Five students from an advertising senior capstone class left April 3 for their annual trip to Chicago. Throughout their stay, they visited two different advertising agencies, a television station, a direct marketing company and the Radio and Television Hall of Fame. However, the trip was a little different this year. While there, the advertising agencies gave the students feedback about a new campaign they have been working on for an actual client.
The students acquired Arkansas Flooring Connections, an organization of around 20 flooring stores, as a client at the beginning of the semester and have been working ever since for their pitch on May 1. As a group, they have prepared social media sites, radio and television commercials, creative briefs, media plans, a branding guideline and have even redesigned a logo for the client. Assistant advertising professor Steve Shaner said the students will be pitching their campaign just like a real advertising agency would.
“At the end, the company has the right to say, ‘Yes, I will take it’ and we will give it to them,” Shaner said. “…Or the company has the right to say, ‘Thank you very much’ and we will all eat dinner and go home.”
Jenna Sampson, senior advertising major, is the managing director and production manager of the campaign. Sampson said each student has a different job and everyone plays a very important role to complete the campaign.
“It is a really busy class because there is so much outside work,” Sampson said. “But it is extremely educational because it is real world experience.”
According to Shaner, the trip to Chicago and the campaign will open the eyes of his students and allow them to see that professionals in the advertising industry are actually doing what they are learning in the classroom.
“This is not some academic exercise,” Shaner said. “…They better be prepared to get eaten alive when they get out into the world and do not do something right. Once they get out of the ‘Harding bubble,’ it will be a lot different.”
Sampson said she was very excited for this class and despite how hectic the class has been it has lived up to her expectations.
“This (the campaign) has taught me a lot of patience,” Sampson said. “And also how to work around things that you can not help.”
