As a final project for the Responsibility and Social Entrepreneurship (ADV 6372) class, two teams of Temerlin Advertising Institute graduate students— Legendary and AMP’D, under the supervision of Assistant Professor Sidharth Muralidharan—created advertising campaign proposals with a social responsibility focus for Dude, Sweet Chocolate (DSC). The primary emphases were to create awareness of the brand and its’ offerings of quality chocolates and to highlight how the brand is giving back to the community.
The presentations were judged by Chef Katherine Clapner (Co-founder & Co-owner), Emily Mize (Corporate and Wholesale Accounts), and Robert Keeler (Chief Operating Officer). Keeler was very impressed and pleased with both proposals saying “We were very surprised by their insights to our business and their creativity.”
For the group, ‘Legendary’, Chef Clapner goes on to mention “the wedding charity, the sampling truck, contacting SMU catering, the contest, and ad design. They were some really good ideas.” According to Clapner, AMP’D ‘got’ their primary target audience and “understood we are trying to create an experience for our customers when they come into our stores.”
Dr. Sid commented on the presentations, noting “I am really proud of both teams as they were able to effectively use advertising to strategically market the socially responsible initiatives of DSC but without making it come across as standoffish. Combining the ideas from both proposals can open up even more opportunities for the Dude, Sweet Chocolate brand.
Social responsibility is a cornerstone of the Temerlin Advertising Institute’s Masters in Advertising program. ADV 6372: Responsibility and Social Entrepreneurship is just one of several courses with a focus on social responsibility that students in the Institute’s MA in Advertising program are required to take. These courses, and the experiences gained through working with real clients, equip graduates to become leaders in the advertising industry by helping them recognize their responsibility to their brands, their consumers, their industry and their society.