APRD

#GreenAds

Anonymous — Wed, 08 May 2024 22:54:20 +0000

#GreenAds Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 05/08/2024 - 16:54

By Joe Arney
Photos by Kimberly Coffin (CritMedia, StratComm’18)

Her experience in advertising and public relations means Saima Kazmi knows the power of a good story to change minds and hearts.

Now, as she completes her doctoral studies at the ��«��Ƶ, she’s trying to understand a story with the potential to shape the future of the planet.

Kazmi (PhDStratComm’24) studies green advertising campaigns that prompt people to make choices that support sustainability and environmental well-being—effectively using the advertising playbook, which is so good at urging people to buy things, to encourage less consumption.

Specifically, her research examines why consumers tend to reject such prompts.

“People see an environmental message, and they immediately shut down,” she said. “There is always pushback when you’re asking people to change their behavior, but I really want to understand what it is about sustainability that causes those cognitive barriers to raise.”

She’s studying different messaging strategies that can overcome that resistance to change—work that will continue now that she’s accepted a role as an assistant professor at the University of Oregon for the fall.

“I’m so grateful, happy and honored to work at a place where they have so many sustainability initiatives,” Kazmi said. “They have a whole communication department working on climate science, which is exactly the type of people I want to work with to move my research forward.”

You have three minutes

Academic research sometimes gets a reputation for being too theoretical or esoteric to effect meaningful change. Kazmi said she knows that isn’t an option for her work, which is part of why she competed in CU ��«��Ƶ’s Three-Minute Thesis—a competition in which graduate students are challenged to describe their research to a general audience in no more than three minutes. She was one of two students from the College of Media, Communication and Information to advance to the final round of the competition, which concluded in February.

“I thought it would be a lot like my job search, where you’re giving research presentations—but I had all this jargon and messaging that was tailored for faculty and search committees,” she said. “You have to think—if my grandmother was in the audience, how would I be able to get her to understand this?”

A voracious reader and seasoned advertising expert—as a consultant, she did work for brands like Unilever and Nestle—Kazmi found a way to make her pitch a relatable story, which helped her search for jobs and defend her dissertation.

“I was talking about this whole phenomenon of water being drained from the Colorado River for agriculture, and I shaped it almost like a dystopian novel, where we knew what was happening but people ignored all the messages,” she said. “Learning how to get my point across to a general audience was so valuable to me.

“Only 1 to 2% of people get to be researchers and create knowledge. And if that knowledge is not accessible, we’re missing out on an opportunity to have an impact.”

Saima Kazmi (PhDStratComm’24)

Far-ranging research implications

Harsha Gangadharbatla, professor of advertising, public relations and media design and associate dean of faculty development at CMCI, said Kazmi will have no trouble creating impact at a place like Oregon. And he ought to know, having taught there for five years before coming to CU ��«��Ƶ, where he eventually became one of the college’s founding chairs.

Gangadharbatla described Kazmi, whom he advised, as especially hardworking and dedicated, in addition to doing interesting research that has such wide-ranging implications for different industries.

“When she takes something up, she sees it to the very end, which is admirable in and of itself,” he said. “But she’ll also do well on the tenure track because she’ll have a sustained, focused body of work with very real implications—not only to different areas, like advertising, public policy and sustainability in general, but for us all.”

Kazmi called Gangadharbatla a powerful influence on her career—particularly his love of teaching—and said faculty and peers helped smooth an academic journey that included the challenges of virtual work amid the pandemic and raising three small children while her husband worked overseas. Gangadharbatla said it was “amazing, how she cared for her family by herself while taking courses, writing a dissertation and teaching,” and joked that “my partner and I have two children, and between the two of us we’re struggling to survive.”

For Kazmi, success was about her willingness to work hard and the community of which she was a part.

“So many people in CMCI guided me on publications and helped prepare me for the job market,” she said. “And my classmates, too—they’re going through the same struggles that I did, and they’ve become friends as we all go on to such different next steps in our careers.”

Advertisers are very good at getting us to buy things. A PhD graduate wants to use the same playbook to encourage more sustainability and less consumption.

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Advertising students celebrate victory in New York

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Aug 2017 23:12:20 +0000

Advertising students celebrate victory in New York Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 08/02/2017 - 17:12

For advertising students, the Pencil Award is the ultimate mark of success.

Department of Advertising, Public Relations and Media Design students have traveled to New York City with other top advertising students for 17 years for the One Club’s Young Ones competition. This year, the group of 14 students continued a long history of success at the event, bringing home silver and bronze pencils, as well as three merit awards. CU ��«��Ƶ is ranked No. 4 among colleges worldwide and No. 2 in the country.

For the competition, students worked in teams to create advertising and branding campaigns for companies including BMW and TOMS. The One Club of New York, an esteemed industry trade group, presented the awards as part of Creative Week, a premier showcase of creativity in advertising, design and new media.

CMCI students Wiley Kaupas, Charlie Humpal and Jacob Glazier won a silver pencil award for “Sentinel” in the BMW Connect category. Katie Thermos, Halston Hazdra and Kayla Dickie won a bronze pencil for “The Scenic Route” in the same category. Three teams of students: Harrison Morof, Tory Powers and Will Houghton; Ray Gonzalez, Ben Rindels and Jacob Glazier; and Luke Johnson, Carmen Marxuach and Anna Russo all won merit awards.

In addition to the competition, the trip is a valuable networking opportunity for students, who spend their week engaging in portfolio reviews and visiting top agencies in New York City.

This year, a group of 14 advertising students continued a long history of success at the One Show, bringing home silver and bronze pencils, as well as three merit awards. [icon shape="fa-play-circle-o" size="regular" color="gold" /]

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Interning with an industry giant

Anonymous — Wed, 12 Jul 2017 18:57:10 +0000

Interning with an industry giant Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 07/12/2017 - 12:57

Few companies can boast the type of instant brand recognition that Nike has achieved. Throughout the decades, the sports apparel and equipment giant has produced some of the most iconic advertisements worldwide.

None of that intimidates Morgan Reno, a strategic communication major and senior, who is an intern at Nike this summer

“It’s cool to work for a company that is so big in the advertising industry and there’s so many possibilities and connections I can make," says Reno, whose concentration is in advertising. “I’m definitely very excited.”

As a global integrated media intern, Reno works with Nike’s media team as part of the larger advertising department. Her main duty is to create keynote decks: slideshow presentations that inform employees about all the specifics of upcoming products and projects.

The position also integrates social media strategies. For one keynote deck, Reno created a presentation detailing the best strategies for posting on different social media sites like Facebook and Instagram.

Like all things Nike, the internship embraces the thrill of competition. At the end of the summer, Reno will compete in the “Intern Combine Project,” a challenge for all interns to create the best possible brief, with the top three earning a chance to present their ideas to Nike executives.

Another major aspect of interning for the company is community, and interns are encouraged to meet new people around the campus and attend events, Reno says. "They really emphasize meeting a bunch of different people, including the major people on campus like the execs."

I’ll feel more prepared to find something I’m passionate about."

While the Nike environment is new to Reno, she has good reason to feel at home this summer. Originally from Lake Oswego, Oregon, Reno grew up less than 10 miles from Nike’s headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon. Both towns are suburbs of the Portland metro area.

To earn the competitive internship, Reno navigated several rounds of interviews, all while studying abroad in Florence, Italy.

After graduation, she plans to use her experience at Nike and her degree from CMCI to pursue a career as an account manager, preferably for a large company like Nike.

“I think I’ll feel more prepared for what I want to do and what I don’t really like," she says. "I’ll feel more prepared to find something I’m passionate about.”

With the title of global integrated media intern, senior Morgan Reno works with Nike’s media team as part of the larger advertising department.

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