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2012 VPP Feedback

Quotes from 2012 VPP Participating Professors, Host Agencies
and Career Services Administrators

DDB

Professor Jean Retzinger, University of California, Berkeley: “The Visiting Professor Program was truly a wonderful experience for me from start to finish. My experiences at DDB will certainly help me in my role as a faculty advisor, a teacher, and in my own research. I feel far more able to help students gain internship experience and to better understand the various positions in an ad agency. I absolutely loved my time in New York. I am grateful to the AEF for giving me this opportunity. If I had any suggestions for improving the program, I would be happy to share them, but I honestly can’t think of any.”

Debbie Broda, Account Director: “This year’s visiting professor, Jean Retzinger, was a pleasure to host. After speaking with Jean on the phone to develop her agenda, her interests were clear. For her interest in research methods, she met with the Head of Strategic Planning. For media, we had her visit our media company, OMD, where she learned about the changing media landscape. To address her interest in food and culture, she learned about the Breyers account and advertising a food brand. Additionally, her research recently discussed the topic of hunger, obesity and charities. We sent Jean to the Ad Council to learn about non-profit advertising as it pertained to these issues.

All who met Jean found her thoughtful, friendly and wanted to spend time with her. They felt they not only provided her with information she felt useful, but learned from her as well-beneficial for both parties. Overall, I believe that the VPP was a very worthwhile effort for both the professor and DBB. Specifically, Jean’s lecture was well received by both the summer interns and senior agency people.”

Deutsch Los Angeles

Professor Carrie Lane, California State University: “After participating in the VPP I have a much clearer understanding of the complexity of agency work. Before going to Deutsch, I was somewhat skeptical about the motivations of much advertising work. My experience in the VPP has motivated me to add a new week on applied research to an ethnographic research seminar I teach. Most importantly, I feel much better able to discuss with students the nature of advertising work, and to advise students considering entering this field. Overall, I was exceptionally happy with my VPP experience and can wholeheartedly recommend the experience to other scholars.”

Nancy Alley, SVP Director of HR: “Carrie was a natural fit. Her natural confidence and curiosity put her at ease and it was no time before she was invited to meetings, focus groups and briefings. She delivered a relevant and very-well attended lecture as a guest speaker in our Deutsch Common Live series. There is a high probability we will contract with Carrie in the future to help with focus groups and research. Carrie was embraced right from the start. The folks I thought would be reluctant participants were even more engaged than I expected! We benefited from having a professor who could not only learn, but jumped in and was embraced and contributed.”

Deutsch New York

Professor Natalie Tindall, George State University: “The opportunity to spend two weeks observing the inner workings of an advertising agency is not something most professors ever receive. I am thankful that I had a chance to experience not at just any agency, but at Deutsch. I have never worked in advertising, so I was able to glean a lot of insight into the advertising process--an experience that I can share with my students and translate into my classroom teaching and assignments.”
Robin H. Lander, Partner, Director of Human Resources: “Natalie was a good fit with Deutsch. She had the right spirit and affinity for the Deutsch culture. We had her meet with every department head and she was able to shadow a handful of client and agency meetings. Deutsch is very supportive of the VPP and we are beginning to reap the benefits of establishing a relationship between the professor and agency. Natalie’s Lunch and Learn with the interns was really great. Her presentation sparked a lot of conversation and I know that a number of students followed-up with her after her talk.”

Euro RSCG Chicago

Professor Shu-Chuan Kelly Chu, DePaul University: “It was great that I had opportunities to meet people from different departments and account teams. This provided me with a bigger picture of the agency and helped me understand the dynamic and relationships among the departments. I enjoyed my time with Euro RSCG and appreciated their warm hospitality for me. Through one-on-one meetings at the agency, I have gained a better understanding on how to prepare my students to be successful in job search in advertising. As for my research, I was able to see the latest research methods agencies employ to uncover customer insights. Overall, this is an excellent program. I greatly appreciate this opportunity and will definitely recommend the program to my colleagues!”

Meghan Hellmuth, Human Resources Generalist: “Kelly was a nice fit for the agency. She was friendly and open to meeting with many different people. Kelly was really able to gain insight into our Strategy/Planning Department. Everyone was supportive of the program and wanted to make time to meet with Kelly. The feedback was positive from employees who were able to meet with Kelly. We’d like to continue our participation in this program. We believe it’s a great opportunity for professors to become more familiar with our industry and current advertising trends. Concurrently our internal team benefits from insights shared by the professor both through meetings with teams and by giving a presentation to the agency. I believe the program works well.”

Euro RSCG New York (Havas)

Professor Andrea Stanaland, Radford University: “I got something valuable out of almost every conversation I had with people at the agency. Also, I was very impressed with some of the innovative developments various agencies were working on. I’m already using examples from the program in my teaching and plan to continue doing so. I feel like I have more insight now as to how various marketing communication tools are developing and trending, and the experience gives me context when learning about new methods. And obviously anything that improves my ability to learn and understand that world will translate into better experiences for my students in the classroom. All in all it was an amazing experience for me and I will highly recommend it to my colleagues.”

Shannon Novak, Director of Human Resources: “Andrea was a great fit with Euro. She said from the beginning that she wanted to observe and we gave her every opportunity which she took advantage of. The Euro employees were very supportive and eager to spend time with Andrea.”

Grey Group

Professor David Westerman, West Virginia University: “This program gave me a more positive perception of the industry. It’s much friendlier than I would have thought. It also is a lot more collaborative than I would have guessed. I learned a lot of things that I will be able to bring into the classroom. Finally, I was given lots of examples of things I can talk about in class to my students. In actuality, I do believe this was one of the things I was sorely lacking in classes, especially when I talk about things related to advertising, etc.”

IMAGES USA

Darlene Bryant, HR Manager: “Charles was an excellent fit for our agency. Overall, extremely positive comments from our staff. Extremely worthwhile program for our team and the professor.”

IW Group, Inc.

Professor Mary Yu Danico, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona: “I was quite naïve about the industry and did not realize how similar it is to the university in many ways. I did not know that segments of the industry were bidded on and that it was rare to find an agency that handled a client completely. I really did learn a lot and feel that I have more to learn. When I teach Sociology of Media or Organizations, I can draw on my experience with the IW Group to accurately discuss issues in advertising. Nita Song introduced me to Korean media outlet and this will definitely inform my research.”

Bill Imada, Chairman/Chief Collaboration Officer: “Mary Yu Danico was a perfect fit. Everyone enjoyed having her in the office and appreciated her perspective on our work, our staff, our agency processes, etc. Her presentation on Korean Pop Culture (K-Pop) was exceptional and the staff who attended her lecture really appreciated her background, expertise and knowledge on how K-Pop impacts and influences popular culture. She also received very positive reviews from Dailey Advertising and Campbell-Ewald. She has also offered to provide us with interns, student volunteers and access to other professors.”

JWT New York

Professor Frauke Hachtmann, University of Nebraska-Lincoln: “I learned about sides of the business that I was not aware of. I also was impressed by the quantity and quality of research conducted by the agency. Finally, I was surprised about the different backgrounds JWT employees bring to the table. I couldn’t believe how much time everyone spent with me to patiently tell me about their work and answer my questions. This experience will benefit my teaching in that I can update my examples and case studies and tell students what I worked on first-hand. I will also be able to infuse many ideas into our curriculum as a whole. Having a hands-on experience has benefited me tremendously. Being able to serve on one or more account teams, observing how the work gets done and possibly contributing to the process has been an invaluable experience.”

Carly Wengrover, PR Manager: “Frauke was a perfect fit for JWT. This was not only the result of her interest and prior research of the agency, but her enthusiasm and thirst to learn about the agency’s culture and work made the partnership and overall experience great. Frauke was such a pleasure to host that we extended an invite for her students to come visit us for an agency tour/orientation any time they were in the area. Our colleagues were very supportive of the program. We received a lot of interest in Frauke’s Lunchtime Lecture, with employees from all departments coming to hear her presentation.”

Leo Burnett

Susan Jung Grant, University of Colorado at Boulder: “My experience in the Visiting Professor Program (VPP) was outstanding all around. The AEF’s VPP provided me with a terrific experience, and I was thoroughly impressed with Leo Burnett and the people I was fortunate enough to interact with. Since I had very little background in advertising, this was an excellent introduction for me. The experience has also given me a very good idea for the kinds of skills and breadth that students must cultivate if they are interested in an agency role. It has helped me to more fully understand the process of advertising creation. Having this level of access I got was unique.”

Richard Roche, EVP Account Director: “The VPP was a very beneficial experience for both Susan and Leo Burnett. Susan fit very well with the team during meetings, brainstorms and day- to-day tasks. She asked many relevant, thought provoking questions that showcased her desire to learn.  Our time with Susan created an open dialogue that will continue into the future for both parties. It is invaluable for our agency to be connected to professors that have exposure to great candidates for us down the road. Susan’s exposure to what a job in the advertising world entails will come in very useful when speaking to students interested in the field. Thank you for including us this year and we look forward to years to come!”

McCann Erickson New York

Professor Cindy Price, University of Wyoming: “The biggest surprise for me was how much research goes into advertising. It exceeded my expectations in so many ways because I learned so much. I filled up most of a notebook with my learning, so that was great. It was great that I got to see the boards for an actual client pitch. I did enjoy doing an actual project for the client. I can’t measure how much this experience will help my teaching! I will need to revamp my whole teaching strategy and research. Because I actually participated in research, I will have some great examples about that so students will hopefully take it more seriously.”

Keisha Kellman, Talent Generalist: “Cindy fit in quite nicely with McCann. Her upbeat and quirky personality was a welcome addition to the McCann family. Cindy absolutely contributed to our Truth Central strategic research department with her research expertise. She assisted with the Truth about finance study that was happening while she was with us. The Visiting Professor Program has the full support of McCann NY as well as McCann World Group. There was no issue with the coordinating process. McCann Worldgroup has partnered with AEF’s VPP program for many years and we will continue to support the program as it is a worthwhile cause that is mutually beneficial.”

Ogilvy & Mather Chicago

Professor Carrie Heilman, University of Virginia: “The experience was great! The two weeks met or even exceeded my expectations. What surprised me the most was how much I learned from just sitting in meetings as a “fly on the wall” and seeing what people do. The experience will definitely help me when teaching Brand Management and Advertising and Promotions. It has given me more confidence about my knowledge of how an agency works and I was able to get many great examples for the class. It will also be helpful when students ask for help getting a job in advertising. Thanks for a wonderful experience!”

Piper Ginsburg, Brand Planning Director: “Carrie Heilman was a great fit for Ogilvy Chicago. She was very kind, knowledgeable, and a pleasure to work with. Carrie was very attentive in all meetings and even offered her input on a discussion guide for a focus group. Carrie gave a very interesting presentation that demonstrated the exemplary work from a student marketing competition. Members of our agency were very impressed by the material, and students in this competition might be good candidates for our internship program. Colleagues at the agency were very supportive of the program and participated in every way they could.”

Ogilvy & Mather New York

Professor Gulnur Tumbat, San Francisco State University: “My overall perception of the industry was not well informed at the beginning and I am more than grateful for this experience for providing me so many insights. My perception has changed significantly and very favorably towards the industry. I am very much intrigued with this experience that I am seriously thinking about getting more involved. This was almost like a life-changing experience for me. I feel like I will be much more confident teaching advertising. Thank you for organizing such a great experience.”

Alison Demos, Director of Ethnographic Research: “Professor Tumbat was a pleasure to host. The talk she gave on marketing of risk was fantastically interesting, and held the attention of our agency audience well after the pizza was cold. Ogilvy is pleased to be a VPP host, and we look forward to participating in the future.”

Publicis

Professor Jie Xu, Villanova University: “It has been such an eye-opening experience. I had very little working experience in ad industry. It is a pleasant surprise to see how sophisticated the research has become in ad industry. There is no doubt in my mind that this experience will benefit my teaching and research tremendously. I came away with a deeper, broader, and up-to-date understanding regarding how ad industry functions in a real world. I can’t wait to share what I’ve learned through the visit with my students and colleagues. I look forward to talking with my students in terms of applying for internships, what credentials to be built inside and outside of the classroom, how to conduct networking and informational and exploratory interviews for starters. All in all, this has been a fascinating experience which absolutely exceeded my expectations. I learned a great deal and met so many kind, passionate and gifted people.”

R/GA

Professor Gergana Y. Nenkov, Boston College: “My experience at R/GA was eye-opening. I learned so much about marketing in the digital domain. My experience exceeded my expectations! I was surprised by how much time the R/GA employees devoted to meeting with me and teaching me about their work. I was lucky that I was exposed to various departments instead of being assigned to one particular department or project. I was also pleasantly surprised how interested people were in the research I presented at the lunch lecture. As a result of my experience at R/GA I am preparing a “digital module” that all my colleagues teaching Principles of Marketing in Boston College will incorporate into their teaching. I thought the program was fantastic – I got more out of it than I ever hoped for! I learned a lot and I will share this newly acquired information with my colleagues and students. I cannot thank you enough for organizing this wonderful program. It is an incredible service to the field!”

Razorfish

Professor Peter Boyle, Central Washington University: “It has been a terrific learning experience, and one that has provided a solid foundation for continuing to expand my understanding of the area of digital. The meetings you arranged with your colleagues were extremely valuable in enhancing my knowledge and understanding of how companies interact digitally with users. There is just no way I could have gleaned this from textbooks, and ultimately my students will be thankful for the authentic experience you provided me.”

Samantha Nyhan, VP Client Partner: “Peter was a great fit with Razorfish. He is eager to learn new things and very flexible. I think Peter’s greatest contributions were his positive attitude, his appreciation, and his excitement about the topic of digital marketing. He brought this to every conversation with the team, which made everyone realize that they are doing cool stuff for great clients!  Peter really integrated into every part of digital marketing. Everyone was on board to share time and information with Peter. We are open to participating again.”

The Vidal Partnership

Professor Clara Rodriguez, Fordham University: “I learned a huge amount during my time with AEF and The Vidal Partnership. The experience will definitely influence my teaching. I come away with a much greater appreciation of the role that advertising and marketing plays in our everyday lives and of the possibilities that exist in using these means to create, contribute to, or enhance social change.”

Beatriz Ferrer-Vidal, Director of Quality of Life: “Our team was very supportive of the program. This was definitely a worthwhile program. Our agency is interested in participating in the program again. The program worked very well in our opinion.”

Young & Rubicam

Professor Olivier Rubel, University of California, Davis: “The program was very well organized and I don’t have any specific point that I think should be improved. I was pleasantly surprised with how generous people were with their time to meet with me. I think this experience will help me explain what is going on when they hire an ad agency. It definitely will help me make my research more relevant to the advertising industry in shaping my future research projects.”

Whitney Goodman, Account Director: “Olivier Rubel was a really great fit for Y&R. The people who met him were impressed with his knowledge and he was impressed by their willingness to freely give their time to him. The agency is very supportive of the program and I am sure that we will want to continue to participate in the program in the future.”

Career Services Administrators

Melissa Berkey, Yale University: “The program proved very useful in gaining insight into an industry that an increasing number of students are exploring. The presenters seemed genuinely excited about and proud of their work. Their excitement was infectious and since participating in the program, I’ve been able to pass on that excitement to students during counseling appointments. I feel much better prepared to discuss the industry and more confident in my ability to answer student questions, and have discussed advertising as a career option with more students since returning. I found it beneficial to participate alongside the professors. Thank you AEF for putting this program together and for allowing career services representatives the opportunity to participate.”

Emily Calderone, John Hopkins University: “I had a very limited perception of the industry prior to the orientation and it mostly focused on stereotypes of the industry. However, after the orientation, I was impressed with how hard the industry works, how many options there are for involvement within the industry, beyond just creative positions. This orientation helped to solidify my own career advising skills to students interested in the industry, along with my knowledge of the employers and career resources available to them.”

Beverly Hamilton-Chandler, Princeton University: “The orientation allowed me to see how the advertising industry had changed and assisted me in learning about the new opportunities that are available for undergraduates. Gaining information from individuals who have the hiring authority is extremely useful. Additionally, it provided me with an opportunity to meet colleagues from other schools. I will share information with students regarding the opportunities that are available and something about the culture of the firms. The program was invaluable in helping me to see a variety of organizations and I am truly grateful.”

Megan Nicklaus, Vanderbilt University: “Learning about how a pitch begins from concept to implementation and the cycle of a campaign was very helpful and having it on the first day was even more beneficial. Getting a feel for the culture of the advertising industry and then the larger difference between the cultures between agencies was very helpful as well. It was interesting to hear how faculty members are directing students. My perception after this experience is that advertising has grown even larger than I had imagined with a solid foot into actual product development. Overall it was a good program.”

AEF

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