Ad Team offers experience, opportunity
By Brad Greenberg
Oct. 16, 2003 9:00 p.m.
One of the best places to learn about advertising and marketing
at UCLA isn’t in a classroom; it’s with the UCLA Ad
Team.
The Ad Team, which officially begins its eighth year today, has
a tradition of developing and educating UCLA students in
advertising and placing them with major advertising agencies.
Many employers said the Ad Team provides undergraduate students
with a foundation in advertising that gives them an edge over other
job applicants ““ even those who come from schools with
advertising or marketing programs.
Before the end of this year, Ad Team members will have completed
a national campaign for Florida tourism. The brochure they develop
helps students build a portfolio that is respected by professional
ad agencies.
“People aren’t even going to look at you until they
see your book, your portfolio,” said Ben Weiner, CEO of
WONGDOODY, which represents the Los Angeles Dodgers and MGM
Entertainment.
“You live and die by the quality of your book,” he
added.
The approximate 40 members of Ad Team will meet weekly to
develop a campaign for Florida tourism, which they will present at
the National Student Advertising Competition put on by the American
Advertising Federation.
NSAC regionals are held in June. If UCLA wins regionals, they
will qualify for nationals, which are also held in June.
Every year, the AAF decides on a specific product for which NSAC
competitors will develop a campaign.
Last year, the product was the Toyota Matrix. The Ad Team had a
32-page brochure printed and bound, detailing every aspect of
marketing the Matrix, from where advertisements should be placed to
the product’s budget.
Each team member joins a different branch of ad development.
Students without creative ability can still contribute to the Ad
Team by helping with other needs, such as promotions or budget
development.
The team came up with the slogan “Blend Out” and
developed ads that made the Matrix stand out as unique. A common
theme in their campaign was the placement of a red Matrix in an ad
that had a dreary and colorless background.
Last year’s Ad Team members said working on the Toyota
Matrix campaign provided them with experience that will be valuable
in the professional world.
“Any one of us … could jump on a (professional) ad team
and contribute immediately,” said Matt Freeman, an Ad Team
account supervisor and fourth-year philosophy student.
Sara Bamossy, who worked on last year’s team, said Ad Team
helped her gain an internship at advertising agency Saatchi &
Saatchi last summer.
“When you are on Ad Team, you learn skills that allow you
to hit the ground running when you start working,” said
fourth-year Bamossy, who created her own major and is UCLA’s
only marketing and communications student.
Bamossy said Saatchi & Saatchi has already secured her a job
for when she graduates in June.
Saatchi & Saatchi’s L.A. director of human resources,
Rose Davis, said groups like UCLA’s Ad Team can make
applicants stand out from other job seekers.
“It shows they have an understanding, an ability and a
passion,” said Davis. “In our industry, that is what
you need.”
At a time when companies are reluctant to hire new employees
““ 6.4 percent of Californians are reported to be unemployed
last month ““ the Ad Team can help students find a job, said
John Kochian, UCLA speech lecturer and Ad Team faculty adviser.
Throughout the year, team members attend mixers frequented by
industry professionals and are able to hand out their resumes at
NSAC, which is judged by advertising professionals.
The team’s UCLA Anderson School student advisers are also
available to help Ad Team members polish their resumes and help
with interview etiquette ““ not to mention get them a job.
“They provide hook-ups, so to speak,” said Lejo Pet,
a fourth-year sociology student and Ad Team account supervisor.
But the Ad Team is not all about careers. Freeman ““ who
plans to practice law ““ said team members develop a
camaraderie much like that of an athletic team.
“It’s not all work for us,” he said.
“It’s a lot of fun.”
With reports from Nat Schuster, Bruin Finance
contributor.
