This semester I took the first course for my concentration in Creative Advertising, SMAD 242: Introduction to Advertising and New Media. Throughout this course I learned in depth how the advertising industry is set up, the creative process, and how new media is changing the industry. An important part of the course was not only knowledge of this information but also knowing how to apply it to the real-world.
One way I had to apply my knowledge of the material was by constructing a creative brief for a brand the professor assigned. This taught me how to find the target audience, target message, competition, etc of the companies product. Throughout the semester I had to complete two creative briefs for two different brands. Having to actually make a creative brief helped me better understand how important they are to advertising.
Another way I was tasked with applying course knowledge to the real-world was by constructing a blog on WordPress. In a group with four other students we had to create a blog throughout the semester on some aspect of the advertising industry. As a group we decided to make our blog on Out-of-Home advertisements within the restaurant industry, adsinyourface.wordpress.com . It was a great experience having to find ads and break them down each week. Something I found especially interesting about the assignment was seeing how few limitations out-of-home ads have and just how crucial they are for branding.
After taking this course I feel satisfied with my decision to pursue this major and this particular concentration. I had little to no knowledge about working in the advertising industry before this. Now I know how many different paths within the industry there is. I learned so much about the ins and outs of the industry and look forward to the next course in my concentration.
Kail Wood's Wordpress 