Advertising Education

I discovered my passion for advertising when I was a sophomore at one of the biggest universities in the country. My love of branding turned into an undergrad degree in advertising, (excuse me, “professional strategic communications.”) Still just as in-love with the profession several years later, I find myself currently working on my master’s in communication, with an advertising specialization. While I’m not an expert on the topic of advertising education, I have had my fair share of experiences that have helped me form my own opinion about the topic. What’s that opinion?

Advertising education is not helping students get jobs.

This may sound like the jaded viewpoint of an individual who graduated during the recession, but it honestly has some validation. In both my undergrad and grad experience, I have found a common theme: there is a general lack of applied classes. In undergrad, I went above-and-beyond to be actively involved in Ad Club and National Student Advertising Club. I went on agency visits, had a mentor and networked like it was going out of style. However, my in-class experience fell short. My advertising degree was not providing portfolio-worthy samples. In fact, there was only one creative class I could take. A one-semester class was not going to give me the tools that I needed to get a job, or even an internship. At the end of the day I realized, too late, that if I wanted to go into the creative side of advertising world, I should have double-majored in design.

Fast-forward several years later and I find myself getting a master’s in advertising. Why would I go back if my first experience in higher ed didn’t help me get a job in the advertising world? In all honesty, a heavily discounted tuition rate was a major factor for me. It’s not that I hadn’t thought about going back to school, but it wasn’t for a master’s in advertising. What I really wanted was to go to portfolio school. But the dollar signs behind that 2-year experience made it not feasible.

The grad program I am now halfway through (woot woot!) is at a much smaller, private university in a different city. Having been in the workforce for a few years, I look at my grad experience in a different light than undergrad. I know that in the advertising world, experience is more valued than a master’s degree. I will eventually have “M.Com” on my resume, and while that’s great, having a few years of agency experience is more coveted. While I hear objections and gasps to this statement from the academic world, I have found it to be true. This is not to say that a master’s degree is useless, because it is not. I will use it as a tool to add to my pedigree.

As far as the advertising program I am currently in, I still find there is a lack of applied classes. As a working professional, I want a grad degree that helps me in the workforce, not one that trains me for a future in academia. If I wanted to do research or teach, this grad program would probably be a good fit. But I want to produce work and there is, once again, only one class where any type of creative work is produced. I have also been disappointed in my advertising-specific classes; they have been underwhelming in their content and structure. There is too much emphasis on 15 page research papers and “non-real-world” scenarios, neither of which will help me get a job as a creative. While qualitative and quantitative research are great, I don’t plan on being that person who conducts such studies. Yet I must take three classes in research, according to my program. What’s the point? I would have loved to spend those three classes in a hands-on environment where I was creating work that I could use in a portfolio. The theme continues: there are not enough applied advertising classes.

Let me make one thing clear, I do not expect grad programs in advertising to be a portfolio school.  And while I’d love to be on the creative side of the advertising biz, I also must keep my options open. My judgement of my current program would still be the same if I wanted to go into the account side, social media or branding for an agency. The advertising world changes so quickly that higher ed is not keeping up with such an evolving field. There should be classes that cover topical issues, like social media, branded entertainment or B2B, in a way that can be applied to the real world. I want more from my program.

Overall, I know I will be able to use my grad degree as a bargaining chip in the workforce, and for that, I am thankful. I only wish that my program would evolve. I am still very passionate about advertising but I once again find myself getting my “real education” from what I do outside of the classroom. There needs to be a bridge between book-smart and Madison Avenue street-smart.

Glass is Life: B2B that doesn’t suck

B2B (that’s business to business) advertising campaigns tend to be a bit….dry, to put it politely. Granted, many of the subjects, industrial tools, vendor supplies, etc are not the most riveting topics. So when I came across Owens-Illinois’ Glass is Life campaign, I was pleasantly surprised. (Quick background: O-I is the world’s leading manufacturer of glass containers, best known for their glass bottles.)

First, let’s look at their website….

Gorgeous, right?!?! It is completely unexpected. It has a beautiful interface and is a UX dream. The great thing about the microsite (as it isn’t housed on the O-I website) is that it is going beyond the business that buy glass containers. It is “creating influence and ‘market pull’ by appealing to their customer’s customers.” (Cameron, 2013) HOW TRUE! Take me as an example, I’m not in the market to buy thousands of glass bottles, or at least not any time soon. But I was still entertained and enthralled with the Glass is Life website. Why is that? Because Doremus, the agency behind the campaign, did a damn good job of making the website appealing to all. And it brilliantly focuses the conversation on glass, NOT O-I. This makes it feel less “sell sell sell.”

The site also features videos of glass ambassadors, telling why they use glassware. Like this one of entrepreneur Nik Lecloux talking about his use of glassware in his business.

I-O’s core glass beliefs (taste, quality, sustainability, and health) are echoed throughout the campaign. The microsite makes it clear why glass is the container of choice for many. Overall what drew me in was the ease of navigating the website and the beauty in the design. Bottle caps off to O-I for making glass containers interesting!

Branded Entertainment: Blu Dot Musical Chairs

Who remembers the BMW short film series dubbed “The Hire” ? It was ten 10-minute films that featured actor Clive Owen as “The Driver” who was hired to chauffeur around clients in BMW vehicles. The brilliance behind these short films was that BMW created mini movies that consumers wanted to see.  The integration of several famous figures like Madonna, Don Cheadle and Gary Oldman and film directors like Guy Ritchie and Ang Lee also helped the short films feel like Hollywood productions, rather than Madison Avenue creations. Back in 2001 when “The Hire” series premiered, no one knew what to call them. They weren’t traditional advertisements, but they also weren’t eligible to enter the short film category at Sundance. If advertising and movies had a love child, what would it be called?

Welcome to the world: Baby Branded Entertainment. It’s part advertising, part entertainment. Branded entertainment is more than just product placement. It is when a brand or a product is integrated into the story line. There have been several successful ventures into branded entertainment including Burger King’s “King Games” which featured the always-creepy king mascot in a series of video games. Brawny Paper Towels created a web series called “Brawny Academy” that encouraged wives to send their husband to “school” to learn how to live life like the Brawny man, flannel shirt and all.

While back in ’01 branded entertainment was the new kid on the block, nowadays, it’s becoming the norm. Finding innovative ways to create valuable branded entertainment is the challenge. But thankfully, some brands are up for the challenge.

In December 2012, Blu Dot furniture company took branded entertainment to a whole new level by creating a live musical chairs game via Twitter. The idea was to promote the Hot Mesh Chair while also creating buzz about the Minneapolis-based brand.

So here’s how it worked (because trying to explain it in words is waaaaay harder):

Talk about branded entertainment!! Musical chairs is certainly entertaining AND it has the Blu Dot brand engraved throughout the game. The best part was that the message was spread by anyone who participated in the game. For example if I played 51 rounds and each round contained “@bludot” or “#bludot” and I have a (whopping) 70 Twitter followers,then this means that I alone gave Blu Dot, 3,570 possible impressions. Holy moly. 

Also I thought this game was such a stupendous idea that I told others about it. And isn’t it some Buddha rule that a personal recommendation is the best form of advertising? You’re welcome Blu Dot.

I have to admit, I became addicted to Blu Dot’s Musical Chairs. Because I’m not a fast typer, it took me over a week to FINALLY earn my own coveted Hot Mesh Chair. Woot woot! I did jump up from my office chair and do a double fist pump in the air when I realized I had won. Ah, the sweet taste of victory. To say I was invested in the game would be putting it mildly. And if you think about it, Blu Dot got me to religiously follow their Twitter feed during the game, which lasted over a week. Sneaky, sneaky…

Bottom line: Blu Dot’s Musical Chairs was BRILLIANT. It was entertaining while never losing touch with the brand. It wasn’t a hard-sell form of advertising either and that’s why I think it was well received. There wasn’t much I didn’t like about it. I would say that Blu Dot needs to seize the opportunity to capitalize on the success of the game. Perhaps do it again with another chair launch? Or figure out another form of branded entertainment that gets consumers interacting with Blu Dot, while simultaneously promoting it. It’s great to see fresh branded entertainment on the market. A big shout-out to one of my favorite agencies, mono, for thinking up such a swell idea.

In 5 years…

Where will advertising be in five years?

Like many individuals, I love Mad Men. AMC’s take on the ad world is brilliant. However, I loved advertising before Don Draper rolled onto the scene. I loved it so much, I got a degree in it. Whoopee!

Advertising is exciting because it’s always changing. It’s no longer a world of print, radio, TV and outdoor ads. Social media has blown open the traditional definition of advertising. User-generated content is becoming more and more prevalent. So what does this mean for the future of advertising? The possibilities are endless. In five years, I think that companies will move into the model of creating more content than traditional advertising. Red Bull is a great example of a brand that has shifted from TV commercials and print campaigns to focusing on content and events. Red Bull Stratos, aka when that guy jumped from REALLY HIGH in the sky, is a phenomenal example of a brand producing work that consumers willingly share with their peers. Chipotle’s The Scarecrow Game is another example of how branded entertainment is already finding a place in advertising. I believe such content-focus will become the norm for future advertising.

Also, the line between advertising and PR will blur as more brands use the goodwill that PR provides to establish a consumer relationship. TOMS has based their entire business model on a “One for One” mantra that is a PR exec’s dream. Very little traditional advertising is done for the goodwill company. Instead, TOMS encourages consumers to share their brand experiences via a variety of social media channels. Speaking of consumers, their role as brand ambassadors will be kicked into overdrive. No longer is advertising a one-way street. It is not even a two-way street. It is a 203,983,241-way street because everyone has the capability of voicing their opinion about a brand. Consumers can make or break a brand. This will become even more evident with each passing day.

In the future, advertising will still be called advertising, but it won’t look like Don Draper’s advertising.

 

Where will I be in five years? 

Have you ever been asked, “Where do you see yourself in five years?” I hate that question. Where will I be in five years? Let me look into that crystal ball that old witch gave me and see.  In reality, I don’t know where I will be in five years. Hell, I don’t know where I’ll be in two years.  There are a couple of scenarios that I could see happening…

Scenario A: I win the lottery! Woot! Woot! (Someone has to win it, so why not me?) I’d take my winnings and travel the world taking photographs.

Scenario B: I have broken into the advertising world and grabbed a mid-level spot at any agency. Which department am I in? Hmm….could be creative, branding, strategy, social media, etc. I can’t say because I have interest in them all. And honestly, I just want a job in advertising that lets me flex my creative muscles. (No PEDs here.) More importantly, I am working at an agency whose culture fits my lifestyle with a good work-life balance.

Scenario C: I have found a company that matches my belief system and I work for their internal marketing department. But to make it clear, not just any company will do. It will be a company that I want to be a brand ambassador for, not just one that I put on the act of “rah, rah company X.”

Scenario D: I am doing something that I can’t even imagine right now. Perhaps I go teach English somewhere around the world. Maybe I help a friend open up a pie shop. Or I could move out west and work with my sister in the film industry. Who knows? It doesn’t mean I am any less awesome because I don’t have a five-year plan that is laid out. J.R.R. Tolkien said it best, “Not all those who wander are lost.”