TAI Alumna Gives Back: Erin Hedrick of The Richards Group

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On June 18th, I had the incredibly opportunity to participate in the 10th Annual Home Team Build here at The Richards Group. As a recent graduate of the Temerlin Advertising Institute at SMU, I was excited about joining the working world, but was nervous about that whole “work/life balance” everyone kept talking about. Community service has been an ongoing theme and hobby in my life, and I wasn’t sure where that would fit into a busy, new schedule. But when I joined The Home Depot account at TRG, I was thrilled to learn that I was joining a team of people who were equally passionate about giving back.

Years ago, The Home Depot committed to an annual day of service to help those in need. In response, the team of people working on The Home Depot account here at The Richards Group decided to make the same commitment. For ten years, the Home Team has raised money and fixed up the homes of local Dallas families in need of a helping hand. And this year, we took on two houses, instead of one.

I pulled up to work at 6:00 in the morning, and was greeted by my surprisingly enthusiastic-for-it-being-so-early coworkers. We got on the bus and headed to work. We ripped up carpets. We chipped off old paint. We installed brand new appliances. We got dirty, sunburnt, and wow are we sore. But none of that mattered when the homeowners walked through the door at the end of the day, because we realized the difference that our work had made.

My education at TAI showed me that this is an industry where there are unlimited opportunities to give back, you just have to have the courage to take them. And boy, am I glad I did.

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About the Author
Erin Hedrick is a 2015 MA in Advertising graduate from the Temerlin Advertising Institute at SMU, with a BA in Film & Media Arts. She currently works as a Brand Manager for The Home Depot account at The Richards Group.

TAI MA Global Immersion Experience – June 2015 in Hong Kong

Hong Kong Week 1 - June 2015
After fall and spring courses in advertising, TAI first year MA in Advertising students are off to Hong Kong for the month of June. They take International Advertising, while having guest lectures on Chinese culture and advertising in Asia from professors in Hong Kong. They also undertake cultural tours and agency visits to learn about the advertising industry in Hong Kong as well as the greater Asian region.

During their first week, they have hiked at The Peak, enjoyed a traditional Dim Sum lunch, visited the Hong Kong History Museum and spent a few hours with MAXUS, a GroupM Company in Quarry Bay, Hong Kong. At MAXUS, the students learned the ins and outs of media in Hong Kong. They were fortunate enough to have an hour long presentation by Ms. Moon Cheng, Maxus’ Strategic Director. Stay tuned for more highlights from Hong Kong and their global immersion experience.

TAI First-Year Graduate Students Present Campaign Proposal to Dude, Sweet Chocolate

First row (left to right): Jing Jin, Colleen O’Brien, Erica Chiarello, Snow Wang, Chef Katherine Clapner, Emily Mize, Marin Berardi, Diana Herrera, April Yu, Dr. Sidharth Muralidharan. Second Row: Robert Keeler, Preston Barrett.

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.”

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Legendary Group: Snow Wang, Colleen O’Brien, Jing Jin, Erica Chiarello

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.”

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AMP’D: April Yu, Diana Herrera, Marin Berardi, Preston Barrett

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.

Rachel Peng’s Thesis Defense

Congratulations to Rachel Peng! 
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Rachel Peng defending her thesis.
Second year MA in Advertising student, Rachel Peng, successfully defended her thesis research titled, “The Interaction between Music and Message Frame: A Congruity Approach.”
She has been working on this experimental research for the past year and her results show that when the valence of the mood created by the music and the message frame is congruent, effectiveness of the public service advertisements may increase. She examined this using local animal shelter support as the issue featured in the PSAs.
TAI congratulates Rachel on her successful defense and cheers her on in her exciting journeys ahead!

Erin Hedrick’s Thesis Defense

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Congratulations to Erin Hedrick! 
Yesterday, Friday May 1, 2015, second year MA in Advertising student, Erin Hedrick, successfully defended her thesis research titled, “Building Brand Value: Movie Theaters as Products that Advertise the Experience.” Her adviser was 2015-05-01 10.01.43Dr. Carrie La Ferle.
She has been working on this research for the past year and her results show that people do enjoy going to the movies but that the value of the experience can be enhanced if theaters paid more attention to convenience factors, loyalty programs and highlighting the social companionship with friends opportunities. Price was not the key factor in decisions to attend or not.
TAI congratulates Erin on her successful defense and cheers her as she joins The Richards Group Advertising Agency in Account Management where she has spent the past few months undertaking her Executive Internship!
Congratulations again, from your TAI Family.

Read about an Executive Internship from our TAI Second Year MA Student, Morgan Baden

In the final semester of the Temerlin Advertising Institute’s MA in Advertising program, students work in an executive internship with a Dallas based agency. Read Morgan’s story below.

Morgan Baden: TM Advertising 

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As an intern at TM Advertising, I have really been able to get my feet wet in the industry and be a part of a team that cares a lot about finding the “beautiful truth” for each  brand we work with. Working on the Account Management team, I have been able to work on accounts like American Airlines Credit Union. For this client, I develop Creative Briefs, Assignment Sheets, and Change Notices  for the TM creative department. This account  has provided me with a  lot of responsibility and has taught me a great deal about how different departments all come together to create these Direct Mail pieces.

I have also had the opportunity to work with the client  Captain D’s Seafood Restaurant, where I developed  food  shoot  plan  books.  Plus, I  was able to attend the photo shoot to see how much hard work actually goes into just  setting up a plate of seafood for TV and print!

TM has an awesome culture. It is not too small and not too big. There is a reason they were voted Ad Age’s best place to work in 2012 and 2014 and it is because they care more about what’s best for the client in the long run rather than just getting the job done.

I am so grateful to have the opportunity to work with great clients and even better people!

Check back soon for updates from other students and their MA in Advertising Executive Internships!

 

Read about Kirk Dunlap’s Executive Internship

In the final semester of the Temerlin Advertising Institute’s MA in Advertising program, students work in an executive internship with a Dallas agency. Read Kirks’s story below.

Kirk Dunlap: The Marketing ArmKirk Dunlap

At The Marketing Arm, I’ve had the opportunity to be part of the Frito-Lay marketing team for the Lay’s Do Us A Flavor Campaign, doing data analysis on millions of flavor inspirations submitted from all across the USA. I’ve also had the opportunity to arrange promotional partnerships with global brands for the upcoming summer campaign.

 

Check back soon for updates from other students and their MA in Advertising Executive Internships!

Read all about Rachel Peng’s Executive Internship

In the final semester of the Temerlin Advertising Institute’s MA in Advertising program, students work in an executive internship with a Dallas agency. Read Rachel’s story below!

Rachel Peng: Canonball

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I started my journey with Canonball at the beginning of January. I’m currently working as a social media intern where I create and manage content on clients’ social media platforms. My clients include Bolo Italian Grill, Preston Hollow Village Dallas, Christian Brothers Automotive, and Canonball (Yes, Canonball takes its own brand very seriously too). My daily work involves creative writing, research, social listening, analytics, and brand strategy. Canonball also provides interns with free access to Hubspot certificate trainings and Google Analytics. Moving forward, I’ll further sharpen my skills as a social media strategist to help clients win loyal follows and grow measurable business results.

Check back soon for updates from other students and their MA in Advertising Executive Internships!

Read about an Executive Internship from our TAI Second Year MA Student, David Drown

In the final semester of the Temerlin Advertising Institute’s MA in Advertising program, students work in an executive internship with a Dallas agency. Read David’s story below!

David Drown – Slingshot

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Right now I’m working over at Slingshot as a copywriting intern — or as they call it, a Slingtern. My days have been pretty busy lately, but in that good “I enjoy the challenge” kind of way. I’ve been able to hop around a lot and try my hand at writing for many different accounts. Some of the accounts that I work more frequently on include Texas Tourism, Taco Bueno, American Home Shield, and Lexol Leather Cleaner. I even recently got the chance to work on location and hand model for a few upcoming Lexol spots. It’s been a great place to work so far, and the people are very in tune with one another — it’s like a big, comfortable family where you’re taught to never take yourself too seriously. I look forward to each day because I know there’s a good chance I’ll learn something entirely new about the advertising business or even myself.

Check back soon for  updates from other students and their MA in Advertising Executive Internships!