Core Issues in Advertising Education:

Core Issues in Advertising Education:
There is no One-Size-Fits-All Advertising Education. Educators need to understand that all students are different save the fact that they have enrolled in your university and declared Advertising as an intended major. As such, a broad general education needs to be given that allows them to acquire the vocabulary and general understanding of advertising to participate in it. Beyond that, faculty need to understand the individual student's strength and weakness and work with them to develop their own unique voice. They need to be taken to actual agencies and client businesses to understand the environment in which they'll work. They need to understand that advertising is a 'team sport' and that seldom are lone wolf creatives free to operate within the realities of both the agency and the client's business. Creativity is a team sport.
At the end of the educational process the student should have a 'book' that demonstrates to perspective employers what they can contribute to the agency. That book, be it copy, design, account work, or any other aspect of advertising, needs to demonstrate to the employer that this individual has something to contribute to the agency. 21st century agencies require that everyone is creative, and that everyone contributes.

Better cooperation between higher education and local agencies/businesses/organizations need to be developed where two-way communication shapes the content of academic programs so that resulting graduates come equipped with solutions and the ability to contribute immediately. The idea that business is somehow required to offer on-the-job-training is absurd. Educators need to prepare well-rounded individuals who can hit the ground running. Each local market has primary businesses and agencies that higher education can open a dialogue with. The idea that together, each gains when students become the winners - better perspective employees and a better educational system.
Student’s Critical Thinking processes, and their Creative Thinking processes need to be developed so they can think on their feet and solve strategic business problems. Advertising solutions are not one-size-fits-all, nor should students be -- advertising is a custom design, and custom approach business where creativity is highly prized. Why you ask? Because Critical Thinking and Creative Thinking in the context of Branding along with what all creative advertising people know: Know the Product; Know the Competition; Position the Brand; and most importantly – Know the Consumer, is the “creative side” of the advertising industry. A must know for those aspiring to be part of it. And there is no single way to solve strategic business problems. Advertising is not that we have solved others problems, but instead, it is a business that continuously solves strategic business problems for each unique client and their unique business situation - not what we've done, but what we do. Students need to be trained in critical and creative thinking and become adept at solving business problems, and be able to show others how they do that through their 'book.'
Student assessment is subjective. And of course it is qualitative. Both of which is best done by individuals who have considerable industry experience with the creative side of the business – who have done exactly what they are asking of students: to think critically and creatively. People with the professional background qualified to be subjective, and a good judge of creativity as it applies to the advertising industry today.
The Core Issues in Advertising Education are to prepare students individually to think critically and creatively, to develop a book demonstrating how they think and approach strategic business problems; and, having educators who understand the realities of the industry students are about to enter, who can work with students on an individual basis to bring out these illusive qualities in the students they teach.
Dear Eric, Interesting to be sure.
Weighing the costs and benefits of ideas before implementing them is what clients pay for in Public Relations. Unlike advertising, publicity does not entail media costs. It is accurately gauged by non-paid media responses and direct business responses that are qualitative and quantifiable by the client, just as your effort did.
In your case, the PR effort did indeed gain a publicity response but not a direct sale. The value of the free publicity may be $2MM but it is an arbitrary figure because you cannot control the media response, only influence it if you are very good at this.
The media did more to scoff at the Town, then to promote its sale by persuading anyone to buy it. Obviously the town has more value today then it did prior to the effort. Cost factors in this case overlook your time, not just the $50 ebay expense.
Generally evaluation criteria should be established prior to the project with the client not after the fact – because you can concoct any evaluation you want to justify your effort. Public Relations has traditionally relied on effects, not on results.
Value on educating buyers, developing a market, and using non-paid media to tell the Town's story does have an objective outcome to assist in its sale, which it did. But you didn't persuade anyone to buy it.
Perhaps that is the difference between Advertising and Public Relations: the ability of each to persuade. You got Publicity, but didn't get the sale. Now Advertising could develop upon that by creating a persuasive advert to close the deal. This is why integrated marketing communications is always the best choice for business, as it brings the power of all marketing communication tools to make the sale.
Public Relations has a reputation for taking the ambiguous and giving it form, and for changing impressions and attitudes in an almost imperceptible way, advertising too – but one has a bigger price tag then with the other. I'd say your partner's friend owes you a commission when the sale occurs. Much of Public Relations is separating the subjective from the objective, and objectively speaking, Public Relations does know what it is doing and how to evaluate its worth. They prepare and establish evaluation criteria prior to the effort, not after the fact. – daryl orris | Minnetonka, MN