Ad Club kicked off our first meeting of the semester by reviewing some Super Bowl ads in Terrill Hall, room 121, at 7 p.m. last Thursday.

Agency Visit – TracyLocke, February 17, 10:30 a.m.

First, our VP of Event Planning, Angel, reminded members that we will be visiting TracyLocke this coming Friday, the 17th, at 10 a.m. If you’re interested in coming to the agency with us, please submit your resume to contact@untadclub.com by Wednesday, the 15th, at 8 p.m.

Upcoming Hack-a-thon – an Excellent Resume Builder

Julie James, a UNT guest lecturer, gave a brief presentation about an upcoming Hack-a-thon, in which Mayborn students can participate. A “Hack-a-thon” is about a bunch of people getting together to come up with creative, technological solutions to everyday problems.

It launches on a Friday night and people come in from all around the country to participate. At 8 a.m. the following morning, a series of speakers come and give presentations about mobile solutions, etc. By the end of the weekend, you have some kind of idea or prototype to pitch. You enter your “product” into the competition and present your ideas.

There’s lunch and an award for the winner. It’s likely that this event will take place in October. There is a low cost for the Hack-a-thon but there are also scholarships. There is both a student and a community rate (the student rate is less expensive).

Julie James’ contact information will be listed shortly on our “More” tab.

More Ways to Get Involved – Total Immersion

Total Immersion is a career workshop that allows you to take a personality test in order to assess your strengths and weaknesses in a professional setting. This event isn’t exclusive to Advertising students, but one of our professors, Dr. Sheri Broyles, has been given five free tickets that Mayborn students can utilize.

Reach out to us at contact@untadclub.com to let us know if you’re interested in attending! The tickets are first-come, first-serve.

Super Bowl Ads: A Discussion

We started the meeting by watching the Bud Light Spuds McKenzie ad.

Professor Bill Ford talked about old Spuds McKenzie ads, recalling them fondly.  He expressed concern that this ad was lost on the target market: The people in the spot were in their mid-twenties, but the content was skewed to an older audience.

“[The actor] was prob’ly about five years old when Spuds McKenzie was popular,” Ford observed.

We watched the Stranger Things sneak peek. Christina, the president, thought that the beginning of this sneak peek was just a “throwback” to an old Eggo Waffle commercial. Eggo used the affiliation with the brand to promote themselves – they gave Stranger Things permission to use this “vintage” commercial in order to boost sales.

KFC’s Golden Man commercial was considered one of the worst ads, according to AdWeek, and Ad Club members agreed.

It didn’t make anyone want KFC. One person thought that the main character was equating “his flesh to fried chicken” and that eating fried chicken would be like “biting into him and that just really gross[ed her] out.”

Ad Club members felt the “It’s a 10” commercial referenced current events tastefully, without being “in your face” – and it made the references relevant to the product being advertising, which was more than could be said for other politically-charged Super Bowl ads.

However, the logo was only on the screen for a few seconds at the end of the commercial and Ford said that he missed the product. Missing the product in a commercial defeats the purpose of advertising.

“There are so many really great [Super Bowl ads],” Dr. Broyles interjected, “and that wasn’t one of them.”

“The Mr. Clean one is so disturbing,” said Anila, our VP of Creative, as the seductive ad filled the projection screen. The tagline, “You gotta love a man who cleans,” gave Ad Club members mixed feelings.

“It was so weird because we’ve grown up with this character,” said Braedon Montgomery, SWOOP member. “That would be like watching Lucky, the leprechaun …” Here Braedon trailed off, letting our imaginations fill in the gaps.

USA Today said 2017 Kia Niro was considered the best ad, but Ad Clubbers disagreed.

Dr. Broyles explained that Melissa McCarthy was on Saturday Night Live the night before this ad showed, so it made her more popular to the public. Kia had no idea this was going to happen.

“They got lucky,” Broyles concluded.

After the Audi commercial played, Ad Clubbers applauded.

Hannah Wachholz, SWOOP and Ad Team member, noticed a trend of car brands marketing toward daughters. We discussed whether or not it would be more “powerful” if the narrator had been the little girl’s mother rather than her father. Sam Kagan, Ad Team member, made the point that the model of Audi was a sportster – that Audi likely made the narrator a man, rather than a woman, to include their usual demographic, while also opening up a window for a new target demographic.

After Ad Club played the Budweiser German immigration ad, Dr. Broyles noted that it was actually made back in May – long before the immigration ban and long before the advertising agency even knew Trump would become president. It was just a coincidence that the content of the ad fit in so well with today’s buzzing topics.

At the conclusion of the Tide commercial featuring Terry Bradshaw, Professor Ford simply inquired, “Why is he sittin’ there without his pants on?”

The 84 Lumber commercial was the one that got Ad Club members talking.

As soon as the commercial aired, the site that featured the full, six-minute ad crashed.

According to Professor Ford, 84 Lumber said that this commercial wasn’t “anti-wall.” They stressed that Trump specified that there would be doors in the wall so people could come in legally. 84 Lumber claimed that Fox wouldn’t allow them to show the second part of the ad because it was too “controversial.”

We noticed a trend overall that these ads were much more serious than the ones shown in the past. Some people were upset about this – they wanted the ads to stay funny.

“Is advertising a place to make social comments?” Ford wondered. “Is it a place to make political comments?”

He went on to say that sometimes people can love the spot without it being effective – a creative, well-liked ad isn’t always a “good” ad because it doesn’t always sell the product. Which is the purpose of the ad.

“But people are talking about these commercials,” Dr. Broyles added, which means that people are thinking about the brands. Top-of-mind brands generally sell more products. So now we wait and see what happens – how will these ads effect sales over time.

See you next time!

Don’t miss our next meeting on February 23rd – same time, same place! We’ll supply the food and the topics; you come with the ideas.

Last Monday, during our last Ad Club meeting, we were fortunate enough to gain insights from another industry professional about the advertising industry: Chris Reeves, the founder of 2930 Creative, came to share gems from his own experience from an art director to an agency owner.

He told Ad Club members that he was 30 when he started 2930, and that his wife was 29, and that’s where they got the name. It was as simple as that. The motto at the agency is, “Work hard, be kind, give back, create things.” The culture at the agency is inviting and fun. Reeves said he hosts “Bob Ross Mondays” at the office with his team, which sounds like heaven, if you ask us.

He gave the room several pieces of advice, one of them being that you shouldn’t take your job too seriously. Here are a few other “Industry Survival Tips” that he made note of:

Develop a thick skin

“On day one, you’re gonna be told that something you did sucks,” said Reeves. “Let it roll off [of you and] move on.”

Advertising agencies are fast-moving companies. Your boss doesn’t have time to nurture your feelings. You have to get used to constructive criticism.

After setting a more serious tone after an introduction filled with laughs, Reeves said, “I like to have fun but I also keep it real.”

Ask for help

“Just because someone said you did something wrong doesn’t mean that it’s all on you to fix it,” Reeves said, pouring a leisure helping of hope back into the atmosphere.

Your team members are not your competition. You already got the job. Lean on your peers. Work together with them. Rely on them and let them know they can rely on you.

Get to know your co-workers

“[Get to know your co-workers], not just because they can help you do your job better but … because they could also get you another job,” Reeves said.

“They might get you a wife too,” Mrs. Reeves, co-owner of 2930, interjected.

Reeves said that agencies are so fast-moving that they have an unintentional “churn and burn” rhythm. In other words, ad agencies work you as hard as they can until you burn out and leave.

If you’re not relying on your team members, you’re going to go crazy. Become friends with them if you can so work can be more bearable and more fun.

Get to know your clients

There’s a fine line here. You want to get to know your clients, even as an art director, so that working with them can be more enjoyable. If you understand where your client is coming from, it’s easier to understand why they want to make a gajillion changes to the piece you just spent weeks creating.

Find hobbies

“It doesn’t have to be rollerblading,” Reeves said, motioning to the graphic on his presentation.

He stressed the importance of finding something you enjoy outside of work, so that your whole life doesn’t suddenly become work.

Take breaks and time-off

“PTO is there for a reason,” Reeves said.

Even during the day it’s fine to take a break. Go on a walk. Make sure you take lunch breaks.

“If you bring your lunch, don’t eat it at your desk… Get away from your desk. It’s really important.”

Don’t forget to spell check

“Just because you can’t spell, doesn’t mean you’re not cool,” Reeves said, much to our relief. “Things move fast – it’s easy to miss something. Go back. Be thorough.”

Always be working on a back-up plan

“This is the realest one that I have,” Reeves said, returning to a somber tone. “I got fired from the agency I was working at for two and a half years… It could happen anytime.”

This is where getting to know your co-workers and clients really comes in handy. Your co-workers could recommend you to an agency where one of their friend’s works, or one of your clients may want to hire you in-house.

(Be careful about the latter point though! Make sure to read your non-compete agreement and ensure that you’re not doing anything that could get you sued by working with that client outside your agency.)

Embrace stock photography

“You guys are mostly designers. Stock photography… it will be a large part of your job… You just need to accept the fact that that’s what’s gonna happen.”

Your agency may have great ideas and great intentions – they may really want to film new videos and host photo shoots and whatnot – but they may not always have a great budget from every client. Stock photography will be your base camp.

Some other note-worthy quotes from Reeves and his wife during the course of the evening were:

“When I really need a break, I just lay on the floor. That’s where it is. Just lay on the floor. Sometimes that leads to sitting in the closet in the dark.”

“When you’re in a leadership position, always back up your team… No amount of money is worth losing someone on your team.”

“[If I could go back in time and give myself advice, ]I would say to my old self, ‘You’re fine. Keeping doing what you’re doing. It’s OK to be weird…’ I might even say, ‘Stop pretending you’re going to be famous ‘cause you’re not.’”

“It’s also OK to not be in advertising. Very few people I went to school with are in advertising now.”

On that final note, we’d like to point out that Reeves mentioned that there are internship opportunities at 2930 Creative. If you’re interested, send your resume and a cover letter (for goodness’ sake!) to chris@2930creative.com. Be sure to tell him you heard about him through UNT Ad Club.

It was a Monday night around 7 p.m., the sun was setting and campus settling, but not Terrill Hall. Walking in you could hear a clear and healthy flow of chatter, in room 121 to be exact. Outside there was a banner welcoming you to Ad Club, it was tall and intricately designed, it was interesting enough, but the gathering through the wide open doorway next to it, was more.

Once in the room, if you had any second thoughts, the persuasive aroma of pizza changed your mind. When the meeting started, Candace, our beloved President, reviewed our first agency visit (The Marketing Arm) and deemed it a success. She asked for feedback from members who attended, all of which were positive. After that she announced our next agency visit, Firehouse Agency, and ran through a quick list of their clients.

After a few more announcements, she presented our distinguished guest speaker, Kelly Piland, a brand planner from The Richards Group. Kelly started off by giving a little background on herself, she received her bachelors from SMU and her master’s at UT. She gave us a brief biography over her journey to get where she is today. While she was describing her time at The Richards Group, she urged students to become involved with their teachers and to network.

A quick overview of the topics of her informative speech:

• Difference between planning and brand management.
• What do brand planners do?
• The Richards Group and what brand management means there.
• Brand Case studies.

Throughout the lecture, Kelly utilized various successful campaigns that she had been a part of or ones that were really influential. She would disassemble the campaigns in front of us and then demonstrate the bones of the campaign or a.k.a. the strategy.

Some of the cases studies she used were brands such as Milk, Dos XX, Famous Footwear and Motel 6. though not all of these were done by her or The Richards Group. Along the way she revealed research methods used such as consumer observations, surveys mobile ethnographies.

She gave advice to and answered questions from aspiring planners and strategists. One person asked what had been the weirdest thing she had done for an insight. First she let the students know that she never invaded someone’s personal space. To answer their question she explained how she had to interview parents in regards to their experiences with pediatrics and their children.

Throughout her speech she would give insight to some of the ways her agency worked. Her words gave helped paint a picture of what it was like to work at The Richards group.

In regards to planning she explained the rather recent history and creation of it. She let us know why we had planners. Her boss Stan Richards summarized their roles and functions clearly “Planners are not essential, but they make the work better”.

At the end Kelly had some simple words of advice for students. She urged them to wake up and take advantage of the resources they had available to them as students.

The Monday the 7th of November was a peculiar day. It was a downpour all day and the time had just recently changed. It may have been a little darker and a little wetter but at 7 p.m. nothing could rain on Ad Club’s panel. To top it all off we served are famished constituents wings!

As the meeting started, Candace reviewed our recent agency visit to Firehouse Agency. The group that attended came back with smiles on their faces and a tale of immortalized bobbleheads.

After that a reminder for our next agency visit, The Miller Agency, was presented. Members were encouraged to sign up for Media Con and/or an AAF seminar by David Grossman.

After the usual business had been finished, we called for our hidden panelists to come sit down at the front. It is tradition for Ad Club to hold a panel of current UNT students that have or have had an internship for the benefit of giving insights about the internship process.

The Panelists & Where they interned:

Paige Redwine – Balcom Agency

LeSheta Skinner – Group 360/We Are Alexander

Mackenzie Carder – The City of Grapevine & Groggy Dog

Anna Barden – Social Media Delivered

Danny Laake – Agency Entourage

Amanda Woodard – SocialCentiv, Research Now & Leadamigo

The questions:

How did you land your internship? Was there anything unique that you did to stand out?

P.Redwine recommended applying far and wide and utilizing key words for the resume. M.Carder applied through LinkedIn and made an accidental friend through her process. D.Laake sternly suggested that art directors have a visually attractive resume. Many panelists used connections such as friends, and colleagues to find out and get a good word in for them.

What kinds of questions were you asked during your interview( if you had an interview)? And do you have any interview tips?

As a whole, many panelists agreed that one should be knowledgeable about the place where one is interviewing. Some panelists were asked about themselves. A.Barden suggested “Think of it kind of like a first date, you don’t want to fake your personality because you’re going to have to fake it the rest of the time”. A.Woodard broke down her genius response to a tricky interview question “What is one of your weaknesses?” If you’d like to hear her foolproof strategy, contact her.

What was the time commitment like? Do you have any tips for balancing school and an internship (if applicable)?

Some panelists stressed how much work it would be. Some panelists took their work home. Regardless all panelists agreed a little extra effort would have to go in, in order to assure a successful internship experience. Prioritizing and time management were skills all panelists needed to have in order to survive.

What was one main takeaway you had from your internship?

Being there in person allowed the panelists to see and experience the flow of the business. Some panelists learned to learn on the job and keep an open mind. Some learned how to take charge.

Overall every panelists could agree that despite the immense amount of hard work an internship entails, it is all worth it in order to proceed in the industry. It would be wise to take these panelists advice and apply them to your life, and maybe in the future, you might be on our panel as well.

On Monday, October 10th, ad club officers gave personal branding advice in a presentation entitled Build-a-Brand. When you’re applying for jobs, you’re essentially marketing yourself, so it’s important to maintain “brand” consistency across different media, such as your resume, business card and social media presence.

Resumes

Our president, Candace Allison, spoke about how to properly format a resume. She expressed that there were different ways that you should format your resume depending on which advertising field you want to pursue: Creative or Accounts.

Here are some tips to keep in mind when building a resume:

• Do NOT use resume templates
• Don’t be afraid to use color
• Tailor your resume to the job you’re applying for
• Draw attention to experience relevant to the position
• Lighten up! Let your personality shine through your resume
• Write a cover letter!

Business Cards

Our vice president, Christina Rodriguez, brought to light the inexpensive business card printing opportunities at UNT. The career center offers free business cards for UNT students. However, you’re only given 60 cards and you have limited design options.

Another option to consider, if you think you need more than 60 cards, is VistaPrint. There, you can personalize your business cards and get 100 cards for just $16.00.

What to include on your business card:

• Your name
• Aspiring position
• LinkedIn address
• Email
• Phone number

Social Media

Our VP of Alumni Relations, Leo Herrera, talked about what was appropriate to include in your public social media profiles – and what wasn’t.

He first advised our members to verify that their accounts were private. See how much of your profile people can see when they’re not your friend.

Because your potential employers look at everything before they hire you.

Before you post something, consider: Is this something I would want my boss to see? Is this something I would want my future boss to see?

Take the time to remove any inappropriate content on your profiles, and be more mindful of what you post on your public profiles in the future.

Not-so-fun fact: Snapchat stores the images and videos you upload to your story, so even though those things disappear after 24 hours, your employers can still contact Snapchat to view some of your past posts. Be careful.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is such an important social media channel that we made it its own topic.

Our VP of Recruitment, Taylor Stroud, advised members to create a LinkedIn account if they haven’t already.

Fill out your profile completely. LinkedIn asks you about a lot of questions that can make your realize all your experience is important and can be relevant to different positions you apply for.

What to post from your account:

• Industry-related news
• Internship updates
• Links to your blogs posts

LinkedIn is not Facebook. No one wants to hear about what you ate for lunch or if you’re having a fight with your friend. Keep it professional.

LinkedIn Head-shots

Our VP of Digital, Amanda Woodard, captured the importance of branding yourself with a professional head-shot.

Here are some things to consider when posting a profile picture to LinkedIn:

• Do not add group pictures
• Face the camera in the picture
• Make sure your face is clear (make it an up-close shot)
• Make sure the background doesn’t distract
• Upload a high-resolution image
• Be dressed for the job you want

LinkedIn Connections

Our VP of Photography, Mazhar Jilani, brought to light the importance of connecting with the right people on LinkedIn.

He expressed that it was OK to connect with people you don’t know on LinkedIn as long as they were in a related field.

When requesting to connect with another (aspiring) professional, be sure to send the a personalized message. An automated message makes it seem as if you’re not taking the opportunity seriously. This connection could very well land you a job in the advertising industry down the road, so make a good impression!

Note: LinkedIn’s mobile app doesn’t give you the option to include a personal message. Until they update their app, connect with people on your laptop or desktop computer.

Some other things to keep in mind:

• Do not friend people on Facebook after connecting with them
• Connect with someone if they give you their business card
• You can only connect with people who you have mutual connections with, unless you have their email address.

In the last 10 minutes of our meeting, we broke everyone up into groups. People met up with the Ad Club officer that represented the field that they wanted to pursue the most.

We had a great time looking over your resumes, and we hope that our advice brings you a lot of job opportunities!

Reminder: We’re going to Firehouse Agency next Friday, November 4th. If you’re interested in joining us, please email us with your resumes to contact@untadclub.com by no later than 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 2nd.

We’re looking forward to seeing you there!

Also: Don’t miss our next meeting on Monday, November 7th, in Terrill Hall at 7:00 p.m. We’re having our Intern Panel! You’ll get to hear your peers talk about their own experiences in internships, and you’ll get the chance to ask them questions.

Our next meeting, Anatomy of Advertising, was a success! During this meeting, we talked about the many different departments a typical advertising agency has to offer.

Our president, Candace Allison, reminded the group that Ad Club Membership fees of $60 are due Sept. 29th by 5PM.

Go to the sign-up tab to make a membership account and using that information to log in and pay via PayPal or a debit/credit card.

First Agency Visit: The Marketing Arm

Above, Candace conveys the details about our first agency visit.

We’ll be leaving Friday, October 14th, at 8 a.m. to get to The Marketing Arm by 9 a.m.

Email your resume to untadclub@gmail.com by October 12th at 8 p.m. It must be in PDF form and must include a short paragraph on why you wish to go to the agency.

The Marketing Arm has had clients like Pepsi, Samsung and AT&T.

Account Services

Candace also spoke about the role Account Managers play in a traditional advertising agency.

Account Managers:

• Act as a liaison between the client and the agency and communicates information with creative team.
• Handle billing for the client and hours assigned for the creative team as well.

Account Planning

Our VP of Recruitment, Taylor Stroud, detailed the daily responsibilities of an account planner in an agency. Planners are considered the “voice of the consumer.” They gain consumer insights by:

• Gathering secondary research
• Researching competitor stats and strategies
• Drafting and launching surveys
• Conducting focus groups and interviews
• Executing customer intercepts

Planners must also put together a creative brief, which is used to provide the creative team with a cohesive strategy for better advertising.

Here is an example of a consumer profile for Yeti:

Danny Joe, 53.

Demographics:

•  Male
• Age 45-54
• Lives in rural America
• HHI: $75,000-$125,000
• Married or divorced with children
• Occupation: Plumbing

Psychographics:

• Loves fishing and hunting
• Aligns with traditional christian family values
• Wishes the “Confederacy” was still a thing

Danny might be interested in wild-life such as hunting and camping and may be a supporter of Donald Trump.

Creative

Our vice-president, Christina Rodriguez, used her experience as an art director in SWOOP to explain the differences between art directors and graphic designers.

Art Directors: The feel.

• Have a background knowledge of marketing and graphic design
• Brainstorms and collaborates with creative team on an idea and gives inspiration/direction for the ad
• Maintain style across all media platforms

Graphic Designers: The look.

• Implements ideas visually
• Well-versed in creative software
• Work includes logos, brochures, menus, etc.

Note: Either way, conceptual/strategic thinking and knowledge of creative software is important for both roles. There is a fine line between the difference of the two, and you should be able to do both roles, regardless of the title.

Copywriting

Our VP of Alumni Relations, Leo Herrara, also used his experience on SWOOP to highlight the responsibilities of a copywriter.

• Tell stories
• Write headlines, taglines, body copy, etc.
• Bring brands to life through their voice

It is important to be versatile in your style of writing and master the language of your client. Some well-known copywriters are Dr. Broyles and Bill Bernbach.

Traditional Media

Our VP of Photography, Mazhar Jilani, used his experience in Professor Unger’s Advertising Media Strategy course to outline the responsibilities of a media planner and a media buyer.

Media Planning
The job of a media planner is to determine the best media platforms that best suit the client/brands’ marketing campaign. These can include planning ad spaces on television, radio, billboards, magazines, etc.

Media Buying
A media buyer’s day involves negotiating, purchasing and monitoring advertising space on behalf of the clients. It is a buyer’s job to aim for the highest number of people in target audience at the lowest possible cost and ensure the it all runs smoothly.

Digital Media

Our VP of Digital Communications, Amanda Woodard, used her experience in small digital agency to showcase the different avenues advertising students can take with their degrees. She spoke about social media management, SEO and PPC, while Lan Nguyen, a guest speaker and Senior UX Designer at Projekt202, spoke about the difference between UX and UI.

Social Media Management/Community Management

It is important to know the platforms your client needs, schedule posting through a social media calendar for various platforms, be knowledgeable about current events and pop culture, and have knowledge of how to create content calendars.

SEO
SEO stands for Search Engine Optomization; this includes research tools like Google Analytics and Organic search.

PPC
PPC stands for Pay Per Click and entails Paid Search results and Google AdWords.

UX Design

User Experience can involve user interface but also involves content and movement strategy and problem-solving for a product, which is often a website or app.

UI Design

User Interface focuses on graphic interface and aesthetics of a website or app.

“My job is to make boring apps and websites look pretty!”

– Lan Nguyen

After we finished dissecting the anatomy of an advertising agency, we split up into groups based on out interests. We used this time to answer any questions about the members’ field of interest.

We are still social on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and our website. Please use the the handle @UNTAdClub

The next Ad Club Meeting will be October 10th, in Terrill Hall 121 at 7 p.m. We will go over personal branding, resumes, business cards and social media advice.