something more valuable than business, something that had the potential to change the heart of our industry. The existing agency model was broken and we knew there had to be a better way.

So we created an agency built on strong values, solid partnerships, and a one-team culture of integration built on transparency, flexibility, and collaboration—a disruptive “embedded” model—that would break down traditional agency barriers and lead to higher-quality work. It was something other agencies weren’t doing, and it immediately resonated with our clients.

Over the next years our company grew to several hundred people working in seven offices spanning three continents. But we knew that to best serve our clients, we needed to scale. So we went in search of a partner who was aligned with our vision of disrupting the existing agency model to deliver speed, quality and value to our clients. A partner who could help us expand globally, offer our clients complementary capabilities and service offerings, and provide our people enhanced opportunities for career growth—all while maintaining our values and people-centric culture.

We’re excited about the recent launch of Media.Monks, our unified brand that unites 24 founding companies and nearly 6,000 digital-first experts under one (digital) roof. We’re building on existing equity from the most recognizable and established brand in the group and our new name represents our people, our shared values and our unique capabilities, and leverages the power of our collective brands.

Monk Thoughts What I valued most about the brand-building process is that it centered around inclusivity.

Lanya Zambrano

Co-Founder, Media.Monks

We brought together many teams, individuals and resource groups all with the intent of ensuring inclusivity is at the core of our new brand promise. And while our family is growing, we remain a people-first company—we’re just adding access to global talent, expansive reach and a breadth of new capabilities. We’re extremely excited about what the future holds. Here’s what our people and our clients can expect moving forward.

Our New Journey

The wonderful thing about our new family at Media.Monks—and what sets us apart—is that the model leverages the best of each founding organization. Every company brings something different, and we all complement each other to bring more value to our clients. Founder buy-in is an important part of the formula. New businesses merge in a structure where the entrepreneurial co-founders retain ownership and influence over how we all build and grow our shared business into something wholly new. We’re all synched for the long haul and saying the same thing: Let's be disruptive, let's be different than all the other agencies out there, but let’s always remain true to who we are.

“Through the whole integration process and with all the new agencies that are joining the fold, the first thing that I noticed is that we’re like-minded people,” says Michiel Schriever, Senior Executive Creative Director.

Monk Thoughts I’ve been around the block a few times and typically in agency land you have mergers that always involve politics and territorial battles, that's not happening here.

Michiel Schriever

Senior Executive Creative Director, Media.Monks

In truly integrating our people both as a culture and in our operations, we’re able to deliver content, data and digital media and technology services to our clients under a single P&L across 33 countries—something no one has ever been able to achieve before. For our clients, it means they keep the same day-to-day team they love but with seamless access to a deep pool of specialized talent and a much broader geographic reach.

What You Can Expect from Our Bigger Family

While our family has grown, our clients can expect the same service and relationships they’ve grown accustomed to. And we’re going to continue to foster our environment and culture. I recently spoke with one of our first employees, Laura Davis about this very topic.

Monk Thoughts The caring attitude that Firewood has always had about its people as well as our sense of compassion, empathy, and always approaching things from a perspective of humility, that’s what we bring to the table.

Laura Davis

EVP - Group Account Director, Media.Monks

What we bring with us is all that makes us unique and everything that we started at Firewood: our highly collaborative embedded model of client partnership; our business acumen and operational expertise in digital marketing; and our values, our sense of family, and the importance we place on the employee experience—all of which makes for better work, better output and better results for our clients.

“Firewood is a people-centric organization. And when I say we’re focused on people, I mean our employees, our team and our clients,” says Amy Michael, Chief Client Officer. “Firewood culture and organization is structured around client empathy and partnership—and that’s what we bring to our new organization, we aren’t in business if we aren't delivering excellence for our clients.”

“I really believe in all that we built at Firewood—what we do, how we treat our people, and how we move forward in the industry with our clients—we’re doing something right,” says Maridette de Guzman, Managing Director in San Francisco. “And we are bringing that part of our Firewood heritage to build a better work environment, a better employee experience, and a better place for everybody—all of our people and our clients—to exist.”

Looking Forward

New adventures can be rough and sticky at times, especially when building something that hasn’t been built before. We’re changing the landscape and there will be bumps in the road, but Juan and I couldn’t be more excited about what the future holds.

Monk Thoughts When people ask me, what are you all about? I’d still have the same answer. We are a people business that does marketing. Since many of our senior leaders are now part of the Media.Monks leadership team, we’re confident that our values and culture will live on.

Juan Zambrano

Co-Founder, Media.Monks

Lanya Zambrano shares the motivation and vision that launched Firewood Marketing, and how that promise continues to live on as part of the Media.Monks brand. Lanya Zambrano shares the motivation and vision that launched Firewood Marketing, and how that promise continues to live on as part of the Media.Monks brand. Firewood marketing MediaMonks S4Capital talent creative talent

Meet the Inaugural Class of S4Capital Fellows

Read more about Meet the Inaugural Class of S4Capital Fellows

Meet the Inaugural Class of S4Capital Fellows

6 min read

We understand that the power of creativity is amplified by diversity of background and thought. Yet the advertising and marketing industry continues to lack the diversity needed for true innovation—diversity of thought that will allow us to not only inject our work with fresh and unique ideas, but also help us produce work that resonates with the world around us.

That’s why we’re passionate about our S4Capital Fellowship Program, which aims to empower exceptional young students from traditionally underrepresented communities as they make their mark in shaping the path of technological innovation in advertising and marketing. Over the four-year immersive, accelerator program, Fellows will gain hands-on experience working in the industry as co-workers and apprentices to senior leaders, with front-row seats to the inner workings of executive staff and world-class production teams at the forefront of advanced marketing and advertising technologies. Importantly, we and our partners will benefit from the fresh perspectives they bring.

Monk Thoughts As a business, we aim to represent the communities we live in and encourage a diverse approach in everything we do.

Sir Martin Sorrell

Founder and Executive Chairman, S4Capital

The S4 Fellowship was originally conceived to give graduates a strong start that gets them excited about our industry. With the murder of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement, we pivoted our entire approach by taking steps to address the imbalance in employment and future opportunities for underrepresented groups, with a focus on inviting graduates from historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) being a first, small step.

“As a business, we aim to represent the communities we live in and encourage a diverse approach in everything we do,” said S4Capital Founder and Executive Chairman Sir Martin Sorrell. “This Fellowship program is us doing our part to chip away at the diversity issue in our industry.”

This week we welcomed our inaugural class of S4Capital Fellows, three graduates from HBCUs in the US, who are commencing full-time employment across our organization. “We want to be an open door for more diverse talent to join an industry that has historically been exclusive to so many,” says MediaMonks Founder & S4Capital Executive Director, Wesley ter Haar. “We have some very impressive Fellows joining the team, and I’m excited to see how they will influence our work as well as our ways of working.”

After months of meeting with numerous, extremely talented candidates, we’re honored to introduce you to our inaugural class of distinguished Fellows to hear what they have to say about beginning their four years in the field with S4.

Arion Kidd-Weeks, Morehouse College

Bachelor of Arts, Cinema Television and Emerging Media studies

“I love media and content creation, so the mission of S4 aligns with my passions. It’s amazing to see such a progressive Fellowship and it excites me about the future. I look forward to bringing my perspective, using my skills, and growing my skills and knowledge around media so that I can contribute to the company and the industry.”

Alfred Mohammed, Morehouse College

Bachelor of Arts, History

“The intersection between creativity, business and technology is what drew me to S4. Plus it was very obvious that throughout the application and interview process [leadership] wanted to get to know me as a person. And when they asked me about social issues I’m passionate about, they had me hook, line and sinker.”

Erena Reese, Spelman College

Bachelor of Science, Health Science

“From the very start, David [Lang Levitt, Program Director] made it clear that we’re going to be integrated right into the workflow. We’re not interns, we’re not assistants, this Fellowship is for us, they really want us to learn. Most of my background is STEM-related, so I’m starting off in data analytics but looking forward to working on the creative side as well.”

“Erena, Al, and Arion have the kind of confidence and ambition that I wish I’d had as a recent college graduate,” says Kamron Hack, Senior Director, Global DEI & Culture. “They’ve achieved so much in life already, and they remain curious, eager to learn, and excited to contribute. I was inspired by each of their stories and grateful they chose to join us.”

The Fellows Share Their Thoughts on the Process

The Fellowship application and interview process were, in a word, rigorous. Candidates were asked to submit a resume, give their insights, knowledge, and opinions on relevant social issues, complete a broad-scope questionnaire, and submit a one-minute video expressing their interest in the Fellowship. But that was just the beginning. An expansive get-to-know-you meeting with Program Director David Lang Levitt kicked off a series of panel meetings with senior leadership at S4. And the final step was a one-on-one meeting with Sir Martin.

Erena: “When I first heard about the Fellowship, I wanted to learn more about the company and I came across [MightyHive Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder] Chris Martin on LinkedIn, so I reached out. I didn’t know him, but he met with me in October, I submitted in November, and the interview process started from there. There were a lot of interviews, but they weren’t too intense. The crazy thing is that things have come full circle – I’m working on Chris’s team right now.”

Arion: “The interviews and panel discussions were very comfortable. The way things were structured was very conducive to relationship building. Everybody can be professional. But being able to connect with people, that’s something that you can’t replicate. The process gave us the platform to make connections to see if we were interested in being part of the culture and the family of S4. I loved it.”

Alfred: “I’ve been through interviews with some pretty big companies, but at S4 (versus some other companies I’ve spoken with) they got to know me. And it was obvious throughout the questionnaire and the interviews that understanding who I am is important.”

On Being Part of the Inaugural Class

The 2021 Fellows are the first class, but they won’t be the last. And they understand the significance of leading the way.

Alfred: “I know this Fellowship means a lot to Sir Martin. So for him to choose us, and specifically me as an individual, is huge. As he put it, it shows that he places a lot of trust in us and that [MightyHive CEO and Founder] Peter Kim, Wesley, and the rest of the team have faith in us. And from our side as Fellows, I believe it’s incredibly important for us to set a good precedent for whoever comes after us.”

Erena: “It’s an honor, and it means something to me that David [Lang Levitt], Sir Martin and everyone else that I interviewed with saw something in me that they wanted me to be part of their first class of this Fellowship. It’s really important that S4 recognizes the lack of diversity and they’re trying to fix it, and it really means something to me that they’re starting this Fellowship off with HBCU graduates.”

Arion: “The growth that S4 has had thus far is exponential, and it’s apparent that this is the future, and this is a new age and new era. And that’s something that I’m really, really excited to be a part of and extend into my community.”

On Meeting Sir Martin

No doubt the advertising icon had some interesting conversations with the Fellows. Here, we get their impressions of their one-on-one meets with him.

Arion: “When I met with Sir Martin, one question I asked him was how he identifies what’s to come in the future and repeatedly positions companies for success. He talked about looking for top-line growth—go with a market that’s growing, he said, find the growth—and look at the core values of the company. That really stuck with me.”

Alfred: “Sir Martin could have gone to any universities with his Fellowship, but with the advent of everything that has happened in this country and around the world, S4 is making a big statement by having the first class from HBCUs.”

Erena: “I really enjoyed talking with Sir Martin. He’s started two amazing companies and it’s incredible to see how much S4 has grown in just a short time. It will be even more interesting to see what it looks like at the end of my Fellowship. Sir Martin said he wants S4 to be the Amazon of marketing and I think that’s the way the company is going to go.”

“Our hope and intent is to challenge assumptions. For people to experience how great the Fellows are, through working with them, seeing the value they bring and discovering how preconceptions can change for the good,” says S4Capital Fellowship Program Director David Lang Levitt.

We’re welcoming our inaugural class of S4Capital Fellows, three graduates from HBCUs in the US, who are commencing full-time employment at S4. Meet the Inaugural Class of S4Capital Fellows We welcome the first Fellows to join our team.
diversity and inclusion S4Capital S4Capital Fellowship Program cultural diversity workplace diversity diverse talent HBCUs

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