IMC Students in UM’s New “Mad Men”-Style Class Work for Real-World Business Clients

By Rick Hynum
Special to Hottytoddy.com

Students at the University of Mississippi are getting real-world marketing and advertising experience in a unique new course that, in effect, functions as a modern-day “Mad Men” agency in a classroom setting, complete with professional clients and campaigns in a range of fields.

Students enrolled in the agency class have current projects like public relations campaigns, marketing research and strategy, logo design, and social media marketing. Photo submitted.

The course, a for-credit elective for integrated marketing communications (IMC) majors in the School of Journalism and New Media, is the first of its kind at Ole Miss. Taught by Adjunct Professor Kevin Seddon, the class immerses students in an agency-like environment. Current projects include public relations campaigns, marketing research and strategy, logo design, and social media marketing, giving students a chance to apply their creative and analytical skills on behalf of small-business clients that don’t have their own marketing staff.

Scott Fiene, assistant dean and an IMC associate professor in the School of Journalism and New Media, envisions the course as a “laboratory” for future marketing and advertising professionals. “Ole Miss has the Student Media Center where student journalists produce real work—a print and digital newspaper, a TV news program, radio programs—and it’s very successful,” Fiene said. “This would be along those lines but, instead of journalism products, the deliverables would be marketing communications products for businesses … A number of other universities have such an endeavor, and it’s an excellent way to groom future marketing communications professionals.”

The class already has five clients, according to Seddon, a UM journalism graduate and Oxford entrepreneur with three decades’ experience in marketing, event planning and publishing.

“Ultimately, we would like to offer quality services to businesses owned by Ole Miss alumni, assist other departments on campus and help support graduating students with their start-ups,” Seddon said.

“For example, we can provide social media content and management to small businesses,” he noted. “Most small business owners have been told they ‘need to be on Facebook,’ so they create a business page, but they have no idea how to make it useful as a marketing tool. We can help them immensely at a very reasonable cost. We can do the same with marketing research services. This type of research is expensive, and small businesses can’t afford to source it. We have the students, software and faculty expertise to supervise this type of research and do it correctly.”

Graduate student Anna Krammes (left) and senior Valeria Babkina (right) use the time in class to research for their clients. Photo submitted.

Current clients include UM’s Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Politics; the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Foundation, a nonprofit that supports emerging student leaders at colleges and universities across the American South; Neckglasses, Inc., an Oxford-based startup specializing in fashionable reading eyewear; and DécorLuxe Group, a national wholesaler and retailer of high-end furniture.

The students’ work has already gotten results for its clients, according to Leslie M. Westbrook, a consumer research specialist and marketing strategist who worked for Procter & Gamble and other Fortune 500 companies before coming to Ole Miss as an adjunct professor of integrated marketing. She asked the class to help build audiences for the Overby Center’s notable speaker programs.

“The students have gathered new names for the database, created social media marketing that had not been utilized before, and added input for website redesign and updating,” Westbrook said. “Their efforts resulted in a big increase in attendance by students and faculty.”

The class also developed a media campaign for “Midnight Train,” a new memoir by well-known songwriter and former Ole Miss quarterback Jim Weatherly, who wrote the classic pop hit “Midnight Train to Georgia,” and Jeff Roberson, a longtime Oxford-based sports journalist.

“The class has been very helpful in marketing ‘Midnight Train,’” Roberson said. “We knew … that marketing was essential to its success. Scott and Kevin have been supportive and positive as we moved forward. And the students who worked with us on it—Coleman Hobson, Sean Williams and Talgat Brown—were eager and willing to assist and put their stamp on the book’s marketing and distribution success. It’s been helpful in getting the word out and increasing sales.”

As the field of marketing rapidly evolves and new types of media and technology emerge, many smaller businesses and nonprofits are struggling to keep up. College students and recent graduates often have a better understanding of the latest tools required to reach new audiences and know how to craft marketing messages for younger consumers. Seddon’s advanced course takes them beyond textbooks and theory to tackle the real-world challenges they’ll face in their careers.

Anna Krammes, a graduate student in the IMC program from Frankfurt, Germany, said the course has broadened her skills and knowledge base.

“In Germany, university education is really different,” she said. “All of the classes are theoretical. I have a really good theoretical foundation, but what I’m missing is getting to do real work and seeing results. My advisor said this would the perfect class because I’d get to work with real clients.”

Krammes said she gives the class a solid A. “We have a lot of freedom, but, at the same time, we’re working with professionals and really improving our skills, so I think it’s perfect.”

Valeria Babkina, a senior from St. Petersburg, Russia, agreed. Like Germany, education in Russia is largely steeped in theory, she said.

“When it comes to internships, especially in the humanities, you’re basically told, ‘Make me a coffee,’” she added. “This class creates a good opportunity for us to develop important skills that are really useful. It’s a great opportunity for everyone here, especially for (foreign students) because we don’t have this in our home countries.”

Seddon said his students are highly motivated and driven to succeed. “They understand that the assignments are for real clients and they have to do good work and deliver it on time. They enjoy both the research, which, at times, can be cumbersome, and, of course, they love the creative part of the process and the actual execution of marketing initiatives.”

Ben Kemper, a senior marketing major from Bethesda, Maryland, said the class offers “real-world work in a school environment. The class is small, so we get individual interaction with the teacher daily and know what we’re supposed to work on throughout the week. I started with the Sullivan Foundation and Neckglasses. Other groups have worked on designing websites and social media. Everyone gets a little taste of everything.”

“I’d rate the class 11 out of 10,” Kemper added. “Mr. Seddon is a great professor. We’re doing real work. There are no exams, no tedious assignments. It’s stuff I want to do and learn about.”

The class will be taught again in the spring semester and will evolve and grow over time.

“Our hope is that we build out a system and processes, like any agency, as well as job responsibilities for students and our professional consultants,” Seddon said. “We hope our business clients will continue to work with us from semester to semester, with the class/student agency performing certain tasks in an ongoing fashion. We also want to take on short-term projects, from simple PR campaigns and media placement to marketing research.”

Fiene said the class has been a success and shows promise for the future.

“What this does is give us experience with the concept, which hopefully paves the way to transitioning from a classroom-based concept to an ongoing agency,” he said. “It’s a very exciting prospect!”