PHD Grady Creative Collective researches millennials’ travel habits

the PHD Grady Creative Collective members presented to
PHD Worldwide in New York last week

Six senior advertising students spent five months as members of the PHD Grady Creative Collective studying how millennials think about travel and make travel decisions.

Sarah Dossani, Suzanna Hodges, Tiffany Jaquins, Kim Nguyen, Josh Schultz and Diana Soloaga were selected through a competitive process to work on the project and to ultimately present in New York City to global media and communications agency PHD Worldwide.  The learning partnership is in its fifth year.

“It gives our students an opportunity to look for brand insights and media contact points in a way that they don’t really get to (in the classroom),” said Karen King, Jim Kennedy Professor of New Media and advertising, who advises the students. “It allows them to work with and present to a national ad agency in New York, and for them to see how their ideas are really important.”

Through a process focused on qualitative research, team members conducted more than 100 in-depth interviews and observations of four segments of millennials whom they identified as “meaningful”: college travelers, young families, entry-level professionals and established professionals. Using insights from the research, the team developed “travel journeys” for each segment that explored the ways in which the groups are receptive to different forms of media.

“Apart from the tedious research and the long hours spent late-night in Grady, the hardest part was finding those key insights from all of our research and creating a book and presentation that presented them in a clear and fun way,” explained Diana Soloaga of Atlanta. “Each of us conducted over 20 interviews (of millennials) ages 18-34, so it was a lot to take in and pick apart the commonalities between every one.”

As the day of the presentation approached—April 1—the students spent countless hours rehearsing.

“The most challenging aspect of working on the project was the moments when it was crunch time and we were exhausted from continually rehearsing,” said Sarah Dossani of Lawrenceville, Ga. “But I knew that going over our presentation would ensure that it was fluid.”

Members of the Creative Collective
prepare for their presentation

Josh Schultz of Roswell, Ga., described the process as a bonding experience.

“I really enjoyed getting to work with such a tight-knit group,” Schultz said. “We are all very driven, active students who are passionate about the ad industry, so our group definitely had its own culture. Nothing compares to the bonds teams build when they're working towards a common cause.”

The team members all agreed that the New York City trip and presentation exceeded their expectations.

“My favorite part was presenting at the PHD office and seeing people in the audience start taking notes the moment we began the slideshow,” said Kim Nguyen of Gainesville, Ga.  “Everyone in the office clearly valued what we had to say, and some even started to ask questions mid-presentation, which none of us expected to happen.”   

Watching the students present with confidence is always the highlight of the program for King.

“The most rewarding thing for me is when they’re all done and they see what an amazing job they did,” King said. “And then to see how well received the presentation is and how excited the folks at PHD are each year—it’s just a fantastic experience.”

Tiffany Jaquins of Canton, Ga., believes the knowledge she gained will help her to reach her goal of becoming a media strategist in New York City.

“Being a member of the PHD Creative Collective gave me the opportunity to research consumer insights and analyze millennial media behavior at the very beginning of my career,” Jaquins said. “It's made me very excited about understanding what drives consumers to make certain purchase decisions and how to reach them with media they're receptive to.”

Nguyen offered some advice to fellow advertising majors: “To all the advertising students out there: apply for this program. It’s an amazing opportunity, and Dr. King is a wonderful advisor throughout the entire process with her endless guidance and York Peppermint Patties.”

Author: Stephanie Moreno, s.moreno@uga.edu

Contact: Karen King, kwking@uga.edu

UGA Students Research Millennial Behavior in PHD Media-Grady Initiative

The "PHD Grady Creative Collective" present their Millennial behavior research to PHD Media and their clients in New York City.

Five Grady seniors participated in a new initiative to study consumer behavior with PHD Media, a global media and communications agency. 


The competitive media planning program, known as  “PHD Grady Creative Collective,” consisted of: Lexy Farris, a mass media arts major from Roswell; Alice Gwin, an advertising major from San Antonio, Texas; Tien Phan, an advertising major from Warner Robins; Lacey Wen, an advertising major from Duluth; and Sarah Zagorski, an advertising major from Roswell.


The Creative Collective hatched as an idea at Cannes Lions 2011 when the U.S. CEO of PHD spoke of the need to recruit young talent to Dr. Tom Reichert, professor and head of the Department of Advertising and Public Relations, according to a recent AdWeek article about the initiative.


The semester-long initiative allowed students to research Millennial behavior and present their findings in New York to PHD and some of the agency’s clients. The five questions PHD posed to the Creative Collective included: How does social media impact the way Millennials watch television?; How do Millennials view the concurrent use of TV and mobile?; Which Millennials are likely to be cord cutters?; Do Millennials see value in merging their phones with their wallet?; and What role do influencers play in Millennials' customer journey?

“This was a challenging project for the students,” said Dr. Karen King, Jim Kennedy Professor of New Media in the Department of Advertising and Public Relations, and advisor to the Creative Collective. “It wasn't enough to know what Millennials are doing, but they were really being pushed to find new insights and to understand what these insights mean for marketing, advertising and media planning decision-makers.”

In addition to their senior-year classes, internships, jobs and other activities, students worked hard on this research project, and in the process were advised by Dr. King. Each student received a $500 stipend from PHD Media and the opportunity to fly to New York to present their work.

The Creative Collective scholars included (l to r): Tien Phan; Alice Gwin; Lexy Farris; Lacey Wen; and Sarah Zagorski.

Based on the students’ findings, they created a report and delivered a two-hour multimedia presentation. “It was fun to watch the students find the insights and unlock the implications of these insights,” King said.

“This partnership was a win-win: it provided PHD with another dimension and that extra edge to understand how marketers need to think about better communicating with Millennials, while at the same time allowed the Grady students to represent a generation’s perspective on everything from transformations and activity within social spaces and platforms to the preferences about mobile payments, and the importance of how brands need to behave to stay relevant, including the role of influencers in a Millennials customer journey,” said Tara Nolan, associate director of marketing and communications at PHD.

The opportunity for students to work with PHD Media was a “once-in-a-lifetime experience,” said Lacey Wen, who researched Millennials’ smartphone and wallet use. “Not only did I have the opportunity to research a topic that interested me, but I was encouraged to incorporate my own thoughts and ideas. The relationships that were created during the five months among the five Creative Collective scholars and two professors will never be forgotten.”

“It wasn't enough to know what Millennials are doing, but they were really being pushed to find new insights and to understand what these insights mean for marketing, advertising and media planning decision-makers.”  - Dr. Karen King

The students learned a lot from their own research about the Millennial generation. “I'm surprised how disconnected brands are toward our generation,” said Tien Phan. “But I am very glad that I was able to provide some insights to these companies. I learned a lot about myself and the generation that I represent."

“From my research, I found that Millennials are not really watching television programs on their smartphones,” said Alice Gwin, who noted that in-depth interviews with focus groups provided some insights into behavior, which was influenced by slow loading times and phone screen sizes. The findings were presented to PHD in a way that was relatable to their clients.

The project may have some longterm effects for the students and PHD Media. Starting in September, Wen will move to Scottsdale, Arizona to work for Yelp. "I'm extremely excited for my next chapter in life with a new job and new state," she said.

As for PHD, the experience was a rewarding one that could spur further research. "The Creative Collective was such a likeable, interesting bunch that one of PHD’s clients in the audience requested they hold a mini focus group to help steer the future direction of an in-store retail experience," Nolan of PHD said. "PHD wishes the best of luck to our first group of scholars and we happily await the next!"

PHD Media is part of the Omnicom Group, a global leader in marketing and communications, with members including BBDO Worldwide, Porter Novelli, Martin/Williams, DDB Group, among many others.