TAI Undergraduate Student – Page 6

October 6, 2016

TAI Student Samantha Butz Shares Experience Interning with Weller Media Agency in NYC

Many people in the advertising industry will never experience being a part of creating the new culture at a brand new agency or location. But this summer, TAI Creative student Samantha Butz had this opportunity while interning for Weller Media Agency at their new office in New York City.

One of the walls inside the New York office at Weller Media Agency.

Weller Media Agency is a digital creative agency headquartered in London that focuses on “connecting brands, talent and audiences”. A year ago, they crossed the pond and opened a new office in New York City (NYC). The opportunity to work alongside major musicians and record labels while simultaneously building and agency created a unique experience for Butz.

“I initially contacted the London office because my other advertising friend had interned with them through SMU the previous summer,” Butz said. “[But] since I couldn’t get a work visa, they offered me a position at their NYC office.”

Butz was hired as a creative intern, and worked with the digital team on different musician’s collateral. Her clients included BØRNS, Zella Day, Vevo, and several other artists.

“The days would fluctuate depending on what was happening in the client’s lives,” Butz said, “so, if one musician was planning on releasing a single, we would focus on that client for the majority of the day to create content for them. Content could be anything from a promotional clip of their music video, a gif from a picture of them, or a poster design from a concert picture. My favorite memory was when my design was chosen for BØRNS’ social media campaign. It was crazy to see my designs on his Facebook page!”

Because the NYC office is so new, there were usually only six people working there on a given day. But this provided Butz the unique opportunity to work directly with the Digital Creative Designer, Senior Digital Strategist, and Head of Digital Marketing and Communications. She also got to help out the London office, working with the Senior Designer and Director of Creative Services in the UK.

“This internship was a great experience for me because it gave me an opportunity to explore a different segment of the industry,” Butz said. “Almost all of my projects were digitally driven which is something I hadn’t had a lot of previous experience with. The internship affirmed that I am interested in a creative career with clients that I’m passionate about.”

Throughout her internship, Butz worked directly on many client projects. She learned a lot about working with various types of clients, how a small but growing agency operates, and how to apply skills she’s developed through her advertising classes.

“I learned a lot of technical skills while also learning a lot about client-designer relationships,” Butz said. “Since a lot of our clients were musicians, they were very particular about all aspects of their band or identity. I had to learn how to absorb a brand’s aesthetic in my designs yet produce new and creative content. The creative skills [I learned in my advertising classes], ideation, brainstorming, concepting, and executing, all came into play during my internship.”

Butz in the Ice Cream Museum in New York.

Butz also gained valuable life experience, learning what it’s like to live in a big city by herself for an extended period of time.

“More than anything, I learned a ton by just living in New York City by myself for a summer!” Butz said. “It’s a totally different lifestyle than in Dallas, or any other place I’ve visited, and I think it’s a great learning experience for anyone. One of my favorite experiences of the summer was being able to visit the Museum of Ice Cream, the art project that was open for a month. Something I loved about NY was the spontaneity and the ideas there; there are so many people with so many different and amazing ideas, you’re constantly seeing or learning something new every day.”

September 28, 2016September 28, 2016

TAI Student Idara Akpan Shares Experience Interning With Razorfish Health

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.

“[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.”

September 22, 2016September 22, 2016

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.”

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.

“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.”

September 15, 2016

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.

September 7, 2016September 8, 2016

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.

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.

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.”

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.”

September 3, 2015

TAI and SMU’s Ad Club Kickoff Party – Ozona Grill

What better way to start off the 2015-2016 academic year than with new and old advertising students, faculty and staff, as well as a great venue and food!

2015-08-31 18.50.38 2015-08-31 18.10.35

Monday, August 31st, TAI and SMU’s Ad Club hosted a kickoff party at Ozona Grill& Bar. Good food, good friends and good conversations. The pictures capture the fun. Here’s to a successful and productive school year for everyone.

April 9, 2015April 9, 2015

Olga Romanova of TAI receives an AEFH Scholarship

The Advertising Education Foundation of Houston (AEFH) awards scholarships to college sophomores, juniors and seniors pursuing undergraduate or post graduate degrees in advertising, communications, interactive marketing, journalism, radio/TV, commercial art, public relations or related fields. The AEFH Board of Directors received a record number of applications. The board carefully considered participant’s applications, educational aspirations and overall qualifications. As a result, Olga Romanova, majoring in Studio Arts and Creative Advertising at SMU, was awarded a Baxter + Korge Education Scholarship 2015.

Congratulations!!