My Experience With The NYC Advertising Benchmark Trip
Newhouse provides students with many unique learning opportunities. On October 27th, this year’s Advertising cohort had the opportunity to take a benchmark trip to New York City. During this trip, we were given a chance to get an up-close look at the offices of major advertising agencies. We visited three different agencies: two traditional advertising agencies, and one media agency. As a student, the beauty of this trip came from being able to get insight from current professionals in the field. We were able to hear real experiences from industry leaders and Newhouse Alumni. Also, running through Manhattan for a day with your classmates turns out to be a pretty good time.
The first agency we visited, Y&R, is one of the most iconic global agencies and has a beautiful office located in Columbus Circle. Panelists talked about many aspects of the advertising field and stressed the importance of creativity in advertising. They spoke with us about the importance of relationships within the office as well as in the industry as a whole. There was much emphasis on nurturing connections with others to continue to create great work. More importantly, we spoke about networking and the different connections each career path had with one another. They left us with one final insight, “Interesting people make interesting work.”
The second agency, Publicis, was located a few blocks from Y&R’s offices. Their office was filled with sofas and lounge areas to provide optimal space for collaboration and creativity; none of the employees in the office had a designated office or desk. Here we were joined by Newhouse Alumnus, Michael Emer, and Rachel Spoont. Each of them had worked on campaigns for huge brands such as Tampax, Crest, and Oral B. Michael and Rachel spoke on the importance of strategists and creatives coming together to create solutions for brands. During this presentation, we were able to learn about many innovative technological solutions that the team uses when working with their clients. Publicis also stressed the importance of making meaningful connections when entering the industry.
The third agency, Horizon Media, is a media agency focused on the growth of media in the industry. Their office was most inviting of the three. The office provided an array of opportunities for employees to nurture themselves such as a retreat area for yoga and napping as well as many designated cafes, game areas, and snack corners. Horizon Media is very focused on business being personal. Horizon has done work for major brands such as Geico and Corona as well. Their company culture is all about being original and making differences with their work. In the presentation, there was a lot of emphasis on how media is changing the way brands should think about advertising. At Horizon stressed the importance of media companies learning to navigate the changing world of media and the way it is consumed to continue creating solutions for clients.
Overall, this benchmark trip was the perfect opportunity for students to gain an inside look at what to expect when entering the industry next year. The trip was exciting, exhausting, and informative!
