Category: Better Advertising. Better World.

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Better Advertising. Better World. Professional Development TAI Students

TAI Students Shine as Semifinalists in USPS Innovation Challenge

The ANA Educational Foundation hosts a case competition with the goal creating awareness among marketing and communications students of the role and effectiveness of direct marketing within omnichannel marketing campaigns. The challenge for students is to create a marketing plan and campaign idea to drive Gen Z to sign up for USPS’s “Informed Delivery” service.

SMU Temerlin Advertising Institute was extended an invite through Dr. Carrie LaFerle’s direct involvement with the ANA Education Foundation (AEF). The campaign was lead by Professor Andrew Elliot for the ADV 2333 Internet and Mobile Advertising class.

“A sharp insight and a rock-solid plan turned a class assignment into a defining moment—one where our students proved they’re capable of more than they imagined. Watching them rise to this challenge has been nothing short of inspiring.” – Professor Andrew Elliott

On November 21, 2024 Athenas Mamatas, Jaime Maybery, Samantha Hernandez, and Shivani Kosuri were recognized as the 2024 Semifinalist for the USPS Innovation Challenge placing for the semifinals to travel to Washington DC. On December 6 the students and Professor Elliott arrived to USPS Headquarters in DC to present their campaign.

“Under the guidance of Professor Andrew Elliott, I had an incredible time participating in the USPS Direct Effect Innovation Challenge! This challenge provided me with a real-world experience which allowed me to remember why I fell in love with advertising in the first place. Being able to work on something that impacts and contributes to a larger part of our society was an incredibly fulfilling experience and I can’t wait to be apart of more work like this in the future!” – Shivani Kosuri

The strategy was to support Gen Z by delivering certainty in a world full of uncertainty with the big idea of “life’s unpredictable.” Athenas, Jaime, Samantha, and Shivani leveraged Gen Z’s unpredictable moments to effectively showcase the service’s relevance in their lives.

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Better Advertising. Better World. Professional Development TAI Alumni

Rollercoaster or Labyrinth? TAI Professor and Alumna Visualize Career Pathways

TAI Professor Alice Kendrick and Mallorie Rodak (M.A. ’11) are helping visualize career pathways for multicultural advertising professionals in the U.S.

In collaboration with the ADCOLOR organization and Cardinal Change Consulting, Kendrick and Rodak gathered workplace trends and fielded a survey in which 181 members of the ADCOLOR community described their career journeys with both words and images.

ADCOLOR is an organization that celebrates and advocates diversity in the creative and technology industries.  Results of the survey and related research were presented at the ADCOLOR conference Nov. 15 in Los Angeles.

A primary focus of the research was among women of color in the advertising workforce, and results reflected instances of fulfillment and success among respondents, as well as burnout and uncertainty.  “Forty percent of respondents said they had changed jobs in the past two years, and a common theme was that they felt it necessary to change employers to get a promotion,” said Kendrick.  More than six in ten said they had experienced a sense of lack of belonging at work during their careers.

“Career pathway models are shaped by complexity, mystery, and hidden navigational challenges, like icebergs, labyrinths, spirals, and Bermuda triangles,” concluded Rodak, who is Director of Brand Strategy at TRG.

She and Kendrick have collaborated on research among the ADCOLOR community for the past three years.

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Better Advertising. Better World. Faculty Presentations International Advertising

Dr. Joe Phua’s Keynote Talks at Babeș-Bolyai University

From October 14 to 20, 2024, Dr. Phua took the opportunity to travel to Cluj-Napoca, Romania, for invited talks to the Faculty of Political, Administrative and Communication Sciences (FSPAC) at the Babeș-Bolyai University. With 50,000 students, it is the biggest university in Romania and is regarded as one of the most prominent research institutions in Eastern Europe.

During his visit, Dr. Joe gave talks to undergraduate and MA students in the Department of Communications, Public Relations and Advertising, and was also the keynote speaker for the opening ceremony of the College’s doctoral (Ph.D.) program. The first talk, titled “A Guide to Marketing Your Brand using Social Media and Other Digital Technologies”, discusses the ways in which brands and companies utilize various digital media, including social media, artificial intelligence (A.I.), data analytics, mobile, virtual/augmented reality (VR/AR), the metaverse, and other emerging technologies, for marketing and advertising. He shared with the audience various brand-building strategies that can be utilized to optimize brands’ marketing and advertising plans.
“Advertising for Health: Use of Social Media and Influencer Marketing in Strategic Health Communication Campaigns” was the second talk were he discussed several of his published research studies about how to utilize social media channels and influencers to spread awareness of public health issues, such as vaping, childhood obesity, and vaccines, and encourage attitude and behavioral change. Dr. Joe integrated several of his research studies published in top journals like “Journal of Health Communication”, “Journal of Advertising Research”, “Computers in Human Behavior”, “Telematics and Informatics”, “Journal of Medical Internet Research, “Journal of Health Psychology” and others, highlighting how Internet-based public health interventions and campaigns can be used to encourage healthy behavior uptake among specific target audiences, leading to positive public health outcomes. Additionally, Dr. Phua guided new and current BBU doctoral (Ph.D.) students looking to pursue research in relevant areas of communications, public relations and advertising, about conducting, publishing and funding research, and how to establish their academic careers. He shared insights about life as a professor, based on his own experiences as a faculty member and Endowed Distinguished Chair of the Temerlin Advertising Institute at SMU.
In addition to his invited talks, he met with several of the university’s administrators and faculty members, leading to the future of advertising, and how emerging technologies like AI are shaping the advertising industries in Europe, the United States, and other parts of the world. Additionally, he had meaningful conversations with BBU alumni, some of whom are entrepreneurs in Romania’s burgeoning tech scene, about issues related to the EU’s online data protection regulations and its impact on advertising and marketing industries.
Over the course of his visit, Dr. Joe toured various historical landmarks around the BBU campus in the city of Cluj-Napoca, learned more about Romanian history, and sampled some traditional Romanian cuisine. The visit was made possible through an ERASMUS+ program at BBU, facilitated by one of his research collaborators, Dr. Delia Cristina Balaban, who is the Director of the Ph.D. School of Communication, PR and Advertising at BBU. Dr. Balaban and Dr. Phua are co-authoring research on use of AI and AI-generated content in social media advertising, which will be presented at various academic conferences including the AAA and the ICORIA.
Moving forward, I hope to develop more collaborative opportunities between BBU’s FSPAC and corresponding units at SMU, including the Temerlin Advertising Institute, so our faculty and students will be able to work with BBU personnel on various educational and training exchanges. – Dr. Joe Phua
Follow Dr. Joe Phua’s professional career here.
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AAF AAF Dallas Awards and Projects Better Advertising. Better World. Competitions Professional Development Professional Organizations SMU Creative TAI Students

National Addy’s Awards brought to SMU!

Helena & Kailyn with their National ADDY Award

The American Advertising Federation (AAF) hosts the annual ADDY Awards, which are the biggest and most prestigious competition in the advertising business. The competition is divided into three levels: local, district, and national. The District 10 competition took place in Dallas, Texas, back in March. Acorns campaign by Maddie Otero and Morgan Martinez won SILVER; Fender had Helena Hargraves and Kailyn Sawhny win SILVER; Skout’s Honor Pet Odor Eliminator campaign earned Helena Hargraves win GOLD; and Truth Initiative’s campaign led by Spencer Hogan, Bella Mac and Allie Weinstein win GOLD. Every student who placed Gold or Silver in the district level advances to the national competition.

Early in May, the national competition winners were revealed, and later that month, in Salt Lake City, Utah, during the AAF ADMERICA Conference, awards were presented.

At the National ADDY Awards, Truth Initiative campaign by Spencer Hogan, Bella Mac and Allie Weinstein was recognized with a SILVER ADDY. Acorns by Maddie Otero and Morgan Martinez earned a SILVER National ADDY. Helena’s campaign for Skout’s Honor Pet Odor Eliminator took home the SILVER , while Helena’s and Kailyn’s campaign for Fender took home the GOLD National ADDY Award.

We are beyond thrilled that Spencer, Bella, Allie, Morgan, Maddie, Helena and Kailyn’s campaigns received national recognition and brought four National ADDY Awards to SMU!

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Better Advertising. Better World. Discovery Classes Engaged Learning Graduate Students International Advertising Masters in Advertising Program NYC Professional Development SMU Creative Student Perspectives TAI Alumni TAI Classes TAI Students Undergraduate Students

Creatives Take NYC

From April 25 to May 1, several of our students had the opportunity to tour and network with some of the world’s leading advertising companies during this year’s TAI creative NYC trip which serves as a discovery class. Dr. Mark Allen and Professor Willie Baronet planned and led graduate and undergraduate students in this unique immersive advertising experience.

“As always it was an inspiring and productive time in New York where we took our students to some of the best agencies in the world. Watching them meet our alums and seeing the amazing work they are producing is always a magical experience for me. This year we visited Anomaly, Ogilvy, Momentum, Walrus, NBC Universal, Kenneth Cole Studios, Translation and more!” – Willie Baronet

The first stop on the tour was Johannes Leonardo, a creative firm that encourages customer involvement on behalf of companies. TAI alum Tessa Conti gave us a tour of the distinctive JL church-style facility and updated us about her work with clients including Adidas, Amazon, and Kraft. Later on in the day, we went to Translation with Kaleb Mulugeta, a TAI graduate, and had breathtaking views of the Brooklyn Bridge. AdAge has named Translation the 2022 Agency of the Year and included it on their Agency A-List.

We began our Friday morning at Kenneth Cole Studios, where Maria Cuomo gave us a tour of the facility and shared some of Kenneth Cole’s advice. Despite being a fashion business, we learned about in-house advertising and the brand’s deliberate adherence to its identity. Amol Rana gave us a fascinating tour of Google and displayed some of his YouTube commercials. We had the opportunity to speak with several alumni for a Q&A session at the end of the week, during which we asked them questions regarding their post-college and professional lives and received some incredible advice.

The plan for the weekend was to visit Central Park, see shows on Broadway, and visit museums like the Whitney and MOMA in order to thoroughly immerse oneself in NYC life.

On Monday, we had a great start to the week by going to Momentum Worldwide, here they served us NY way. We learned everything there is to know about experimental advertising, which is the practice of leveraging technology to improve the human experience while creating memories for brands. Former TAI alumni Jordan Chlapecka and Allie Hartman talked about their experiences working with companies like Verizon, Nike, Coke, and AMEX. Next, we visited Ogilvy, where we met up with Helen Rieger and Morgan Hoff, two former SMU students. They were able to demonstrate several projects they had completed for Verizon, Nationwide, and Coca-Cola, but they also gave us advice on how to approach uncertain circumstances proactively when things could change unexpectedly. Deacon Webster’s Walrus was the final agency visit of the day, during which he explained his strategy of being calculating but yet humorous. We concluded Monday night with the senior dinner, where Willie and Mark gave inspirational speeches and many of us shed tears as our seniors begin a new chapter in their life.

On our last day, we began with a visit of the SNL and Jimmy Fallon sets at NBCUniversal. Michael Reidy, an SMU alum, welcomed us with breakfast before the panel discussion began. The panelists stressed that while our creativity will make us stand out, we must also enter this phase of our life with passion and resiliency. Eric Damassa led the final agency visit of the trip, which was Anomoly. Anomoly strives to cooperate with companies like eos, Ranch Water, and Obie that align with its mission. We concluded the trip with the Alumni Networking Event, where we had the chance to socialize with other alumni who live in the city and sing a few karaoke songs to round off our time together.

Overall, there are not enough words to describe our trip, so be sure to watch our reel on Instagram at @smu.advertising!

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Awards and Projects Better Advertising. Better World. Faculty Research International Advertising News Research

Dr. Joe Phua Publishes New Research on the Power of Emotional Messaging in Vaccine Communications

By Bella Cox and Liby Navarro

Dr. Joe Phua is a Professor and the Endowed Distinguished Chair at the Temerlin Advertising Institute at Southern Methodist University.  In 2011, he earned his Ph.D. from the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California. Throughout his career, Dr. Phua has worked with over $4.5 million in external research funded by distinguished organizations.  His research has explored new communication technologies, their impact on advertising and branding, and their application in sports marketing and health communications and have been featured in significant media outlets such as ABC News and National Public Radio (NPR).

Through his published work in some of the utmost journals, including the Journal of Advertising and Journal of Consumer Behavior, Dr. Phua has won awards from the International Communication Association (ICA), American Academy of Academy (AAA), and the International Communication Association (ICA), among many others.   

His most recent research titled, “Encouraging Positive Dialog Toward COVID-19 Vaccines on Social Media Using Hope Appeals, Celebrity Types, and Emoticons” was published in the journal,  Mass Communication & Society, and was conducted in conjunction with an international team of colleagues from Washington State University, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, and the University of Melbourne. This study evaluates how utilizing hope appeals, celebrity endorsements, and value emoticons shaped attitudes about COVID-19 vaccinations.  In addition, it discusses ongoing research to refine messaging strategies and improve the effectiveness of public health campaigns.  

For this research, Dr. Phua and his colleagues were interested in examining how social media posts by celebrity endorsers can influence their followers’ attitudes towards the COVID vaccine. Two experiments were conducted in the study:

In experiment one, they tested three celebrity endorser types (politician, scientist, athlete) and two message types (high and low relevance hope appeal). This experiment revealed that politicians posting low relevance hope appeal messages had the strongest effect on changing attitudes towards the COVID vaccine.

In experiment two, three emoticon types (positive, neutral, negative) and the same two message types (high and low relevance hope appeal) were used. It was concluded that neutral emoticons (wow, haha), rather than positive (like, love, hug) or negative (sad, angry) emoticons, had the strongest effect on changing attitudes towards the COVID vaccine.

For both experiments, it was concluded that the more someone strongly identified with the celebrity endorser posting the message, the more strongly their attitudes towards the COVID vaccine were changed.

Dr. Phua emphasized that “through examining COVID vaccine messages, this study was helpful to healthcare organizations who can be better prepared to use the most effective social media-based message strategies to combat and mitigate any major health pandemics that may arise in the future in the wake of the COVID-19 global pandemic.”

In addition, Dr. Phua recently visited Nanyang Technological University in Singapore to initiate research and teaching collaborations. 

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Better Advertising. Better World. Community Outreach Exxon Mobil Lecture Series Professional Development Scholarship Social Responsibility TAI Alumni

2024 ExxonMobil Lecture Series: Celebrating the Decade of the Mexican Avocado featuring Avocados from Mexico CEO and President, Alvaro Luque 

On February 22, 2024, Temerlin Advertising Institute at SMU hosted their annual ExxonMobil Lecture Series on Sustainability at the Angelika Film Center in Dallas. This event offered an immersive experience, blending educational discourse with a vibrant networking atmosphere for over 200 students, professionals, and sustainability enthusiasts. All gathered to hear from the man responsible for revolutionizing the avocado market, Alvaro Luque, President and CEO of the non-profit marketing organization, Avocados from Mexico (AFM). The expanding popularity of avocados took center stage as the event seamlessly wove together the threads of sustainability, and marketing innovation. Luque’s insights provided a rich tapestry of his 30-year marketing journey, emphasizing the strategic vision that catapulted Avocados From Mexico to its status as a household name and a symbol of sustainability in the produce market. The night was a great success and we are already excited for next year!  

The evening began with a networking hour where guests could connect over drinks, avocado focused hors d’oeuvres and sweets, as well as AFM’s signature build your own guacamole cart. The cart allowed guests to pick and choose their favorite ingredients and experience AFM’s brand message of always good by showcasing how avocados can be delicious, healthy, and fun! 

When it came time for the lecture, Luque was an immediate crowd pleaser with his utilization of AFM’s  famous jingle to kick things off. His discussion centered on the remarkable journey of Mexican avocados in the U.S., where today, 8 in 10 avocados consumed are from Mexico, contributing over $11 billion in economic output. He went on to emphasize the importance of understanding their target audience and how being the first fresh produce brand to advertise in the Super Bowl played a large part in evening the playing field for them as a brand, increasing awareness in such a large market, and setting a precedent for industry innovation. 

 At the presentation’s conclusion, TAI’s Dr. Carrie La Ferle went on to engage in a lively Q&A with Luque. La Ferle shared how delighted she was by his genuine care about the next generation, engaging in every question presented, and further sharing words of wisdom with the students in the audience. Dr. La Ferle later stated how impressed she was “by Mr. Luque’s passion for strategy and his keen eye for how to, in the words of Luque, “Make AFM in the produce category, like Pepsi or Coke were to beverages.”

   

“If you ever doubted the ability to market produce like a CPK, developing a visible brand in a brandless category, doubt no more,” said Dr. Carrie La Ferle of the Temerlin Advertising Institute. 

Guests left the evening with more than valuable insights on developing visible brands in brandless categories. Each attendee received a goodie bag which included their very own Avocados From Mexico. 

The 2024 ExxonMobil Lecture Series: The Decade of the Mexican Avocado, highlighted the Temerlin Advertising Institute’s dedication to integrating sustainability with marketing excellence and moto of “Better Advertising. Better World.” 

Watch the full lecture here:

Previous ExxonMobil Lectures included brands like Publicis, Pepsi Co, Honest Company, Nike, Chick-fil-A, and Monster, features like Signs of Humanity and David Baldwin, and topics like Spirituality.

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AAF Dallas Better Advertising. Better World. Faculty Presentations Social Responsibility

Professor Sid Muralidharan Panelist at FTC Workshop


On June 24th, Dr. Sidharth Muralidharan, Associate Professor at the Temerlin Advertising spoke at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) four-hour business workshop series, Green Lights & Red Flags: FTC Rules of the Road for Business.

The Dallas program continued the popular business workshop series that the FTC has held in past years with regional partners in cities across the county. The workshop focused on trending topics in truth-in-advertising law, social media marketing, data security, business-to-business fraud, and other business basics.

Dr. Sidharth Muralidharan, served as a panelist for the session titled “Avoiding a Promotion Commotion.” The session was moderated by Tom Carter, attorney at FTC Southwest Region, and covered six main topics – e-mail marketing, free offers and negative options, children’s online privacy, customer reviews, social media and influencers, and consumer gag clauses. Other panelists included, Iris Diaz (Chief Marketing Office for the Dallas Mavericks), Edward Hynes (Attorney at FTC Southwest Region), and Lea Williams (Adjunct Professor, Thurgood Marshall School of Law).

Designed for business owners, advertising professionals, attorneys, and others who need to know how established legal principles apply in today’s fast-moving marketplace, the program offers practical insights from Texas business leaders and recognized experts in consumer protection law and cybersecurity.

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AAA Better Advertising. Better World. Faculty Social Responsibility

Dr. Carrie La Ferle Recognized for Career Promoting Advertising Ethics and Social Responsibility

Dr. Carrie La Ferle of the Temerlin Advertising Institute at Southern Methodist University was awarded the prestigious Kim Rotzoll Award for Advertising Ethics and Social Responsibility. The award has only been given nine times since 2004 with La Ferle following the likes Ivan L Preston (2005), Herbert Jack Rotfeld (2006), Richard W. Pollay (2007), Wally Snyder (2009), Les Carlson (2010), Meme Drumwright (2013), Jerome Williams (2018) and Kim Sheehan (2019). Carrie said she was honored and absolutely beaming with gratitude to be included among these esteemed colleagues.

Kim Rotzoll spearheaded the teaching and research of ethics in advertising, from media ethics to the study of advertising as a social and economic institution in society. He was Dean of the College of Communications at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign for over ten years and prior to that, head of the department of advertising, one of the best ranked research advertising programs in the country. Kim died in 2003 at the age sixty-eight and the award was created to recognize individuals demonstrating an outstanding commitment to advertising ethics and social responsibility.

Dr. La Ferle was praised for….over twenty years of teaching ethics in advertising to undergraduate and graduate students, contributing to the design and now thriving MA in Advertising program at TAI with social responsibility at its core, her outstanding contribution to research, and her continued active service to the profession nationally and internationally, promoting teaching and research in ethics and social responsibility in advertising.

The American Academy of Advertising is the top advertising organization for advertising scholars interested in advertising research and education. It oversees many advertising journals, including the premier journal in the field, the Journal of Advertising.

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Better Advertising. Better World. Faculty Interviews TAI Classes TAI Students Undergraduate Students

FACULTY SPOTLIGHT: Difficult Year. Difficult Briefs. Smart Solutions.

Throughout his career, Temerlin professor Dr. Mark Allen has worked as an art director and designer for clients including the History Channel, the New York Yankees, Norton/Symantec, Martha Stewart, The Walking Dead, A&E Networks, HBO, the U.S. National Parks Service and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. His work has been recognized for creative excellence in the Print Regional Design Annual and Applied Arts magazine and by the Promotion Marketing Association, the Illustrators Society of Los Angeles and the Dallas Society of Visual Communications. He joined SMU’s newly established Temerlin Advertising Institute in 2003, where he currently teaches various creative advertising courses. Allen recently shared his insights into his students’ work and the shift in teaching creative courses brought about by the pandemic.

“I knew that teaching creative studio-based classes virtually was going to be a challenge, but it was much harder than I anticipated. It was difficult to hold our weekly critiques—the lifeblood of our creative classes—on Zoom because we’re used to walking around the room, making notes, and drawing sketches on the work that plasters every available surface in the classroom. Losing the spatial, tactile dimension of what we do in the classroom was felt every time we met online. Additionally, there’s usually a lot of back-and-forth with the students. But humor and sarcastic banter are hard to pull off on Zoom when most of the class is on mute. More than anything, I miss hearing the flood of input from my students during a critique. They are so smart and so funny, and I depend on their eyes, ears and brains to back me up—and to challenge my ill-advised suggestions. Zoom only allows you to focus on one thing at a time: one voice, one image, etc. And I don’t usually run my classes like that,” Allen explains.

Continue reading “FACULTY SPOTLIGHT: Difficult Year. Difficult Briefs. Smart Solutions.”