AdPR Alumni Spotlight: Austin McDonnell

Austin McDonnell at graduation
December 2013

Austin McDonnell recently accepted an offer to work at Grey New York as an Assistant Account Executive on the CoverGirl account.

What was your major and when did you graduate?  

I graduated in December 2013 and received Bachelor’s degrees in advertising and french.

What activities were you involved while in Grady/UGA?  

While at UGA I was a UGA HEROs Team Leader and PR Committee member, AdClub member, served as VP of Public Relations for Delta Delta Delta, and interned for Barberitos Franchising in their marketing department.

What are you doing now and how did you get there?

I’ve held four different advertising internship positions and knew that I wanted to work with a larger agency in another city. My sights were originally set on Chicago, but I established great connections with Grady alumni who accepted jobs in New York. Maintaining these relationships and reaching out to other UGA alums at ad agencies was one of the smartest moves I made over the course of my job search. We have an incredible alumni network! I began my job search early with informational interviews and kept in touch with HR leading up to position openings.

What is your day-to-day like at your job? (Any interesting projects that you can share with us?)

Stay tuned...

What part of your Grady experience (classes, professors, etc.) has been helpful in your career today?  

During my final semester, I took a course called Digital and Social Strategy, which I believe to be one of the most useful ad classes I took over the course of my time at UGA. The course taught us about SEO, SEM, metrics, community management, and other elements of digital advertising. Dr. Lin provided case studies of current social media campaigns for our class to discuss and analyze, which was something I continued to do after graduation. Analyzing different campaigns was a go-to question in almost every interview!

What is your favorite Grady memory?

One of my favorite Grady memories was participating in the Chicago Advertising Agency Tour in the fall of my junior year. The trip allowed us to rub elbows with professionals in media, creative, accounts, and production. It was fantastic exposure and gave a holistic view of the advertising landscape.

What advice do you have for current AdPR students?

Take advantage of advertising and PR opportunities as a student! Participate in AdClub or PRSSA. Join marketing or PR philanthropy committees. Find an off campus organization or company to volunteer or intern with. It’s important to see how what you’re learning in the classroom is actually applied! Get your hands dirty and gain experience. Be a sponge and ask questions. Be patient but persistent. My final piece of advice: never underestimate the power of a hand written thank you note.

AdPR Alumni Spotlight: Steve Guyer (ABJ '05)

Steve Guyer

Steve Guyer (ABJ '05), an advertising major, is originally from Royston, Ga.

What activities/internships were you involved while in Grady/UGA?

• Martin Agency Student Workshop (Richmond, VA) ‘05.
• Staff Photographer, UGA Bulldogs Athletic Department ‘03-’05.
• VP. Interactive Media, UGA Ad Club ‘04-’05.

What are you doing now and how did you get there?

I’m a manager for Viacom’s Kids and Family group, which includes Nickelodeon and Virtual Worlds. I’ve been managing digital initiatives since 2006 when I worked at Grey’s direct marketing and digital agency. In the past, I’ve worked at G2 (part of Grey Group), Experian CheetahMail, AgencyRx (part of the CDM Group Omnicom Group).

What is your day-to-day like at your job? (Any interesting projects that you can share with us?)

We wake up each morning trying to find new ways to make Viacom’s kids and family properties more and more educational and fun. We just wrapped nick.com’s LIVE Kids’ Choice Awards experience which supported the on-air show experience on March 23 at 8:00pm.

What part of your Grady experience (classes, professors, etc.) has been helpful in your career today?

The Campaigns class, definitely. Pulling together teams to do the new business pitches in the Campaigns class was by far the most helpful. Nothing beats real-world experience dealing with other team members. I realized after graduating that while I might take a test on my own, I needed every one of my coworkers to finish projects. Ron Lane was always very supportive of the work that I did and helped me build my confidence.

What is your favorite Grady memory?
There were two experiences that are in my memory:

• Traveling to New York was really what kicked it off for me. The school arranges the trip for students every year. The trip is a great opportunity to see what an agency looks like inside and a bit about what the environment is like.
• Working on the Campaigns class was a lot of fun. We worked really late and long hours to make the presentation the best it could be. There really is nothing like seeing an idea go from inception to a fully realized product.

What advice do you have for current AdPR students?

• Meet as many people, resources, colleagues, teachers, professors, athletes, musicians (you get the idea) as you can since you never know when you might want or need to reach out to them for advice or to join you in your project.
• Get really involved in any of the projects that you want to take on and drop the ones you aren't interested in (no one cares about a laundry list of clubs if all you did was pay dues--- that makes you a subscriber, not a member).
• Get ready to work really really hard!

UGA AdPR students gain valuable experiences in NYC Maymester

Students from AdPR 5170 take in the view at Central Park during their NYC visit.
(photo courtesy of Kandace Sweat)

Twenty-one AdPR students gained class credit and firsthand agency knowledge when they participated in a New York City Maymester class. The AdPR 5170 class, which took place from May 15 to June 6, gave students the opportunity to learn about the communications industry, develop case studies, and do a one-week tour of New York advertising agencies to meet and learn from professionals.

“It was truly one of the best [Maymester classes] I've been on in the entire twelve years I've been doing this,” said Dr. Kirsten Strausbaugh-Hutchinson, a senior lecturer in the Department of Advertising and Public Relations, and Maymester instructor. “It was an excellent mix of agencies, from large to small, godfather to boutique, and spanned so many relevant areas — from advertising, public relations, culture creation, the spurring of humanitarian movements. You name it, we did it.”

“The ADPR Maymester in NYC provided a unique opportunity to see firsthand the diverse landscape of agencies the city can offer,” said Bree Riley, a graduating senior majoring in advertising who took the course and blogged about the experience. “I had no idea that the skill set that I've gained at the Grady College could be lent to so many job descriptions.  We learned about everything from ‘solutionists’ to community managers to positions without official titles.”

Some of the agencies that the class got to visit include Grey Group, McCann-Erickson, Strawberry Frog, 360i, LaForce + Stevens, and Momentum, among others. In addition, students got to participate in UGA-related events, including a reception with the Peabody Award winners and a networking mixer with New York-based Grady alumni.

As advertising continues to evolve and expand with new technology and practices, students in the class said it was important to learn more about the industry.

“This type of exposure is not something most people get to experience,” wrote Alexandra Walker, another student who blogged about the trip. “I enjoyed getting to visit the vast group of agencies that we did. It opened my eyes to the wide variety of agencies out there.” 

Students visit with Taxi, a creative boutique agency,
(photo courtesy of Kandace Sweat)

 On one such visit, a student found career advice with Taxi’s executive creative director Dave Clemans, who told the students to chase new work opportunities. 


“Taxi was founded with the mantra, ‘Doubt the conventional. Create the exceptional,’ an agency slogan that truly embodies the mentality and creative process at the agency,” wrote Channing Jones, a sophomore advertising and marketing student who blogged about the Maymester class. “Mr. Clemans emphasized that if there is no doubt in the creative process—that the work is not yet extraordinary—then you’re doing something wrong and you haven’t yet figured out the solution and the right creative message.”

“This class was one of the best decisions I have ever made,” said Kandace Sweat, another AdPR student who took the course. “I just did not know the level of creativity and hard work of these agencies. It was quite inspiring.”

“It was an incredibly informative week,” said Dr. Strausbaugh-Hutchinson. “And I think the takeaway for the students was that there are a myriad of career paths that are open to them and that the New York market really is accessible to UGA grads.”