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2023 ExxonMobil Lecture Series on Sustainability: Insights from Global Leader Maddy Kulkarni of PepsiCo

The 2023 ExxonMobil Lecture Series on Sustainability, hosted by the Temerlin Advertising Institute at SMU, is highly anticipated event each year. On Thursday, March 30th, students and industry professionals gathered at the Angelika Theater in Dallas, Texas to hear from a global leader in sustainability, Maddy Kulkarni, Global Marketing Director of Sustainability & Social Impact at PepsiCo.

Maddy Kulkarni - Sustainable Brands

During the lecture, Maddy discussed how she drives successful and socially responsible brands at PepsiCo, sharing insights from her book, “Social Impact Marketing: The Essential Guide for Changemakers.” She also highlighted the importance of marketing in driving both business and social impact and shared her experiences serving on the Advisory Board of Sustainable Brands and as PepsiCo’s liaison to the World Federation of Advertisers.

Maddy’s impressive background and expertise in sustainability and social impact made her a valuable speaker for this year’s ExxonMobil Lecture Series. Attendees left with a deeper understanding of how businesses can use marketing to drive sustainability and how individuals can make a positive impact in their communities.

In addition to being a thought-provoking lecture, the ExxonMobil Lecture Series provided attendees with a valuable networking opportunity. Before and after the lecture, guests had the chance to mingle and connect with fellow sustainability enthusiasts, students, and industry professionals. Food and drinks were also available, creating a social and welcoming atmosphere for attendees to exchange ideas and build relationships.

This aspect of the event was particularly exciting for students, as it allowed them to connect with potential mentors and industry leaders in a more informal setting. For Dallas area professionals, it was an opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals and stay up-to-date on the latest trends and ideas in sustainability.

The Temerlin Advertising Institute at SMU continues to provide invaluable opportunities for students and professionals to learn about and engage with sustainability. Overall, the ExxonMobil Lecture Series on Sustainability with Maddy Kulkarni was a great success, not just as a lecture but also as a networking opportunity. We look forward to future events that bring together the sustainability community to continue driving positive change in our world.

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FACULTY SPOTLIGHT: My First Year at Temerlin Advertising Institute

By: TAI Professor Dr. Yan Huang 

It is hard to believe that it has been one year since I joined Temerlin Advertising Institute (TAI). Looking back, this is an incredible year filled with exciting opportunities and experiences.

TAI stands at the intersection between the advertising industry and the research community. The unique combination provides a great source of inspiration. Through many TAI initiatives over the year, I have been engaged in conversations with both top advertising scholars and industry leaders. I am able to further develop my research program not only by asking questions that are important to theories but also with the industry trends and needs in mind. As the convergence of media and technology has disrupted the landscape of advertising practice, I extended my research on traditional persuasion theories to the digital domain. I initiated research projects that explore how novel digital advertising practices such as native ads and advergames can be used to promote public health and social good. These projects received funding support from the Meadows School, the University Research Council, and the Sam Taylor Fellowship. With the support of TAI, I was able to present four research papers at the annual conferences of the American Academy of Advertising, National Communication Association, and International Communication Association.

As a professor, I always hope to help my students understand the real-world meanings of theories, and motivate them to transplant the knowledge acquired in the classroom to the world at large. Located in a vibrant city and connected to the industry community, TAI is a great place to implement this teaching philosophy. I am also impressed by TAI students’ motivation and their aptitude for making connections between the somewhat abstract academic process and their life. I have had student groups investigating consumers’ perceptions of Whole Foods after Amazon’s acquisition, exploring the use of experiential marketing strategies in military recruitment, and examining how car commercials affect gender stereotyping, just to name a few.

My collaboration with the 9-1-1 program in the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) in the classroom of Strategic Brand Management 2 is a highlight of this approach. Students formed four teams to perform a brand audit for the 9-1-1 program from different angles and provided executable plans for promoting its branding among the public, college students, elected officials, and telecommunication professionals. This task required the abilities to flexibly apply marketing principles in the textbook to the nonprofit context and to critically analyze real-world problems. My students excelled with their creativity, curiosity, and diligence.

Christy Williams, director of the 9-1-1 program, said, “Working with Yan and her students in the Strategic Brand Management class was a great benefit to the 9-1-1 program in the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG).  Collaboration with academia is important to our program, as we understand that times are changing and there is value in students’ perspectives.  NCTCOG is very progressive with our technology and we want to keep up with our education and branding as well.  The students at SMU provided new insights and ideas through their class projects.  They served as a ‘fresh eye’ into our program and delivered professional constructive criticism along with proposals for improvement in their presentations. We expected advice on improving our website and social media, but were surprised with the insightful suggestions for presentations and field awareness.  The suggestion to ‘focus on inspiration more than education’ could change the future direction of our awareness strategy.  All in all, we found great value in the partnership.  In fact, we believe that the value will continue with a group of students who took a project to heart and made a difference.  Each one of them demonstrated that they are 9-1-1 champions!” It is certainly one of the most rewarding moments when I saw what students learned and accomplished in the classroom could make a difference in the real world.

I am fortunate to have the opportunity to work with a group of talented colleagues and to instill the passion for and knowledge of advertising into many gifted students. I look forward to another fruitful and joyful year.

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SMU-TAI’s Ad Team Brings Two Trophies Back to Temerlin

The 2018 SMU-TAI’s Ad Team, led by advisor Professor Amber Benson, competed with universities from Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana, in the AAF District 10 Convention, ADVENTION, in Corpus Christi, Texas on April 15, 2018. They placed third overall and took home a Special Judges Award for Best Market Segmentation in this year’s National Student Advertising Competition. Additionally, TAI students Avery Lewis and Alissa Llort were awarded AAF Tenth District Scholarships. All-in-all a great weekend!

Third Place and Special Judges Award for Best Market Segmentation

TAI student Harrison Fiveash said he could have not been more excited with the outcome in Corpus Christi. “Not only placing third, but receiving the Special Judges Award for Best Market Segmentation is a true testament to how hard and cohesively our team operated,” he said.

Strategy Development and Research

Ad Team members had been working hard since the beginning of the Spring 2018 semester when they began doing research and strategy development for Ocean Spray, this year’s national client. The challenge was to drive relevancy of the brand for older millennials across both food and beverages.

With the concept BREAK OUT OF THE BOG, the team created a memorable campaign designed to give older millennials, aged 25-34, new reasons to purchase Ocean Spray throughout the year, by leveraging the health benefits, and highlighting Ocean Spray’s responsibility to the environment and to their farmers.

The team was asked to target older millennials, but they broke it down a little further to reveal a sweet spot in the millennial market that would provide Ocean Spray the highest lifetime customer value. How? by introducing the HENRYs. A HENRY is a “High Earner that is Not Rich Yet.” They view the brands they buy as a reflection of themselves, and improve their personal brand equity by buying from brands that they have a positive relationship with. Since HENRYs are both early adopters and social influencers, investing in them would create a halo effect that would influence the rest of the 44 million older millennial target.

After harvesting research insights, the team came to the conclusion that when it comes to the HENRYs, the brand is bogged down. These millennials tend to buy Ocean Spray products during the fall-winter holiday season, are unaware of Ocean Spray’s extensive product line, are skeptical about health claims, and don’t know about all the amazing things Ocean Spray does as a company.

The team decided to build on the existing brand equity of Ocean Spray’s highly popular “Straight from the Bog” campaign by breaking the Bog Guys, Justin and Henry, out of the bog and placing them in scenarios which align with the interests and values of the target market. All they needed to do, was to BREAK OUT OF THE BOG.

Four team members, Amy Cooley, Harrison Fiveash, Alex Mackillop and Sara Jane Stephens presented the team’s work to a panel of industry judges at the competition, with the goal of leveraging Ocean Spray’s social responsibility and their healthier and celebration-worthy products; showing that Ocean Spray could become more than just a Thanksgiving staple, a sugar-filled juice cocktail, and another corporate name.

Presenting Team: Harrison, Sara Jane, Alex and Amy.

Going to Corpus Christi to compete in the National Student Advertising Competition was an incredible experience for Ad Team Leader Sara Jane Stephens. “It was so wonderful to see the team’s handwork pay off. Our presentation went really well, and Harrison, Amy, Alex and I had so much fun presenting our campaign to the judges and the audience,” she said. “I am really proud of the team and very grateful to Dr. Edwards and Professor Benson for their guidance and hard work.”

Ad Team Leader Amy Cooley believes the hard work and late nights that the team put into the entire campaign and presentation were validated by the awards received. “I could not be more excited to have received two awards at NSAC this year,” she said. “This experience more than anything has prepared me for the real world in advertising, and I’m so thankful to have been able to be a part of it all.”

Advertising majors are required to complete ADV 4399 Advertising Campaigns as part of their curriculum. This class combines major advertising theories with practice, allowing students to develop and present an advertising campaign to a real client based on current advertising challenges that the client is facing. Students that take Advertising Campaigns during the Spring semester have the opportunity to participate in the National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC). Recent NSAC clients include Tai Pei Frozen Foods (2017) Snapple (2016) Pizza Hut (2015) Mary Kay (2014) Glidden Paint (2013) and Nissan (2012).

TAI Brand Management Student, Alissa Llort, said that being a member of SMU’s Ad Team was her most rewarding college experience. “I just loved the experience and would do it all over again,” she said. “Being part of the SMU Ad Team this semester allowed me to immerse into the actual process of building a campaign and experience the real advertising life!”

Ad Team Members in Corpus Christi, TX: Rita de Obarrio, Anne-Marie Geisler, Alex Mackillop, Harrison Fiveash, Sara Jane Stephens, Amy Cooley, Alissa Llort and Frank Zhang.
TAI Students and Faculty at the Awards Presentation in Corpus Christi, TX.

Please join the Temerlin Advertising Institute in congratulating this year’s SMU-TAI’s NSAC team on their outstanding work and accomplishments!

Members of the 2018 SMU-TAI’s NSAC team are: Hayley Banas, Myla Borden, Mary Charles Byers, Amy Cooley, Rita de Obarrio, Harrison Fiveash, Anne-Marie Geisler, Conrad Li, Alissa Llort, Alex Mackillop, London Mercer, Shelby Pointer, Juan Reyes, Sara Jane Stephens, Sara Ann Whiteley and Frank Zhang.

 

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TAI Students Win 16 Dallas ADDY Awards

The Temerlin Advertising Institute won 16 ADDYs, including Best of Show and a special Judge’s pick, in the student category of The 56th Annual American Advertising Federation (AAF) Dallas American Advertising Awards on March 8th at The Bomb Factory in Deep Ellum.

The ADDY Awards is the world’s largest advertising competition, receiving over 40,000 entries annually. It is unique among other advertising competitions in that it is the only competition that includes three levels of judging: local, regional and national. For more information about AAF and the ADDY Awards, visit: http://www.americanadvertisingawards.com/

TAI won more awards than all the other 4 schools combined and beat its own all-time record as a program for the number of wins from 2010.

Winning entries were as follows:

STUDENT BEST OF SHOW

CLIENT: An ad for an air purifier
CREDITS: Matthieu Smyth and Jennifer Nelson

JUDGE’S CHOICE

CLIENT: EPIC Meat Snacks
CREDITS: Tiffany Giraudon and Helen Rieger

GOLD AWARD // ART DIRECTION

CLIENT: An ad for an air purifier
CREDITS: Matthieu Smyth and Jennifer Nelson

GOLD AWARD // OUT OF HOME

CLIENT: An ad for an air purifier
CREDITS: Matthieu Smyth and Jennifer Nelson

SILVER AWARD // OUT OF HOME

CLIENT: Zero Gravity Poster Series
CREDITS: Samantha Butz

SILVER AWARD // ONLINE INTERACTIVE

CLIENT: National Parks Service
CREDITS: Eric Sedeño and Madeline Khare

SILVER AWARD // CROSS PLATFORM CAMPAIGN

CLIENT: VH1 Save the Music
CREDITS: Tiffany Giraudon and Caroline Moss

SILVER AWARDS // PRINT

CLIENT: Dr. Bronners
CREDITS: Grace LaMontagne and Jolie Guz

SILVER AWARDS // PRINT

CLIENT: Philips Hue Lighting
CREDITS: Eric Sedeño, Kirsty McLauchlan, Grey McDermid

SILVER AWARD // COPYWRITING

CLIENT: Help USA
CREDITS: Laura Walsh and Caroline Moss

BRONZE AWARD // PRINT

CLIENT: EPIC Meat Snacks
CREDITS: Tiffany Giraudon and Helen Rieger

BRONZE AWARD // COPYWRITING

CLIENT: VH1 Save the Music
CREDITS: Tiffany Giraudon and Caroline Moss

BRONZE AWARD // OUT OF HOME

CLIENT: Ancestry DNA
CREDITS: Tiffany Giraudon and Jolie Guz

BRONZE AWARD // OUT OF HOME

CLIENT: Help USA
CREDITS: Laura Walsh and Caroline Moss

BRONZE AWARD // OUT OF HOME

CLIENT: Airbnb
CREDITS: Laura Walsh and Helen Rieger

BRONZE AWARD // PRINT

CLIENT: Duolingo
CREDITS: Eric Sedeño and Lucas Crespo

TAI Creative Student, Eric Sedeño, said he was thrilled to have won three ADDY Awards this year. “Receiving awards for my work has been so spectacular. It really affirms that I have chosen the right major and the fact that Temerlin has given me an opportunity to be successful outside of the classroom,” he said. “I am so proud of my work and I am so glad other people like it as much as I do. I can’t wait to see if my student campaigns proceed to win more awards!”

The 2018 national ADDY Awards show will take place in Chicago, Illinois on June 8, 2018 in conjunction with The American Advertising Federation (AAF) National Conference, ADMERICA!.

 

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Introducing SMU’S 2018 NSAC Ad Team Members

This year SMU will be competing again in the National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC). Students were selected by Ad Team manager Professor Amber Benson to be a part of SMU’s award-winning Ad Team. The Ad Team will be working together to create a full campaign applying the scrum methodology. This year’s client is Ocean Spray and the challenge is to drive relevancy of the brand for millennials across both food and beverages.

Ad Team members shown in the order listed below.

Hayley Banas is an Advertising major on the Strategic Brand Management track with a minor in Psychology.

Myla Borden is an Advertising major on the Strategic Brand Management track with a minor in Graphic Design.

Mary Charles Byers is an Advertising major on the Digital Media Strategy track with a minor in Graphic Design.

Amy Cooley is an Advertising (Strategic Brand Management) and Spanish double major.

Rita de Obarrio is an Advertising (Digital Media Strategy) and Psychology double major with a minor in Business.

Harrison Fiveash is a pre-major in Advertising interested on the Strategic Brand Management track with minors in Communications and Arts Entrepreneurship .

Anne-Marie Geisler is an Advertising major on the Digital Media Strategy track with a minor in Fashion Media.

Conrad Li is an Advertising major on the Digital Media Strategy track.

Alissa Llort is an Advertising major on the Strategic Brand Management track with a minor in Psychology.

Alex MacKillop is an Advertising major on the Strategic Brand Management track with minors in Business and International Studies.

London Mercer is an Advertising major on the Digital Media Strategy track with a minor in Graphic Design.

Shelby Pointer is an Advertising major on the Digital Media Strategy track with a minor in Graphic Design.

Juan Reyes is a Corporate Communications and Public Affairs major with a minor in Advertising.

Sara Jane Stephens is an Advertising major on the Strategic Brand Management track with a minor in Spanish.

Sara Ann Whiteley is a Journalism major with a minor in Advertising.

Frank Zhang is an Advertising (Digital Media Strategy) and Mathematics double major.

Four team members will be selected to present the team’s work in a 20-minute long presentation to a panel of judges made up of industry experts at each level of competition – first at the District level in Corpus Christi, TX in April, then (if they advance) at the National level in Chicago, IL in June.

 

 

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TAI Professor Mark Allen Judges BBB Video Contest

TAI Professor Mark Allen

TAI Professor Mark Allen was one of six local advertising professionals to act as a judge for the BBB Serving North Central Texas’s video contest. Students from seven local high schools created 1-minute PSAs about BBB’s services to illustrate the contest theme, “Be Smart. Be Informed,” to North Texas consumers.

Students from local high schools Berkner High School, Booker T. Washington High School, Lagrone Advanced Technology Complex, Lincoln High School, New Tech High School @Coppell, Richardson High School, and Rockwall High School were selected to participate in the competition because of their strong film, journalism, and audio video production programs.

“I was totally blown away by the talent of the students and the advanced capabilities of the winning high school programs—in fact, I had a hard time believing that these were just high school students,” Professor Allen said. “I was equally impressed with the teachers I met from Richardson High School, Berkner High School and New Tech High School in Coppell. I have been talking with all three since the competition and we are making plans to have their students visit SMU to discuss opportunities for collaboration between our students in the future. I’m hoping some of these students might consider applying to TAI’s creative track in the future—we’d sure love to have them.”

The videos were judged on production quality, creativity, the teams’ ability to market them, and effectiveness at representing BBB. The first phase of the contest took place online. The 17 videos submitted racked up an impressive 320,259 likes on this site. The second phase of the contest took place on one of BBB|NCTX’s Facebook pages, where students were encouraged to promote the videos among their friends on Facebook.

TAI Professor Peter Noble speaking at the BBB Video Contest Awards

The winning team was from New Tech High School in Coppell for their video titled, “Don’t be scammed by this guy.” Berkner High School and LaGrone Advanced Technology Complex placed in the top three. The schools of the winning teams will collectively receive $4,000 in donations to their Audio Visual programs. The students of the winning team will each receive a GoPro digital video camera and cash prizes. The winning video will be used in BBB|NCTX marketing efforts for 2018.

TAI also had an information booth at the BBB Student Video Contest Prize Ceremony on December 7.

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Meet TAI Adjunct Professor Tom Edwards

Professor Tom Edwards is teaching capstone course ADV 4399 Advertising Campaigns for the Temerlin Advertising Institute this semester. Professor Edwards is the chief digital officer at Agency, Epsilon, where he oversees brand planning, research, data design, digital strategy, digital experience, social/CRM/email, innovation and media. He regularly publishes content and speaks on the future of marketing.

Professor Edwards was an adjunct faculty member of the virtual campus for Wayland Baptist University from 2003-2015. He also instructed Principles of Marketing, Advertising & Promotion, Global Marketing and Consumer Behavior. He has also guest lectured at University of Texas at Arlington, and prior to joining the TAI team he was a member of the SMU Digital Accelerator certification program faculty.

What made you want to become a professor?

I have spent the past 17 years in the marketing technology space. The rate of change associated with technology, its impact on consumer behavior and ultimately how we connect with consumers continues to outpace traditional academia’s ability to keep pace. I wanted to contribute and give back to the next generation of advertising professionals by bridging the gap theory and the practical application.

What is your background in the subject you teach?

I currently instruct the Advertising Campaigns course. Over my professional career I have worked on campaigns for hundreds of fortune 1000 brands (Citi, Starbucks, AT&T, GameStop, Activision, Hasbro, Frito-Lay to name a few) both domestic and international. My expertise is rooted in a deep understanding of technology, consumer behavior, data and intelligent systems such as artificial intelligence and the application of machine learning.

What has been your favorite memory from teaching for TAI so far?

The passion and creativity exhibited by the students and the staff and their willingness to roll up their sleeves and get to work, even when it’s in areas they may not be in their core area of focus.

What is your favorite part about being a professor?

I have instructed thousands of students over the past 15 years across a few universities and my favorite part is the open dialogue with the students. Getting to hear their perspectives and thoughts and to see their work evolve over the course of the semester are incredibly gratifying.

What made you want to go into advertising? How did you get where you are in your career?

I started my advertising career during the dot com days of the late 90’s. I had a passion for technology and all things digital. As graphical user interfaces and connectivity began to spread, so did the need to create engaging digital experiences.

The alignment of marketing and technology have been a key foundation for the advancement of my career. I have worked in interactive agencies, start-ups, enterprise software companies and large agency holding companies. Having the ability to decipher complex problems into simple solutions has been a key to career advancement. The other critical component to career growth has been my blog. 10 years and over 400 posts later, having a visible point of view and a repository for thought, industry commentary and speaking has been a valuable asset in my career development.

How have you seen the advertising industry change since you started?

 The biggest change over my career is the shift towards the empowered consumer. Prior to 2007 advertising had remained somewhat stable with broadcast at the center of the experience. In 2007 we saw that begin to shift with the introduction of the first iPhone. This sparked the shift towards mobility in advertising that is still prevalent.

Then we saw how technology enhances consumer empowerment through the creation of user created content, accessibility and amplification via social channels, the personification of brands and celebrity being redefined from Hollywood to influencers.

Moving forward we are now seeing the shift from content marketing to contextual and the rise of multimodal interfaces with the focus shifting from mobile and desktop to voice, vision and touch.

Moving forward, we will see the shift from consumer centric advertising to system based marketing as algorithms and virtual assistants will take on more responsibility for consumers and ultimately our definition of reality will evolve when we see the convergence of location data, computer vision, augmented reality and artificial intelligence where any space, physical or digital becomes a new canvas to connect with consumers.

What advice do you have for students who want to have a career in advertising?

I have 3 tips for students just starting their career:

1) Network – Begin building a professional network before you start your professional career. Attend industry events and network in-person, focus on your LinkedIn profile and engaging with content. Your professional network is one of your most valuable resources. It should require more nurturing and attention than personal social channels.

2) Sponsor & Mentor – It is key to seek a mentor, someone who works in the industry you are about to enter to help navigate key pitfalls and to “learn the ropes” from a seasoned individual. It is incredibly important to be open to feedback. It is also important to identify a sponsor within your organization. Someone who is either directly or indirectly in your chain of command. Someone who can provide positive internal earned media and groom you for advancement. You cannot always depend on an immediate supervisor to serve this role. Seek out highly respected and influential individuals within the organization, you will know who they are.

3) Original Thought – I cannot reiterate how important publishing content can be for a new grad. Having thoughts on industry commentary or showcasing your ability to connect trends that may not seem to link on the surface is an art that can lead to you being selected over someone else.

How do you incorporate aspects from your work into your teaching?

 I look to bring best in class examples and techniques, be it research, the latest on aligning psychographics and affinity to personas or the role of conversational experiences into digital strategies. The key is aligning experience and tools with the core areas of focus of the lesson or assignment.

What is one interesting fact about you?

 I was named by Ad Age as a 2017 Marketing Technology Trailblazer.

Follow Professor Edwards on Twitter @BlackFin360 to stay up to date on the latest areas of study.

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TAI Professor Dr. Hye Jin Yoon Publishes on Corporate Responsibility Campaigns on Social Networking Sites in the Journal of Business Research

TAI’s Associate Professor Dr. Hye Jin Yoon has a paper forthcoming in the Journal of Business Research, which has an impact factor of 3.354. With Dr. Yoon-Joo Lee and Nicole H. O’Donnel of Washington State University, she explored how number of followers and valence of comments could affect the perceived legitimacy of corporate social responsibility campaigns on social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook.

Title: The effects of information cues on perceived legitimacy of companies that promote corporate social responsibility initiatives on social networking sites

Abstract: Social networking sites (SNSs) are increasingly used to promote corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. Consumers can like, retweet, or comment on CSR messages on SNS pages, signaling public approval or disapproval and affecting perceived legitimacy of the organization. Especially for controversial companies, such as alcohol brands, both perceived legitimacy of a cause and consumer purchase intention (PI) might be enhanced by expressions of public support on SNS pages. However, few studies have explored this relationship. The findings from Experiment 1 suggest that the number of followers (low vs. high) affected perceived legitimacy and PI. Experiment 2 revealed that the effects of comment valence on attitudinal and behavioral intention interacted with the number of followers. These findings advance our current knowledge of factors associated with perceived legitimacy of companies that promote CSR campaigns on SNS pages. Implications for advertising research and practice are discussed.

You can access the article free before December 17th, 2017.