TAI Hosts Visiting Scholar Dr. Jooyoung Kim for Lecture on Advertising Engagement

SMU students and faculty with Dr. Kim.
SMU students and faculty with Dr. Kim.

Friday September 30, Temerlin Advertising Institute hosted a lecture by Visiting Scholar Dr. Jooyoung Kim, an associate advertising professor at University of Georgia. Dr. Kim discussed his research, “Advertising Engagement: Conceptualization and Measurement,” with many SMU students and faculty attending the event. Through his research study, Dr. Kim developed an advertising engagement concept and measurement scale that offers other researchers a ground for further study of engagement. It also provides a useful tool in assessing effectiveness of video advertisements.

“[It was a] fascinating presentation by a visiting scholar covering what advertising engagement really means and how it can be measured,” Program Specialist for SMU CAPE Lea Worth said. “[It was] interesting to see what kind of research is being conducted by other schools and how they approach their research. I look forward to hopefully seeing this method of measuring engagement being adopted by the broader ad industry in the future”

At the University of Georgia, Dr. Kim teaches advertising management, advertising campaigns, advertising research, global advertising, and quantitative research methods for both undergraduate and graduate students. He has been published in various academic journals, including Journal of Advertising, Psychology & Marketing, and Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly.

Dr. Kim lecturing on engagement.
Dr. Kim lecturing on engagement.

In addition, he has been invited to share his research with several global companies in South Korea such as LG, Hyundai Motor Company, and KT. Recently during summer 2016, he was a visiting professor at Saatchi & Saatchi in New York City through Advertising Educational Foundation (AEF). Dr. Kim is an active member of American Academy of Advertising and serves on the Editorial Review Board of Journal of Advertising, International Journal of Advertising, and Journal of Interactive Advertising.

Temerlin Advertising Institute was honored to host Dr. Kim for a lecture on his research. TAI is passionate about staying informed on all current topics in the advertising industry, hosting guest speakers periodically throughout the year.

TAI Student Idara Akpan Shares Experience Interning With Razorfish Health

Akpan in the Razorfish Health Office.
Akpan in the Razorfish Health Office.

Many advertising students dream of working in Chicago or New York City, but competition is fierce and many never get the opportunity. This summer TAI Creative Advertising student Idara Akpan took the chance and applied to work in New York City as an intern for Razorfish Health, part of the Publicis Health network.

Akpan applied online, and was then asked to conduct a video interview. The company sent her questions, and she answered them in a short video. She then went through two rounds of phone interviews, including a final interview with the Senior Creative Director.

Working as a copywriting intern, Akpan had the opportunity to participate hands-on on several client projects.

“I created taglines, concepts, and ideas for the Purdue [Pharma] franchise,” Akpan said. “I created guidelines to help with consistency between brands in the Purdue franchise, created and concepted Razorfish Health in-house promotion, and participated in a Publicis Health internship-wide project to create a campaign, Apple Watch app, and phone app for a seasonal allergy OTC product.”

Akpan and a team of fellow interns.
Akpan (far right) and a team of fellow interns.

A typical day on the job included a status meeting regarding all the clients, in which people from the account, strategy, tech, and creative departments would all give updates. Then Akpan would check in with her manager to start working on taglines, brainstorm, or produce copy for the Purdue franchise websites.

“I mostly worked with the creative team, both art directors and other writers,” Akpan said. “I also worked with other interns around the Publicis Healthcare Group Communications network. My favorite memory was staying late for a brainstorming session. It was great to be swapping different ideas next to the Group Creative Director!”

Brainstorming became a big part of Akpan’s internship, and she attributes her brainstorming skills to her advertising classes.

Akpan in the streets of New York City.

“[The biggest skill that I had going into the internship was knowing how to] brainstorm, brainstorm, brainstorm!” Akpan said. “No idea is a bad idea. Put everything – and I mean everything – on the table.”

Her internship also provided a glimpse into what a career in creative advertising is like.

“The internship gave me a better insight on a different side of the industry,” Akpan said. “It was awesome to be in NYC and truly see how each of the departments work together to reach their goal. It also showed me how competitive it is to be a creative in NYC! There are so many creatives, you have to work extra hard to stand out.”

TAI & AAF Dallas Co-Host Breakfast Event with Government Affairs Speaker Clark Rector

Wednesday, September 21, Temerlin Advertising Institute, joined with AAF Dallas and 4A’s, hosted an event called “Broccoli for Breakfast.” The event offered breakfast to all attendees and a guest speaker Clark Rector, EVP Government Affairs for AAF, and his lecture “A Targeted Industry in an Unpredictable Political Environment.”

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Speaker Clark Rector at the podium.

As the EVP Government Affairs for AAF, Rector is in charge of the grassroots lobbying efforts of the AAF and its’ members. They have been successful in defeating ad tax proposals and other threats to the advertising industry in Congress.

Many industry professionals, including various TAI professors, made their way to the SMU campus to hear Rector speak about the effects of politics on the advertising industry and what the advertising community can do to get involved.

“I really enjoyed Clark’s speech about the role of advertising in our local and national economy,” TAI Professor Eunjin (Anna) Kim said. “As he said, people think [about] advertising negatively, such as advertising promotes materialism, ignores fundamental needs but creates unnecessary desires, and deceives consumers. It’s not easy for us to think about positive side of advertising, even for me. As an advertising faculty, I can say, ‘well advertising provides information, educates consumers, and even sometimes is entertaining.’ But that’s all that I can think of. I haven’t really thought about the economic role of advertising. It creates millions of jobs and boosts sales, representing 15% of the total economic output in the State. Advertising indeed pays a vital role in our society, just like the event name, ‘Broccoli for Breakfast’!”

Attendees in the Martha Mack Proctor Ballroom at SMU.
Attendees in the Martha Mack Proctor Ballroom at SMU.

TAI is passionate about staying informed on all current topics in the advertising industry, hosting guest speakers periodically throughout the year.

TAI Student Jackson Foley Shares His Experience Interning at “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert”

Rarely do students get the chance to work everyday on the set of one of their favorite television shows. But this summer TAI Creative Advertising student Jackson Foley had that opportunity. Foley worked as a Production Intern at “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”

Like many other internships, Foley applied for this position online, through the CBS intern portal. Once he was chosen as a possible candidate for the job, he flew up to New York twice to interview.

“I learned in the process when applying for any job in creative production,” Foley said, “you will always be told when [and] if you got the job on the very last possible day they can tell you. In my case, that was the beginning of May, which gave me two weeks to find a place to live and move everything up there.”

Foley on the set of "The Late Show"
Foley on the set of “The Late Show”

A typical day on the job, if there really was one, involved arriving at the studio at 9am to coordinate with productions managers on the schedule for the day and prepare all the necessary papers and memos for the morning product meeting. After the meeting, Foley would work as a talent assistant or help with a digital shoot for the cold-open until 2pm. Then he would coordinate the progress of the script and print a finalized version for the rehearsal, along with a shot list. He would then run the shot lists to each camera and production staff, and deliver scripts to Stephen Colbert and the executive producers. At 3pm, he would watch rehearsal and then work on production tasks until 4pm, when he would run scripts again—now with the live audience in the theater. Foley would watch the show to make sure nothing in the script was incorrect or troublesome, and then work on digital shoots until 9pm.

“I worked predominately with the production side of the show, so stage managers, production coordinators, show runners and producers,” Foley said. “[Essentially] if the writers are the brain of a TV show, the script manager/runner is the nervous system that delivers the messages to each person that works on the show. Each day I mainly worked as a script manager or digital production assistant.”

Aside from running the scripts every day, Foley had a few more personal interactions with Stephen Colbert throughout the internship.

Foley standing in for a sketch on the show.
Foley standing in for a sketch on the show.

“I was a stand in for a sketch between Stephen and Bryan Cranston, where they acted like villains from a 1920s movie,” Foley said, “and got to speak with him briefly while the set was being finalized. At the end of the internship, he held a ‘seminar’ in a small room for around an hour where we could ask him anything we wanted to know, and he was honestly one of the smartest yet nicest people I’ve ever had the privilege to talk to.”

Foley’s favorite memories from his internship include special live shows “The Late Show” did during both political conventions this summer. Through this internship he realized something very important about his future career aspirations.

“Getting to see how each night came together was extremely satisfying,” Foley said. “From getting to see the writers bring in an actor look-alike for Melania Trump for the Republican Convention, to meeting and talking with John Stewart during the Democratic Convention. Working with ‘The Late [Show]’ really helped me discover my love for working at a place where each day is something entirely different from the day before, as well as how much I want to work in an industry that makes content people can laugh at and ultimately connect with.”

Foley attributes a lot of his internship success to skills he learned in his Advertising courses.

“Understanding how media buying and partnerships work was an incredibly helpful skill for helping set up a partnership between the show and Giphy,” Foley said. “Also, knowing how to layout information in an easy-to-understand [and] aesthetically pleasing way helped me get noticed while making posters/documents internally for the show, which led to a couple of conversations that got me more important [and] interesting jobs.”

Foley also learned some incredibly important lessons that serve as good advice to anyone working in a new position.

Foley with his fellow interns at "The Late Show"
Foley with his fellow interns at “The Late Show”

“In all honesty, what I learned the most from the internship is to always be up for ‘boring’ or ‘uninteresting’ jobs,” Foley said. “I was one of fourteen interns, half of which went to Ivy League schools, the other half being those with actual production experience, and the best way I became noticed was by doing the tasks that most didn’t clamor to have. Through that, I was given more and more jobs with increased importance, like costume runs or script deliveries, and eventually served as an interim writer’s assistant during the Live Shows. To make it short: Want to be noticed in a pool of talented [and] interesting people? Be proactive, even when you don’t have to be.”

TAI Creative Advertising Students Meet with Industry Professionals for Critique

On Monday, September 12, first-year TAI Creative Advertising students in Professor Mark Allen’s Concepting class were given an opportunity that many students will never get – to show their work to multiple industry professionals and get feedback from people who are currently working in the field.

Professor Allen calls it “Speed-Dating Critique.” Each professional is stationed at a separate table to speak one-on-one with the students, who will each have a stack of 50-60 concept sketches loosely organized by similar concepts and themes. Students spend roughly ten minutes with at least three to four different professionals throughout the class period, receiving feedback on which of their ideas are most promising.

Professor Allen's Concepting class during "Speed-Dating Critique."
Professor Allen’s Concepting class during “Speed-Dating Critique.”

“I do this event twice every semester,” Professor Allen said. “But this time the response from the local advertising community has been overwhelming—we typically have 4-5 professionals volunteer to review work, but this time I [had] 14-16!”

Some of the professionals who participated in the critique include: Steve Grimes, Creative Director (CD) at The Richards Group; Shelby Tamura, Art Director (AD) at The Richards Group; Dr. Ben Wyeth, Copywriter at The Richards Group and SMU Adjunct Professor; Randall Kenworthy, Freelance Copywriter; Greg Hunter, Group Creative Director (GCD) and Principal at Firehouse; Julie Bowman, Senior CD at Slingshot; Jose Benitez, Senior Copywriter at Dieste; Arturo Lee, AD at Dieste; Jason Shipp, GCD at Moroch and SMU Adjunct Professor; Matt Villanueva, Associate Creative Director at Moroch; and Matt Lindner, Copywriter at Moroch.

“I gained some priceless advice after talking with industry professionals during Concepting,” sophomore TAI student Jolie Guz said. “I still cannot believe that in my third week in the Creative program, we were able to put our work in front of art directors and copywriters from The Richards Group, Moroch and more. I am looking forward to being able to meet more and more Dallas area creatives during my time in Temerlin!”

Several of these advertising professionals are alums of TAI, having attended SMU for their undergraduate and/or graduate degrees. Having successful professionals visit an undergraduate class to provide input on student work is an incredible experience. However, having successful professionals who were once in your exact same position (in the same program at the same school) is an invaluable experience, providing students with even more motivation and confidence to be successful in their careers after graduation.

The Temerlin Advertising Institute offers students the opportunity to earn a BA in Advertising while specializing their knowledge in one of three key industry areas: Creative, Digital Media Strategy, and Strategic Brand Management. The major is designed to provide students with the optimal blend of theory and practice. Learn more about the major and specializations here.

TAI Alum Jordan Kretchmer’s Company Livefyre Acquired by Adobe

Credit: Branding Magazine
Jordan Kretchmer (’06) Photo Credit: Branding Magazine

In July of 2009, TAI Alum Jordan Kretchmer (’06) founded Livefyre, a content marketing and engagement platform. In the past seven years Livefyre has grown tremendously, acquiring customers like CNN, Coca-Cola, Major League Baseball, and Cisco. Due to their growing success, Livefyre caught the eye of Adobe, who has since acquired and integrated it into their Adobe Experience Manager.

In his time at SMU, Kretchmer was a member of Praxis, SMU’s award-winning Ad Team, for two consecutive years. He served as Vice President and Creative Director and was a presenter for the Visit Florida campaign, which won the 2004 National Championship in the American Advertising Federation’s National Student Advertising Competition.

Kretchmer had a successful career in advertising before founding his company. He worked as an Art Director at Tribal DDB, VP Associate Creative Director at Mullen, Associate Creative Director at Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners, and Vice President Brand at Current TV. He is also currently on the Board of Directors at Mashable and is a Venture Partner at Draft Ventures and will continue his work as CEO of Livefyre, while also working with Adobe.

After being acquired by Adobe in May, Livefyre became a product available within the Adobe Experience Manager, as well as remaining a stand-alone service outside of Adobe. According to Adobe, “[Livefyre is] an all-new capability of Adobe Experience Manager that lets you tap into everything shared on the web to create a constant flow of fresh and high-quality content on your own sites.”

Photo Credit: Ken Yeung/VentureBeat
Photo Credit: Ken Yeung/VentureBeat

The purpose of Livefyre is to allow companies access to user-created content in one aggregated location. Originally Livefyre was created as a commenting platform, where companies can gather all the comments being posted online about their product, service or event, in one place. Many of the major news sources, including Fox News and CNN, use this aspect of Livefyre to display comments during live events, like political debates.

In an interview with Branding magazine, Kretchmer explained “when you integrate user-generated content with professionally-created content you get to tell your story alongside all of your best fans.” Livefyre was created to be this solution for brands, and now the company that Kretchmer created from scratch seven years ago is providing that solution to some of the biggest brand names on one of the biggest platforms available, Adobe.

TAI Student Nicki Fletcher Shares Experience Interning On Tour with Steven Tyler and Loving Mary Band

Most advertising students dream of having an amazing job opportunity, working for a huge brand, like Nike or Coca-Cola, or even getting the chance to work with celebrities. This summer, TAI student Nicki Fletcher had that opportunity. Fletcher is an Advertising major on the Creative track, and this past summer she had the opportunity to intern on tour with Steven Tyler and the Loving Mary Band.

Steven Tyler and Loving Mary Band interviewing for a radio show.
Steven Tyler and Loving Mary Band interviewing for a radio show.

While visiting her mother in Maui last Christmas, Fletcher met Kari Smith and Marti Frederiksen, the band manager and lead singer of the Loving Mary Band. Fletcher has always dreamed of working in the music industry, the same industry in which her mother works, and meeting Smith and Frederiksen gave her the perfect opportunity to break in.

“I had told Kari and Marti that I was interested in working in the music industry,” Fletcher said. “And they said if there’s ever an opportunity we’ll let you know. Then not too long after that they contacted me and said ‘We’re going on tour this summer, do you want to come? You can be the tour intern and learn the whole business.’”

Fletcher started working with the Loving Mary Band in May at CMA Fest in Nashville, where she was then given the opportunity to go along with them on tour during the summer. On July 1, Fletcher headed off on a month-long journey living on tour with famous musicians.

Loving Mary Tour promotion created by Nicki Fletcher.
Loving Mary Tour promotion created by Nicki Fletcher.

While on tour, Fletcher worked as an assistant to the musicians, as well as running the Loving Mary Band social media accounts, creating promotional graphics for the band and tour, and helping run band merchandise. A typical day for Fletcher involved starting work around 11am, making sure the bus was ready to go and everything was in place. She would get to the venue, which mostly consisted of large theaters, around 2-3pm and start working on sound checks and other miscellaneous preparations. After the concert was over, she would help bring VIP guests backstage and then pack up the bus to head to the next city, not staying in a single city for more than four days.

“I did a lot of flyers and promotional pieces that went out on Loving Mary’s Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and website,” Fletcher said. “I helped with merchandise for the band mainly, so I learned a lot in the way of managing all of that. We did that through shows, at the venues, at the big concerts, and at Loving Mary’s smaller concerts and through the website. It was a lot of learning how to manage all of those parts and pieces too.”

Fletcher used many of the skills she’d learned from her participation in Ad Team, as well as advertising classes she has taken at SMU, while on tour. Going into the job she already knew the importance of keeping a campaign consistent, an important skill she attributes to her time on Ad Team. She also knew the importance of planning ahead and being detail-oriented, which helped her as she was preparing content that would be viewed by thousands of people.

Fletcher also learned valuable new lessons through this opportunity.

“You get thrown into this crazy world of rock-and-roll musicians,” Fletcher said. “And it’s so important to have professionalism no matter what the industry is. Even if it is an entertainment industry where the people around you, like the fans, are super excited all the time.” She learned how to balance staying focused and professional with taking the time to enjoy the amazing experiences she was having.

On top of that, Fletcher got to spend a lot of time with Steven Tyler.

“We’d be in the city, and we’d all go and have a family day and go and do something together,” Fletcher said. “He’s a really fun person to be around. He’s really sweet. He really just loves the band so much, and he’d get on our bus in the middle of the night and hang out or he’d ride with us from place to place.”

Backstage at one of the concerts while Fletcher was on tour.
The view from backstage at one of the concerts while Fletcher was on tour.

Her favorite memories from the internship involve the contrast between the “calm, beautiful morning” and “playing a show at a huge sold out concert venue” that night. Although she really enjoyed visiting Northern and Southern California, Canada, Seattle, Boston, and New York, one of her favorite shows was a corporate event at an outdoor venue in Minnesota.

After the amazing experience Fletcher had, she wants to encourage her fellow classmates to reach for amazing opportunities as well.

“Don’t be afraid to ask,” Fletcher said. “Always use your resources, ask them questions. Don’t be afraid to take a crazy chance. You can learn a lot from something that is so unconventional.”

TAI Professor Willie Baronet to Showcase “We Are All Homeless” and Serve as Panelist for University of Pennsylvania Seminar Series

Over the past twenty years, Willie Baronet, TAI’s Stan Richards Professor in Creative Advertising, has been traveling across the country buying and collecting signs from homeless people. To date, Professor Baronet has collected or purchased over 1,000 signs. He uses these signs in art installations and exhibits all over the United States in a project called “We Are All Homeless.”

Willie Homeless Signs
Professor Baronet with some of the homeless signs he’s collected and purchased.

On Tuesday, September 13, Professor Baronet will have an exhibit at Harnwell College House at the University of Pennsylvania. The exhibit is part of a greater event called the CPHI (Center for Public Health Initiatives) Seminar Series Kickoff: We Are All Homeless. As part of the event, Professor Baronet will participate in a panel along with Dr. Rosie Frasso from CPHI and several individuals who will share their experience about being homeless.

Dr. Frasso reached out to Professor Baronet in 2015 after hearing about his project on NPR. Together with several of her CPHI colleagues, Dr. Frasso and Professor Baronet “conducted a qualitative analysis of the messages on almost 300 signs,” looking at how the messages vary by city. The research will be published in the American Journal of Public Health this fall.

“This is the first time anyone has done a research project based on these signs,” Professor Baronet said. “We were humbled and honored to work with Rosemary and Allison at U. Penn to bring this to fruition, and we’re all excited that it’s being published in the American Journal of Public Health.”

The CPHI panel will also feature Eddie Dunn, whom Professor Baronet purchased a sign from in Philadelphia last summer. Mr. Dunn reached out to Professor Baronet a few months ago, stating he’d “turned his life around and is now sober and sponsoring people in AA.” He will be sharing his experience of homelessness on the panel at the event.

Willie Baronet’s “We Are All Homeless” project includes a documentary called “Signs of Humanity,” which explores the themes of home, homelessness, compassion and humanity. “Signs of Humanity,” which was filmed during a coast-to-coast road trip in 2015, has been an official selection in four major film festivals and was just selected to screen at a fifth this fall.