APRD

Faculty experts earn recognition at influential media conference

Joe Arney — Thu, 18 Sep 2025 00:43:42 +0000

Faculty experts earn recognition at influential media conference Joe Arney Wed, 09/17/2025 - 18:43

Iris Serrano

PhD student Mushfique Wadud, right, accepts a best paper award at the annual conference of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. His paper looked at how long-form journalism publications have adapted in the social media age.

Growing up in a remote part of Bangladesh, Mushfique Wadud couldn’t afford copies of The Economist and Time as they came out.

He could, though, afford back issues. Reading those, he said, opened his eyes to how big an influence those magazines had on politics in the United States.

“These magazines carried news from all over the world—even remote parts of it,” said Wadud, a journalism PhD student in the College of Communication, Media, Design and Information at the ��. “It was like I had the whole world in a single cover.”

Little did he know those early forays into American journalism would shape his career as a researcher.

“As the internet evolved, these magazines struggled with viewership,” Wadud said. “They’ve had to reshape their content by investing their time on social media.”

For longtime readers of these magazines, Wadud’s interest makes sense. In their heydays, they were champions of long-form journalism, offering profiles and think pieces each week that are difficult to visualize translating to bite-sized social content.

To understand how they adapted, Wadud performed a qualitative study, immersing himself in their reporting. For four months, he spent hours each day on their websites and scrolling through platforms like Facebook, TikTok and YouTube.

“I wanted to see how they handled storytelling during the 2024 election across different platforms,” Wadud said. “Both The Economist and Time have changed their content strategy. They’re focusing on creating short videos, but at the same time, they’re not compromising their brands.”

A strong showing

“Both The Economist and Time have changed their content strategy. They’re focusing on creating short videos, but at the same time, they’re not compromising their brands.”

Mushfique Wadud

Wadud was among the dozens of CMDI students and faculty recognized with top paper awards at the annual conference of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, which took place Aug. 7 to 10 in San Francisco. The college contributed 40 peer-reviewed papers and brought home four awards.

Founded in 1912, AEJMC is the oldest and largest alliance of journalism and mass communication educators and administrators at the college level. Today, the nonprofit organization includes thousands of educators and students from around the globe.

“Our success this year shows that CMDI is building the next generation of scholars,” said Patrick Ferrucci, chair of the journalism department. “The entire college does an amazing job of producing quality, important, impactful research.”

Patrick Ferrucci teaches a CMDI precollege class. Photo by Kimberly Coffin.

Ferrucci was the winner of two faculty papers, one of which he co-wrote with Qiongye Chen, another PhD student studying journalism. That paper, which won second place in the cultural and critical studies division, focused on the ways journalists are reporting on artificial intelligence and how it would change the industry.

“This is a story about labor. We found that trade magazines were publishing two different types of narratives,” Ferrucci said. “Some discussed how it makes professionals’ lives easier. Others focused on how it’s a threat to employment.”

Ferrucci also received third place in the newspaper and online news division for an analysis of virtual newsrooms.

“What surprised me was that places that have mostly or all-remote work hadn’t thought of ways to build community within their workforce, or of ways to onboard people intentionally and fully,” he said.

Bringing A.I. to class

When it comes to A.I., Ferrucci is thinking about ways new tools could be incorporated into the classroom, so students are better equipped to use them in the workplace—but that requires educators to first understand the technology themselves.

“Our commitment to students is to prepare them for what the field looks like. And we need to understand the changes that are happening with A.I. to be able to do that,” Ferrucci said. “Although it’s impossible to predict the future, it doesn’t mean we can wait until things settle and then figure it out.”

The conference doesn’t just celebrate research excellence in journalism. Erin Schauster, an associate professor in the Department of Advertising, Public Relations and Design, added to the list of top paper winners in the media ethics division, as she presented her research on teaching media ethics and fostering moral development in students and early career practitioners.

In collaboration with four other researchers in different universities, she studied the moral development of graduates of media programs.

“We asked ourselves, how are these students who are learning journalism, advertising and public relations developing morally after they leave our programs and start working in the industry?” Schauster said. “We wanted to capture a moral profile of the people doing work that’s really impactful for society.”

She also presented a paper on reflective journaling incorporated into weekly writing assignments as part of her strategic writing course. Students were split into groups and were asked to reflect on their assignments, such as writing news releases and creative briefs from ethical or business perspectives.

“At the end of the semester, the group that reflected on the ethics perspective of their strategic writing had an increase in their moral reasoning,” Schauster said. “We can use these findings to guide how we design courses so students are prepared to face ethical challenges in their careers.”

The work presented at the conference highlights the impact of CMDI’s research, showing how these projects contribute to the content being taught in the classroom.

“It’s a source of pride to be a part of a productive research community, which shows in the volume and quality of work,” Schauster said. “We are educators, and our research informs other educators about the best practices to help shape future industry professionals.”

A full list of CMDI presentations at AEJMC follows. Names in bold are CMDI faculty and students. In addition, many CMCI faculty and students in journalism, APRD and media studies moderated or served on panels, or led workshops, in addition to serving as heads of different divisions.

Advertising Division

The Novelty Effect of AI-Chatbot: Examining Consumer Engagement and the Moderating Role of Self-Efficacy. Md Shahedur Rahman, APRD.

Broadcast and Mobile Journalism Division

Blurring Boundaries: How World Travel YouTubers are Redefining Travel Journalism. Hun Shik Kim, journalism.

Understanding User Engagement with AI-Anchor Disseminated Content on Facebook: A Uses and Gratifications Theory Approach. Muhammad Ali, journalism.

Commission on the Status of Minorities

Analysis of Alaskan Native and American Indian Women Health Issues from an Indigenous Standpoint Theory. Henry Ugwu, APRD; Shreyoshi Ghosh, journalism.

Commission on the Status of Women

Menstruation in the News: A Feminist Analysis of Dominant Narratives in U.S. Newspapers. Dinfin Mulupi and Shreyoshi Ghosh, both journalism.

Communicating Science, Health, Environment, Risk Division

Environmental Justice and Flood Risk Communication: A Decade Reflections from the 2013 Colorado Flood. Wen Lei and Rania Al Namara, both journalism.

Communication Technology Division

Defining Algorithmic Journalism: A Scholarly Explication of the Concept. Hina Ali, journalism.

Community Journalism Interest Group

Exploring how Personal Trauma Impacts a Professional Community Journalist’s Role Through Netflix’s After Life. Carl Knauf, journalism.

Pacific Palisades Under Fire: Community Journalism, Social Media and Public Participation During the 2025 California Wildfires. Mushfique Wadud, journalism.

Cultural and Critical Studies Division

“AI Is a Story �� Labor Automation”: Journalism, Tech and Perceptions of Precarity. Patrick Ferrucci and Qiongye Chen, both journalism. Top faculty paper (second place).

Controlling the Narrative: Press Freedom, Power and the Emergence of a Hybrid Developmental-Authoritarian Media System in Pakistan. Muhammad Ali and Hina Ali, both journalism.

Otherness in Media Representation of Diverse Celebrity Hosts. Shreyoshi Ghosh, journalism.

Will They Defend Their Own? A Critical Discourse Analysis and Comparison of Corporate Newspapers and NewsGuild Coverage of Journalist’s Labor Strikes. Qiongye Chen and Ever Figueroa, both journalism.

“You’re Only Hurting the Journalists”: A Critical Discourse Analysis of “Don’t Unsubscribe” to The Washington Post and the L.A. Times. Ever Figueroa and Patrick Ferrucci, both journalism.

International Communication Division

African News Audience Engagement with LGBTQIA+ News Framing in Digital Spaces. Dennis Okeke and Patrick Ferrucci, both journalism.

Golden Girls, National Heroes and Resilient Champions: An Intersectional and Computational Analysis of Social Media Commentary During the 2024 Paralympics. Dinfin Mulupi, journalism; Shannon Scovel (Tennessee); Frankie Wong H.C. (Lingnan University); Aman Misra (Tennessee).

How Adaptation to New Technology in Legacy Media Affects Journalism in Bangladesh. Ershad Khan, journalism; Harsha Gangadharbatla, APRD.

Journalists' Perceptions of their Role and the Role of Humanitarian Organizations in Covering Humanitarian News from Crisis Zones in the Digital Age. Rania Al Namara, journalism.

Revenue Pressures vs. Journalistic Autonomy: How Bangladeshi Journalists Navigate Business Interests of Media Outlets and Owners. Ershad Khan, journalism.

Three Worlds Imagined Through News: A Cross-National Analysis of Country-Based Issue Ownership Networks. Zhuoyu Wang (Fudan University); Lei Guo (Fudan University); Mengmeng Wu (Chicago University); Chris Vargo, APRD.

Law and Policy Division

Criminalizing Journalism: Rethinking Global Press Typologies Through the Lens of Defamation Laws. Ershad Khan, journalism.

Magazine Media Division

When Print Prestige Meets Platform Performance: A Netnographic Study of Time's and The Economist's Digital Strategies During the 2024 U.S. Election. Mushfique Wadud, journalism. Top student paper (first place).

Media Ethics Division

Taking the Long View: The Case for a Life Story-Based Media Ethics Pedagogy. David Craig (Oklahoma); Chris Roberts (Alabama); Erin Schauster, APRD; Patrick Lee Plaisance (Pennsylvania State); Katie Place (Quinnipiac); Daniel Thompson (Oklahoma); Jiaqi (Agnes) Bao (Pennsylvania State); Yetter Casey (Cherokee Nation 3S). Top faculty paper (third place).

A Journaling Intervention in Advertising and Public Relations: Moral and Deliberate Psychological Education. Erin Schauster, APRD; Christopher Vardeman (Towson); Toby Hopp, APRD.

Saving the Fixers in Wars: Metajournalistic Discourse, Paradigm, Repair, Global War Journalism Industry, Global Media Ethics and War Journalism Practice. Mushfique Wadud, journalism.

To Eat the Fig or To Not Eat the Fig: Examining the Influences Behind Arts Journalists’ Decisions to Accept Perks Related To Covering Their Beat. Carl Knauf, journalism; Lindsey Maxwell, Southern Mississippi.

Minorities and Communication Division

Health News Analysis of Alaskan Native and American Indian (ANAI) Women. Shreyoshi Ghosh, journalism; Henry Ugwu, APRD.

Newspaper and Online News Division

When Software Becomes the Newsroom: Journalists and the Loss of Organizational Connections. Patrick Ferrucci, journalism. Top faculty paper (third place).

Reporting on Environmental Justice Cases Involving Indigenous Communities in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Decolonial Feminist Analysis of African Press Coverage. Dinfin Mulupi, journalism; Khamadi Shitemi (Indiana University).

Participatory Journalism Interest Group

Journalists and Humanitarian Organizations Perceived a Participatory Role for Reporting on Crisis Zones and Disasters. Rania Al Namara, journalism.

Political Communication Division

Audience Engagement with Politico-Religious Digital News: A Computational Analysis of Comments on Trump's Bible Ad on CNN's YouTube Channel. Dennis Okeke, journalism; Christiana Ibiwoye (Wisconsin-Milwaukee); Ousman Mbaye (Wisconsin-Milwaukee); Anthony Obi Okeke (Nnamdi Azikiwe University).

Media Framing of Populist Discourse: A Rhetorical Analysis of Erdoğan’s Strategic Communication in Turkey. Muhammad Ali, journalism; Matea Beukelman, APRD.

Mediate Public Diplomacy in Africa: Critiquing Praxis, Research and Theories. Success Osayi, journalism; Samson Omosotomhe (Ambrose Ali University); Chioma Agboh (University of Nigeria Nsukka).

Politics of Reinvention: President Prabowo’s Populism Political Rebranding from General to “Gemoy.” Pulung Perbawani, APRD.

When Administration Supports Ally Israel, U.S. Dailies Focus Plights of Palestinians: An Analysis of 15th Gaza War Through CAM Lens. Ershad Khan, journalism.

“You’re Gambling with World War III”: An Analysis of Donald Trump’s Weaponization of Victimhood. Brock Mays, APRD; Carl Knauf, journalism.

Scholastic Journalism Division

Navigating Journalistic Values in Student-Run Media’s Organizational Culture. Nihal Alaqabawy, journalism.

South Asia Communication Association

Rap as Resistance: Music, Digital Activism, and Youth Mobilization in Bangladesh’s 2024 Quota Reform Movement. Mamunor Rashid, journalism; Fei Xue (Southern Mississippi); Rezaul Karim (Arizona State).

Visual Communication Division

A Heuristic-Systematic Model Exploration of Video Strategies and Production Techniques. Hunter Reeves, APRD.

In Search of the Ethical Exposure: How Extensions From Centering Fractures Practitioners. Ross Taylor, journalism.

CMDI also had a number of faculty and doctoral students who served as moderators, discussants, panelists and workshop leaders: Rania Al Namara (PhD student, journalism), Angie Chuang (associate professor, journalism), Patrick Ferrucci (associate professor, journalism), Ever Figueroa (assistant professor, journalism), Mark Heisten (PhD student, APRD), Ershad Khan (PhD student, journalism), Dinfin Mulupi (assistant professor, journalism), Josh Shepperd (associate professor, media studies), Ross Taylor (associate professor, journalism), Hong Vu (associate professor, journalism) and Mia Wang (assistant professor, APRD).

CMDI continues to have an impressive reputation at the annual AEJMC event, with multiple top paper awards in both the faculty and student divisions.

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Over a Barrel: The branding misfire that put a restaurant chain in the crosshairs

Joe Arney — Wed, 27 Aug 2025 19:18:51 +0000

Over a Barrel: The branding misfire that put a restaurant chain in the crosshairs Joe Arney Wed, 08/27/2025 - 13:18

Joe Arney

Morgan Young says Cracker Barrel’s rebranding about-face reminded him of Coca-Cola in the 1980s. ‘The issue with New Coke wasn’t the flavor, it was doing away with an iconic brand that meant so much to people,’ he says. Photo by Kimberly Coffin.

One week after Cracker Barrel unveiled a new logo—part of a reported $700 million investment into updates for the restaurant chain—the company announced it will revert back to its old branding.

And while the political overtones that drove such an intensive backlash against the company are a more contemporary feature of our culture, Morgan Young said the brand likely made the same error Coca-Cola committed in a short-lived rebrand in the 1980s.

“I’m sure Cracker Barrel did the research, ran focus groups and asked good questions—one of them being, do you like this logo better?” said Young, an associate teaching professor of advertising at the College of Communication, Media, Design and Information. “What Coca-Cola didn’t do, and perhaps Cracker Barrel didn’t do, as well, was ask the next question, which would be, ‘How do you feel about the brand as an identity to you?’ Because the issue with New Coke wasn’t the flavor, it was doing away with an iconic brand that meant so much to people.”

“We are in a moment of rapid innovation, and if you are older, change is not necessarily a good thing—because it can mean being left behind. And I think that’s what’s happening here.”

Morgan Young, associate teaching professor, APRD

Young (Hist’94) has never worked on the Cracker Barrel brand, but has decades of experience, both in running his own agency, Young Ideas, and as a former senior vice president and creative director at Goddard Claussen. So, he has a keen eye for what happens when a brand misses the mark.

In trying to grow its customer base, Cracker Barrel alienated its dedicated fans by not only drastically simplifying the logo, but changing the look and feel of some of its restaurants to get away from its farmhouse aesthetic.

“Cracker Barrel likely didn’t understand that their fanbase—likely an older group of customers—doesn’t want a change,” Young said. “We are in a moment of rapid innovation, and if you are older, change is not necessarily a good thing—because it can mean being left behind. And I think that’s what’s happening here.”

In the undergraduate classes he teaches, Young asks his students what their most admired brands are. In each class, Nike and Patagonia top the list, and it’s not because of the clothes they sell.

“They feel Nike has a set of values they stand by. Same with Patagonia, which calls itself an environment-first company,” Young said. “I think in 2025, you can’t hide from your values as a company. Nike and Patagonia have built a devoted fanbase by leaning into those values, which inspires loyalty among customers and help them grow.”

So, in a hyperpolarized moment—when a new logo sets off a political firestorm that even the president of the country feels inclined to weigh in on—what is the lesson for advertising and branding professionals? Young shared some thoughts he brings to the classroom:

Don’t be afraid to take chances. “If you’re always in the backseat, waiting for someone else to lead, you’ll always be Pepsi,” Young said. “In my agency days, we were always about change, trying to help brands stay with the times. That’s how you succeed.”
Know your audience. You can’t sell to everyone—and when you try, you invite backlash like Cracker Barrel is going through, or like Bud Lite a couple years back. “Think about your target audience and how to communicate with them effectively, and bond with them,” he said.
Question yourself. Young had several campaigns he was quite proud of die in focus groups. “When I would do anything that harkened back to the past, we would have focus group members—especially with Black audiences, and especially women—say, ‘Those 1950s Americana themes might look good to you, but they bring up bad feelings for me. You have a different history than I do,’” Young said. “And they were right.”

Ultimately, the swirling controversy around Cracker Barrel’s re-rebrand is unlikely to cost the chain in the long term, Young said. But it is a reminder—especially in the digital age, where social media can both burnish and tarnish a brand’s bona fides—that companies have less control than ever over their value and meaning.

“We don’t determine a brand—the consumer does,” Young said. “Just ask Cracker Barrel.”

Joe Arney covers research and general news for the college.

An advertising and branding expert weighs in on Cracker Barrel's rebrand and reversal.

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A positive influence

Joe Arney — Tue, 12 Aug 2025 21:22:31 +0000

A positive influence Joe Arney Tue, 08/12/2025 - 15:22

Sharon Waters

Few people think about disability until it happens to them or someone they love. Now, a new book by an expert in health communication is challenging scholars to rethink how they consider disability in their own research work.

“Really being aware of disability, and asking about it and learning about it—that’s what we're trying to do with this book,” said Erin Willis, an associate professor in the Department of Advertising, Public Relations and Design at CU Boulder’s College of Communication, Media, Design and Information. “How are you experiencing it in your life? Who do you encounter? Do you see it on TV?”

Those are fundamental questions that scholars have long ignored—and she puts herself in that category, as well. Willis is an expert in online health communities who has done pathbreaking work in the study of patient influencers, who amass a following by sharing their lived experiences with medical conditions.

But though she’s been interested in health communication since graduate school, “I haven’t come across this idea of disability,” she said. “It’s not something we think about on a day-to-day basis.”

That led her to the new book she co-edited, Communicating Disability: Expanding Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Health Communication and Mass Media.

Health communication has traditionally focused on health disparities or health equity, with an emphasis on how to change patient behaviors. Willis wants to bring disabled people into the conversation—“not just in a way that we’re trying to fix or prevent the ailment, but that really includes them in the community,” she said.

One chapter of the book that Willis co-authored looks at two models of disability, and how they impact health communication. The medical model focuses on patients, and fixing what is wrong: the ailment or disease.

“When you think about disability in the medical model, you can never be fixed. Your disability might be permanent, and so therefore, something is always wrong with you,” she said. The social model, meanwhile, encompasses the environment and stigma that limit accessibility—literally and figuratively—and calls for structural change to foster inclusion.

Overcoming shame, isolation

Another chapter Willis edited is close to her influencer work, and dives into how online amplification of disabled peoples’ experiences erases stigma.

“Social media have given opportunities to a niche group to really be seen, whereas traditional media might have overlooked them,” Willis said.

Take ostomy, for example, a surgery that creates a new opening for urine or poop to exit into a pouch outside the body. Grassroots efforts to discuss the condition on TikTok and Instagram have helped people with ostomy overcome the shame and social isolation they may feel.

That means people with disabilities no longer have to rely on mainstream media outlets to define their issues or the challenges they face in doing their work.

“Social media have given opportunities to a niche group to really be seen, whereas traditional media might have overlooked them.”

Erin Willis, associate professor, APRD

“Social media has really opened the doors to find each other,” Willis said. “This really fills a gap where all these people did not have this peer support before. It’s all these small things that make a difference.”

Willis is doing further research into disability influencers, some of whom have millions of followers on social media and are reaching far beyond people with the same condition.

“It's an emotional connection. Some kind of curiosity is being stemmed,” she said.

Willis co-edited the book with Chad Painter, an associate professor of communication at the University of Dayton. Some of the book’s authors are disabled—including Willis, who has had severe rheumatoid arthritis since she was 2.

“I do have a disability,” she said. “Despite me saying that, I have never identified as having a disability. This book has really made me think about myself and how I identify with disability—and what that means, even.”

A new textbook edited by a CMDI professor aims to show how scholars can think about disability in their own research.

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#GreenAds

Anonymous — Wed, 08 May 2024 22:54:20 +0000

#GreenAds Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 05/08/2024 - 16:54

By Joe Arney
Photos by Kimberly Coffin (CritMedia, StratComm’18)

Her experience in advertising and public relations means Saima Kazmi knows the power of a good story to change minds and hearts.

Now, as she completes her doctoral studies at the ��, she’s trying to understand a story with the potential to shape the future of the planet.

Kazmi (PhDStratComm’24) studies green advertising campaigns that prompt people to make choices that support sustainability and environmental well-being—effectively using the advertising playbook, which is so good at urging people to buy things, to encourage less consumption.

Specifically, her research examines why consumers tend to reject such prompts.

“People see an environmental message, and they immediately shut down,” she said. “There is always pushback when you’re asking people to change their behavior, but I really want to understand what it is about sustainability that causes those cognitive barriers to raise.”

She’s studying different messaging strategies that can overcome that resistance to change—work that will continue now that she’s accepted a role as an assistant professor at the University of Oregon for the fall.

“I’m so grateful, happy and honored to work at a place where they have so many sustainability initiatives,” Kazmi said. “They have a whole communication department working on climate science, which is exactly the type of people I want to work with to move my research forward.”

You have three minutes

Academic research sometimes gets a reputation for being too theoretical or esoteric to effect meaningful change. Kazmi said she knows that isn’t an option for her work, which is part of why she competed in CU Boulder’s Three-Minute Thesis—a competition in which graduate students are challenged to describe their research to a general audience in no more than three minutes. She was one of two students from the College of Media, Communication and Information to advance to the final round of the competition, which concluded in February.

“I thought it would be a lot like my job search, where you’re giving research presentations—but I had all this jargon and messaging that was tailored for faculty and search committees,” she said. “You have to think—if my grandmother was in the audience, how would I be able to get her to understand this?”

A voracious reader and seasoned advertising expert—as a consultant, she did work for brands like Unilever and Nestle—Kazmi found a way to make her pitch a relatable story, which helped her search for jobs and defend her dissertation.

“I was talking about this whole phenomenon of water being drained from the Colorado River for agriculture, and I shaped it almost like a dystopian novel, where we knew what was happening but people ignored all the messages,” she said. “Learning how to get my point across to a general audience was so valuable to me.

“Only 1 to 2% of people get to be researchers and create knowledge. And if that knowledge is not accessible, we’re missing out on an opportunity to have an impact.”

Saima Kazmi (PhDStratComm’24)

Far-ranging research implications

Harsha Gangadharbatla, professor of advertising, public relations and media design and associate dean of faculty development at CMCI, said Kazmi will have no trouble creating impact at a place like Oregon. And he ought to know, having taught there for five years before coming to CU Boulder, where he eventually became one of the college’s founding chairs.

Gangadharbatla described Kazmi, whom he advised, as especially hardworking and dedicated, in addition to doing interesting research that has such wide-ranging implications for different industries.

“When she takes something up, she sees it to the very end, which is admirable in and of itself,” he said. “But she’ll also do well on the tenure track because she’ll have a sustained, focused body of work with very real implications—not only to different areas, like advertising, public policy and sustainability in general, but for us all.”

Kazmi called Gangadharbatla a powerful influence on her career—particularly his love of teaching—and said faculty and peers helped smooth an academic journey that included the challenges of virtual work amid the pandemic and raising three small children while her husband worked overseas. Gangadharbatla said it was “amazing, how she cared for her family by herself while taking courses, writing a dissertation and teaching,” and joked that “my partner and I have two children, and between the two of us we’re struggling to survive.”

For Kazmi, success was about her willingness to work hard and the community of which she was a part.

“So many people in CMCI guided me on publications and helped prepare me for the job market,” she said. “And my classmates, too—they’re going through the same struggles that I did, and they’ve become friends as we all go on to such different next steps in our careers.”

Advertisers are very good at getting us to buy things. A PhD graduate wants to use the same playbook to encourage more sustainability and less consumption.

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Advertising students celebrate victory in New York

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Aug 2017 23:12:20 +0000

Advertising students celebrate victory in New York Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 08/02/2017 - 17:12

For advertising students, the Pencil Award is the ultimate mark of success.

Department of Advertising, Public Relations and Media Design students have traveled to New York City with other top advertising students for 17 years for the One Club’s Young Ones competition. This year, the group of 14 students continued a long history of success at the event, bringing home silver and bronze pencils, as well as three merit awards. CU Boulder is ranked No. 4 among colleges worldwide and No. 2 in the country.

For the competition, students worked in teams to create advertising and branding campaigns for companies including BMW and TOMS. The One Club of New York, an esteemed industry trade group, presented the awards as part of Creative Week, a premier showcase of creativity in advertising, design and new media.

CMCI students Wiley Kaupas, Charlie Humpal and Jacob Glazier won a silver pencil award for “Sentinel” in the BMW Connect category. Katie Thermos, Halston Hazdra and Kayla Dickie won a bronze pencil for “The Scenic Route” in the same category. Three teams of students: Harrison Morof, Tory Powers and Will Houghton; Ray Gonzalez, Ben Rindels and Jacob Glazier; and Luke Johnson, Carmen Marxuach and Anna Russo all won merit awards.

In addition to the competition, the trip is a valuable networking opportunity for students, who spend their week engaging in portfolio reviews and visiting top agencies in New York City.

This year, a group of 14 advertising students continued a long history of success at the One Show, bringing home silver and bronze pencils, as well as three merit awards. [icon shape="fa-play-circle-o" size="regular" color="gold" /]

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Interning with an industry giant

Anonymous — Wed, 12 Jul 2017 18:57:10 +0000

Interning with an industry giant Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 07/12/2017 - 12:57

Few companies can boast the type of instant brand recognition that Nike has achieved. Throughout the decades, the sports apparel and equipment giant has produced some of the most iconic advertisements worldwide.

None of that intimidates Morgan Reno, a strategic communication major and senior, who is an intern at Nike this summer

“It’s cool to work for a company that is so big in the advertising industry and there’s so many possibilities and connections I can make," says Reno, whose concentration is in advertising. “I’m definitely very excited.”

As a global integrated media intern, Reno works with Nike’s media team as part of the larger advertising department. Her main duty is to create keynote decks: slideshow presentations that inform employees about all the specifics of upcoming products and projects.

The position also integrates social media strategies. For one keynote deck, Reno created a presentation detailing the best strategies for posting on different social media sites like Facebook and Instagram.

Like all things Nike, the internship embraces the thrill of competition. At the end of the summer, Reno will compete in the “Intern Combine Project,” a challenge for all interns to create the best possible brief, with the top three earning a chance to present their ideas to Nike executives.

Another major aspect of interning for the company is community, and interns are encouraged to meet new people around the campus and attend events, Reno says. "They really emphasize meeting a bunch of different people, including the major people on campus like the execs."

I’ll feel more prepared to find something I’m passionate about."

While the Nike environment is new to Reno, she has good reason to feel at home this summer. Originally from Lake Oswego, Oregon, Reno grew up less than 10 miles from Nike’s headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon. Both towns are suburbs of the Portland metro area.

To earn the competitive internship, Reno navigated several rounds of interviews, all while studying abroad in Florence, Italy.

After graduation, she plans to use her experience at Nike and her degree from CMCI to pursue a career as an account manager, preferably for a large company like Nike.

“I think I’ll feel more prepared for what I want to do and what I don’t really like," she says. "I’ll feel more prepared to find something I’m passionate about.”

With the title of global integrated media intern, senior Morgan Reno works with Nike’s media team as part of the larger advertising department.

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