AdPR majors announced for this year's PHD-Grady Creative Collection exclusive program

Congratulations to the five students who were selected to be part of the Grady/PHD Worldwide team for 2013-2014.

The Creative Collective with adviser Dr. Karen King

The competitive program, known as  “PHD Grady Creative Collective,” is exclusive to UGA and allows Grady students an opportunity to research consumer insight with PHD, a global media and communications agency.

This year, the team consists of Brandon Murphy, an advertising major from Sylvania, Ga.; Yates Webb, an advertising major from Atlanta, Ga.; Channing Jones, a marketing and advertising dual major from Atlanta, Ga.; Abigail Jensen, a public relations major from Roswell, Ga; and Victoria Skinner, an advertising major from Lawrenceville, Ga. They will be under the supervision of Dr. Karen King, Jim Kennedy Professor of New Media, in the Department of Advertising and Public Relations.

The seven-month initiative project allows students to research a new set of questions focused on media behavior related to young adults and their usage of various media. In addition to being flown to New York to present their findings to PHD, each student will participate in online panel discussions with PHD professionals, have an opportunity to interview with executives and attend the interactive portion of SXSW in Austin in March 2014.

The program has helped PHD gain access to great insights about Millennials.

"How we reach consumers today will always be different from how we reach consumers tomorrow because of the impatience and desire to be a part of ‘the next best thing’ that comes with the Millennial generation and the digital world,” Skinner says. “ Discovering the catalysts of these worlds and their effects on our generation is going to be fascinating."

Public relations major Abby Jensen looks forward to a good challenge.

"As the only public relations major selected for the Creative Collective this year, I am excited to get to explore a new area of media and communications. This program offers me so many new and challenging experiences that I could not find anywhere else, and with the team selected, I know we will create a great final product."

The collaboration between PHD Worldwide and Grady has been a beneficial partnership for both parties.  Participating students have the opportunity to stretch their strategic thinking skills and the experience of presenting their findings to agency professionals and clients in New York, while PHD gains access to important information about Millennials uncovered by the team.

PHD Worldwide and their partner media agency, Omnicom Media Group, have hired six of the students who participated in the program over the past two years. Three of these former students are in Chicago and three are in New York.

"I'm so grateful to have the opportunity to participate in this amazing program and am excited to start uncovering meaningful insights about the Millennial generation," Jones says.

ADPR Internship Spotlight: Channing Jones

Channing Jones

Channing Jones, a junior majoring in marketing and advertising, is from Atlanta. 

Where did you work? This past summer, I was the Marketing & PR Intern for Lovell Communications, a firm that specializes in marketing, public relations, and crisis management in Nashville, TN.

What were your responsibilities? The assignments ranged from responding to ProfNet queries (from PR Newswire), research and media/social media monitoring, using Cision and MyEmma software, handling a social media account, and posting and authoring posts for the company blog. I also had the opportunity to meet with clients and participate in brainstorming sessions for businesses, primarily in the healthcare industry.

What valuable information or skills have you learned at your internship?
I learned so much valuable information from my internship at Lovell, I actually wrote a letter to their future intern with some tips! My experience highlighted the importance of prioritization and time management: it is critical to understand what projects are time-sensitive and to work your to-do list in order of priority.

What activities are you involved in at Grady/UGA? I am currently the Professional Programming Chair for the UGA AdClub and schedule professional speakers in varied advertising and new media backgrounds. I also work with the VP to plan two
Atlanta agency tours for the club each semester with three agencies that vary in specialization and scope. I am the Account Executive on the PHIL account with Talking Dog, Grady’s student-run ad agency, responsible for facilitating group collaboration as well as overseeing the development of marketing objectives and tactical executions of promotional pieces. I feel fortunate to have been selected and paired with a professional mentor via the Atlanta Broadcast Advertising Club and Alliance for Women
in Media in a mentorship program for Grady students. I also volunteer weekly with UGA Newsource, the student-run daily broadcast news segment on campus, and I have served as a mentor with Shop with a Bulldawg (SWAB) for the past two years.

What part of your Grady experience (classes, professors, etc.) has been helpful in
your internship? All of my advertising and marketing classes prepared me for my internship because I was familiar with industry jargon and was also aware of emerging media trends. Semester projects like developing a creative plans book and pitching an actual client in Dr. Kirsten Strausbaugh-Hutchinson’s Advertising Message Strategy class provided me with insight into the agency-client relationship and a comprehensive understanding of campaign development.

What was the best part of your internship experience? I was treated like an employee at Lovell and given assignments that really allowed me to leverage my writing skills and creativity. I was given billable work and gained much of my marketing and public
relations insights through osmosis. Living in Nashville pushed me outside my comfort zone, and I had the opportunity to spend my summer with some really talented professionals.

What are your career goals? This summer, I hope to obtain an internship in marketing and/or advertising. I am very interested in account management on the agency side of advertising and am determined to pursue opportunities in both Atlanta and New York.

UGA AdPR students strategize new campaign for a local business

A print piece from the winning campaign.

Students in the AdPR 3110 Advertising Message Strategy class had the opportunity to revamp an advertising campaign this spring semester for a local business, Pints and Paints, Athens’ first art bar and studio.

“There is great value — for both the students and the community — in having a real client for the semester-long project for the Message Strategy class. Students are able to tackle real time, real world marketing challenges,” said Dr. Kirsten Strausbaugh-Hutchinson, senior lecturer in the Department of Advertising and Public Relations, and instructor for the course.

The students were divided into teams, or advertising agencies, for the entire semester to build a creative campaign to pitch to Abby Denham, the owner of Pints and Paints. The three teams focused on several themes, such as the company's locally-owned roots and Athens-based paintings. Denham ultimately chose a student campaign that embodied these concepts called “Outside the Lines, Inside Athens.”

“Our campaign capitalizes on the unique and local flavor of the culture of Athens that Pints and Paints has come to embody through its innovative take on nighttime entertainment,” said Channing Jones, a sophomore marketing and advertising major who was part of the winning campaign. “Ultimately, we wanted all of our communications pieces to exude the same rustic, earthy, artsy vibe customers feel upon visiting Pints and Paints.”

Some students found the semester-long project a challenging but rewarding process.
“The creative process was more challenging than I expected it to be. It was difficult for myself and my group to reject our initial ideas and to dig for something deeper and more meaningful,” said Alyson Shields, another student who was on the winning campaign team.  “But ultimately, we created a campaign that we were proud of and that we were certain would stand out and be memorable.”

One student said she felt so inspired by the company’s history, she pursued a follow-up internship after the class was over. “As soon as I walked into Pints and Paints for our first meeting with Abby, the owner, I instantly knew that I'd made the right decision when I decided to become an advertising major, and I knew that I had to work for her,” said Brittney Johnson, another student who took the course.

Overall, the class helps students gain hands-on experience, said Dr. Strausbaugh-Hutchinson. “They learn to interact with clients and to assess their business needs, as well as gain presentation experience, learning to be confident in pitching their recommendations. And from a community standpoint, we're able to help local Athens-based businesses grow and thrive.”

“Message Strategy has been one of the most exciting classes I have ever taken,” said Shields. “Having a real-life client motivated me to really push myself, more than any letter-grade has ever motivated me. Given the opportunity, I would take the class again in a heartbeat.”