St. Bonaventure is home to many student groups that do impressive work, like ENACTUS and volunteers in the Warming House. Another group that conducts interesting and significant work is the class and club: The American Advertising Federation. This group of students run an advertising agency that incorporates both journalism and marketing disciplines.
The group is formed in the fall semester by students submitting applications and going through a hiring process, and those who are accepted meet as an official group in the spring. The AAF class meets every Monday and Wednesday from 2:30-3:45 p.m. in Murphy 104 and is taught and advised by lecturer in the Jandoli School of Communication Michael Jones-Kelley and lecturer in the marketing department Kristen Ryan, who are both accomplished professionally in advertising and marketing.
The group is divided into multiple departments, each with a director in charge of running their section. The account executive, which is the president of the agency, is senior strategic communication major Tierney McGilvray; Jonah Johnson is vice president and Katie Craig, senior marketing major, is secretary. The directors of the departments are: senior Amelia Bailey for social media, senior marketing major Patrick Graham for media, senior strategic communication major Ivan Gomez is the creative director, Johnson is also the planning director and senior journalism and strategic communication major Mya Cappellino for public relations.
The application process is open to anyone who is interested in creative endeavors and work that is purposeful.
“We value creative thinkers and love gaining perspectives from a variety of different majors,” said McGilvray.
Juniors and seniors with experience are given preference depending on the student’s resume and previous work.
After a semester of work that takes other schools an entire year, the AAF competes in the National Student Advertising Competition. The competition against other schools begins with the NSAC giving each school a classified portfolio of a business.
“The briefs contain the brand, information on the target demographics, the current market situation and the objective. For example, last year we created a campaign for Ocean Spray, with the objective of advertising to millennials ages 24-35,” explained McGilvray.
The fall semester is used for gathering members and building the team, as well as starting to do research with the help of Dr. Paul Barretta, associate professor of marketing. The spring semester is spent putting together and planning a campaign that includes a booklet that tells the group’s story. Then the big group votes on the pitch team, who will present the pitch at the competition. This year’s pitch team is McGilvray, Craig, Loftus and Johnson.
“My favorite part of being the account executive is knowing that I can have my hands in everything. I’m a curious person, and my interest isn’t limited to one department,” said McGilvray. “I love knowing I can help every single member of the agency in some way.”
The pitch team works to develop the presentation of the campaign, spending weeks writing, practicing and memorizing the script. Help and guidance is provided by Jones-Kelley, Ryan and Dr. Kimberly DeSimone, associate professor in the Jandoli School of Communication, who is the group’s presentation coach.
Being a part of this group offers a major opportunity for those involved to gain critical experience and a chance to exercise the skills they have learned.
Sophomore strategic communication major, Cameron Perks, who is part of the creative department said, “My favorite part is just being creative in a field I want to do my whole life.”
“AAF taught me that I love the agency atmosphere and that creativity doesn’t need to be kept a hobby,” McGilvray said. “You can make a career out of creativity.”
By Faith Topolski, Staff Writer
topolsfl17@bonaventure.edu
