From left brain to right: Teaching the art of business in advertising and public relations
Most people tend to favor one side of their brain over the other. Some self-identify as the artist of the family, while others see themselves more as the scientist.
There is a clear divide between the two sides of the brain: the left side — programmed for logic and numbers — and the right side — devoted to creativity — both play their part in all fields of study.
Media are no exception.
Realities of the industry
Specialization in a specific area of media brings a level of certainty to employers; however, the areas of study of prospective employees don't always match up with the job description.
As of Fall 2018, 56.38% of undergraduate students in the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media were enrolled in the Advertising and Public Relations area of study.
While students choose an area of study within the Hussman School upon admission, their decision is not permanent post-graduation. Advertising and public relations alumni have gone on to positions such as branch banker at BB&T and client analyst at Coleman Research. It's not a coincidence that both involve interpersonal communication and management skills.
Trends in alumni career placement have changed over the years, reflecting the universal nature and need for business acumen.
Business acumen, in this case, is defined as the use of an agency-style classroom structure for the purpose of developing real-world experience and preparing students for the reality of the advertising and public relations industries
Each year, aspiring graduates from the Hussman School enter the world of advertising and public relations, eager to apply both their logic and creativity to make a lasting impact on the industry. As students, they learn core skill sets and business acumen from Hussman School instructors, who are often decisive and well-respected leaders in their respective fields.
Two lecturers in particular are proving that business is not just for the left brain.
Lecturer Lisa Hughes — EVP, Executive Director of Account Management at full-service ad agency McKinney — provides a unique look into the day-to-day of agency life in her Spring 2019 “MEJO 390.002: Advertising Agency Account Management” course. Lecturer Kelly Williamson — president, North America for APCO Worldwide — brings her public relations expertise to Hussman School students in "MEJO 490.007: Communications Consulting: The Art and Craft of the PR Professional” to prepare students for entering into the world of communications and public relations.
Both classes broaden students' horizons by addressing issues for real-world clients and giving students the opportunity to experience working with and learning from advertising and public relations professionals.
"MEJO 390.002: Advertising Agency Account Management"
While Hughes' course was designed for students in advertising, public relations and graphic design looking to start a career in agency business and account management, she ensures the adaptability of her material will suit students stepping into any agency role.
According to Hughes, having the ability to build a healthy client-agency relationship helps communication run smoothly, leading to more productive and efficient management. Interpersonal communication in the public relations and advertising industries involves managing and growing client relationships, orchestrating the development of recommendations and ideas, and working with internal teams to bring powerful work to the world.
At McKinney, these skills are not only sought out, but required. Across their job listings — including senior art director, front end developer and group account director — McKinney lists project management and client relations as two important qualifiers. Hughes, a contributing member to the executive leadership team at McKinney, pulls in guest lecturers as well as real client and campaign examples from past experience to demonstrate how self-management and the ability to manage multiple projects is key to any media career. Hughes believes bringing her past work to the classroom provides realistic, relevant learning opportunities for students to experience what they'd otherwise only read about.
"I believe students should learn the basics of running a business and case studies on both successful and unsuccessful businesses," said Hussman School Director of Advertising and Public Relations John Sweeney, who sees the value in exemplifying what does and does not work in an agency setting.
Junior Sara Sharp '20 enjoys not only seeing these examples in class, but also seeing Hughes' personality in her delivery, as well.
"Lisa comes to class every Tuesday with a bright attitude, a conversational tone and a positive teaching style," said Sharp. "Her assignments and thought experiments incorporate real-life scenarios from actual agency-client relationships. Together in class, we have walked through so many scenarios that I never would have thought would happen. This class has given me a peek into a world of management that looks wildly more fun than any other job I could imagine."
Sharp grew from this enthusiasm and relatability, citing Hughes as the inspiration that drove her to submit for a McKinney internship, also called an "Mternship." Sharp realized she would need to make an impact to stand out from the thousands in the applicant pool and decided on creating a print portfolio.
"I finally settled on a booklet that included a 'campaign brief' on the first page that explained my thought process for my 'campaign' to prove that I should be the 2019 Account Management Mtern."
McKinney was impressed: they offered Sharp an interview to move her forward in the application process. By mixing creativity and clear communication with a business-like format, Sharp set herself — and her portfolio — apart from the other applicants vying for McKinney's attention.
Although modern media sit largely in the digital realm, Sharp's ingenuity in print reflects the ever-changing qualities and skills in demand by employers. In some cases, going against the grain gets you the gold. Hughes reminds her class to keep an eye on these current trends in advertising, such as the increasing importance of paid social as part of the media mix and targeting technology advancements and diversity — gender, ethnicity, etc. — in the agency world. Staying in tune with the industry increases the flow of insight and information that supports client performance and results.
Keeping in tandem with the "current" can cause some ambiguity of media professionals' roles. Similarly, there can be misunderstandings with what is and is not required of account managers.
"As my students have played back already, one of the big misconceptions about account management is that their only job is to keep the client happy," said Hughes. "What my students have already learned is that a strong account manager plays a critical role in developing powerful work that can help change the fortunes of their clients' brands."
With this knowledge, account managers can be seen as valuable players in the advertising and overall media game. The same can be said about public relations consulting.
"MEJO 490.007: Communications Consulting: The Art and Craft of the PR Professional"
Every week, Williamson invites professionals from APCO branches across the country to cover different topics in public relations and offer expertise to the students on their semester-long project — designing a public relations campaign for the North Carolina Department of Justice to raise awareness among middle school, high school and college students about opioid crisis within the state. Students work as teams and will pitch at the end of the semester, and Williamson will pick a winning team that has the most effective and innovative campaign solutions.
Williamson said she hopes to bring in the real-world experience of working in an agency and teach students the core skills they can use regardless of what careers they choose to pursue in the future.
"MEJO 490 has been a one-of-a-kind opportunity to learn about communications consulting from those on the frontlines," said Andrew Brennen '19, a senior from the class and a current client services intern at APCO Worldwide in Raleigh. "I’ve had the added benefit of interning at APCO while also taking the 490 class, and I couldn’t be happier about that decision. The ability to pepper my work colleagues with questions on how I can improve on a weekly basis is the kind of feedback I crave."
By learning about various public relations techniques — including researching, pitching and writing — from agency professionals, students gain a holistic comprehension of how a public relations agency functions. Working for a real-life, governmental client on a trending issue within the state also allows the students to sharpen the skills they learned in class.
"You’re going to need to know how to read a [request for proposal], how to come up with a pitch and proposal, and how to structure your thinking and to break it down in that way," said Rachael Siefert, senior director and co-lead of APCO Worldwide’s North America digital strategy practice and guest lecturer in Williamson's course.
Students have the opportunity to connect with and learn from the guest speakers. Siefert talked about how to turn research into insights and ideas. She was surprised that many students have reached out to her and wanted to stay connected after class.
UNC-Chapel Hill is the only university that APCO partners with to offer a semester-long course. Williamson's class has three teaching assistants who are all consultants at APCO's Raleigh office — two of whom were recruited from her class when they were undergraduates at the Hussman School.
"It was a unique class that filled a hole in the journalism school, because much of what we get in other classes tends to be theory-based or focus on the tactical things that we do as PR and AD professionals," said Hunter Travers '17, former student and current teaching assistant of the class and APCO associate consultant. "But it was nice to have a class that gives you a more high-level look at the work itself and how agency functions.”
As a student, Travers displayed her talent by winning the class pitch competition for then-client Office Depot. The goal of the campaign was to increase back-to-school sales. One key strategy in her team's campaign was to partner with Pocket Points — a mobile app that rewards student users for not looking at their phones with real-life discounts — in order to target the student crowds. Although she had no previous agency experience, Travers was hired by APCO immediately after graduation because of her talent and undergraduate training.
"Because I had this class, I was able to level-set with the work I was going into," Travers said. "I had some clear expectations for the work I would be doing when I went into an agency because of this class, even having no previous internship experience in an agency."
Spring 2019 is Williamson's fourth year teaching the class at Carolina, and she has stayed in touch with many students from the class. Williamson said that she enjoys the one-on-one interaction with students and learns a lot from them.
"I think, in many ways, they are smarter than I am," Williamson said. "Most students I’ve interacted with care, and they bring their full selves to the classroom, which makes it more fun and interesting."
At the beginning of each class, students develop a global perspective by learning from some of the case studies APCO has done for international clients. For instance, students watched a series of campaign videos for Suntory, a Japanese alcohol company that wanted to enter the U.S. market. As a leader in an international company, Williamson seeks to influence students with the company's international mindset.
"We want employees that not only understand the geography of where they sit, but are genuinely interested in things that are happening around the world," Williamson said.