As one ad planner sketches the pros and cons of advertising to restaurants the others weigh in on the possibilities. This is not a representative from Chiat Day the agency responsible for the Apple advertisements this is a student team in Professor Ginger Rosenkrans’ Advertising and Copywriting class. Students are experiencing the life of an actual advertising executive through a project Rosenkrans has been organizing for nearly a decade.
Each section of the class breaks into four groups. Rosenkrans brings in companies to serve as clients for the students offering professional criticism and advice in meetings with each group. In the end each group pitches their campaigns and the clients serve as judges to choose a winning group from each class. With possibilities of internships and actual ad campaign usage the stakes are high for these advertising students.
“The project gets extremely competitive; in fact the students are a bit afraid their strategies may be revealed Rosenkrans said, regarding the nature of the project.
Big Back Grips, which manufactures hand protecting grips for weightlifters to put on their weights, is one of the clients for the class. The other class received the chance to represent California Recycles— a corporation that offers recycling and what they call Green Consulting” services through which they teach companies how to be more eco-friendly.
Rosenkrans has brought in two executives from Big Back Grips Larry Greenfield and John Duffield. The students have the opportunity to meet with the two veterans of the industry several times throughout the project to discuss strategy.
“[Glenfield and Duffield] are huge supporters of Pepperdine; it has been an absolute blessing to the advertising program to have them here Rosenkrans said.
Despite the many existing alternatives to Big Back Grips, Greenfield is confident that the product is superior.
Guys have been improvising for years … but we’ve created the best-functioning most affordable product on the market Greenfield said. We have a hard core following in L.A.”
Duffield said he and Greenfield appreciated the efforts of Rosenkrans and curriculum that encourages real-life application and experience.
“What’s cool about our project here is that it gives students the full experience of working on advertising for a real company; by creating advertisements for a real product they experience the real thing he said. [Big Back Grips is] a product you can touch and feel. … The experience of trying to sell something tangible is good for the students.”
After seeing the second drafts of the advertising campaigns both Duffield and Greenfield said they were impressed.
“I’m amazed by the quality of ideas and especially the team collaboration; earlier I asked a group who came up with a certain idea and they said ‘We did'” Duffield said. “They must have an amazing professor he added.
The students said they find the project valuable and enjoyable.
Senior JP Macdonell, who plans to go into the advertising field, says of the project, It’s neat how you get to create your own ads … it feels like working with a real agency.”
Because the project does more than simulate an ad agency experience senior Grant Hickman said the project is not without its challenges.
“This is a very unique opportunity; the biggest challenge my group has experienced was finding bodybuilders— or people who looked convincingly like bodybuilders— to model. We went to Venice and we couldn’t find anyone Hickman said. Last year’s Tom’s [Shoes] campaign … was easy: All [they] had to do was photograph shoes. The target audience for Big Back Grips however is much more specific and much more hardcore.”
Despite its occasional difficulties students found the project to be very beneficial.
“This is definitely a good experience. It is absolutely equipping us with necessary skills for the future such as talking to the owners of a business and having our work judged said Shannon McGrath, a junior.
The second section of the class is engaged in the same project, but with a corporation of an entirely different nature, California Recycles.
California Recycles deals with food waste, food service and e-waste, which is old electronic equipment. They pose themselves as the middlemen between the consumers and those who put forth the efforts to recycle or explore other environmental-friendly options.
Some students said they found their challenges in selling a service rather than a tangible product.
What makes doing a project on California Recycles different is that we’re not just selling a product; we’re selling not only a service but a lifestyle senior Ryan MacGregor said. With gasoline there is no need to advertise because people simply need gas for their cars. However recycling is a luxury in this economy. California Recycles has to inspire people to take the extra step even if they have to go a little out of their way.”
This project serves as the basis of the entire course. Through it students are able to learn more about their craft by practicing the concepts rather than solely reading about them.
“From this class I’ve learned so much about how important the placement of ads is. You have these wonderful advertisements and where you place them is absolutely crucial to reaching your demographic. For example CEOs are not going to read Seventeen senior Lauren Kubiak said.
The knowledge gained from the experience does not stop at creating and placing an advertisement. MacGregor said it taught him the importance of being passionate and knowledgeable about whatever product he may have to advertise.
I found myself doing research on the public research on demographics research on recycling and how it’s done. I studied every aspect bottom to top he said. In my experience the more I know the better the advertisement I can deliver. After all this is just one campaign for recycling. The research experience is useful because someday I may have to advertise say toilet paper and of course I’ll research everything about it.”
Rosenkrans has recruited advertising professionals from the top agencies to serve as judges for the competition to be held Nov. 19. Each group that wins the competition may have their campaigns executed by their respective companies.