• About UANews
• Sign up for News
• Resources for Media
• Calendar
• Contact Us

A team of UA Eller College of Management is launching an advertising agency that will be managed by University students.

By La Monica Everett-Haynes, University Communications
September 9, 2009

Club officers? Check.

Strong membership base? Check.

Proactive energy and ideas? Check.

In need of a marketing plan or advertisements? Not a problem. A new University of Arizona agency is opening for business by month's end to aid in such endeavors.

UAAdCats, an agency run by about a dozen Eller College of Management students, will operate like an advertising agency with actual clients, budgets and deadlines.

The impetus for the UA chapter dates back to 1985 when Edward E. Ackerley, now an adjunct instructor of marketing in the UA's Eller College, was president of the Tucson Ad Club. In working with the organization, he helped to found the UA Ad Club, which later became the UA chapter of the American Advertising Federation. 

"This is a club, and a place for students interested in advertising to gather and learn more about the industry," said Ackerley, who will serve as the agency's facutly mentor.

The chapter has led both to a new course, Marketing 293, and also the new agency, which will run as a club affiliated with the UA's American Advertising Federation student chapter.

"We have been working with administration the last several months in securing the clearances, authorizations and support to establish this entity," Ackerley said. 

Ackerley said he has worked with Robert Lusch, the Lisle and Roslyn Payne Professor of Marketing and head of the marketing department at Eller, and others for about one year to get the agency off the ground. 

A number of others have supported UAAdCats "very aggressively," Ackerley said, noting that longtime UA supporters Karl Eller, Phil Hagenah and Lisle Payne have been strong supporters of the agency from its conception. 

More than 40 students attended an information session held Tuesday to learn about the agency, which is expected to be up and running by the month's end.

"We'll have a good pool to draw from," Ackerley said.

UAAdCats has already received interest off campus, though the agency will work primarily with UA affiliates – departments, programs, student organizations and others. 

The agency's marketing slogan reads, "There are two sides of the brain. We're looking for the right people," indicating that it is seeking highly creative and intuititve students whose strengths are in visual and spatial communication. 

The student-run operation, which will be housed at Babcock 3205, where students will meet weekly to discuss business. Those involved will receive UA credit and be assigned to a range of positions – graphic designer, creative director, account director, public relations director, media coordinator and office administrator being among them.

"Personally from going through the marketing department, there are a lot of students interested in advertising or public relations," said Liz Tanori, the agency's director and a UA senior majoring in marketing and visual communication.

Developing marketing campaigns and also designing Web sites, advertisements, logos and other promotional material, collaborating with the Associated Students of the UA and the marketing division are among the projects Ackerley and Tanori envision are the types of projects the agency's team will take on.

The fees the team will charge, which will be based on market prices, would then be used to fund club activities, Ackerley said.

Yes, the students will be providing a service, but they also will be getting highly desired experience while still University students.

"The benefit of having this particular organization is perfect because it is an opportunity to show students what those two fields are really like," Tanori said.

Strong competition surrounds jobs in the field of advertising – which includes marketing, promotions, public relations and sales managers, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicators.

The federal agency reported that college graduates going into the profession who leave campus with workplace experience and are skilled at the computer, highly creative and strong communicators would likely have the best opportunities. 

The advertising outlook is strong. The agency reports that job growth in the field is expected to hike by 12 percent through 2016 – due in part to competition for promoting products both nationally and globally.

The contest for these jobs will continue to be aggressive.

The National Association of Colleges and Employers reports that starting salaries for marketing majors going into advertising out of college in 2007 was about $34,000.

But the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that, nationally, in the median range in pay is between $73,000 and $99,000 – all depending on experience, service, location, industry and prior education. 

Ackerley noted that while Eller students interested in marketing and public relations have, in the past, held internships, having an internal offering is a boon. 

"This kind of completes, in a perfect circle, our ability to give students a range of options to get some hands-on experience," he said. "This is going to be great to offer them an option and give them a supurb sendoff into the marketplace."