LAGRANT Scholarship Awarded to a BIC Student for the Second Year in a Row

Donna Dei-Baning (BIC Class of 2016) has been selected -- among just 19 graduate students nationwide -- to receive The LAGRANT Foundation (TLF) scholarship for students who share the foundation's mission of increasing ethnic diversity in the advertising, marketing and public relations industries. Donna is the third BIC student (and fifth CCNY student) to win the highly selective LAGRANT Foundation Scholarship in the last two years. Fred Garcia and Amber Jackson, BIC '15, both received the $5,000 scholarship in 2014. Donna joins students from University of Chicago, Carnegie Mellon, Northwestern, and Duke.  

Prior to enrolling in BIC, Donna Dei-Baning received a Bachelors Degree in Linguistics/English from Dartmouth College in 2010. Currently an Integrated Marketing Communications Manager for Graduate NYC!, Donna was previously a Content and Community Manager at 360i. 

This year's scholarship winners will benefit from TFL's first ever partnership with Google Chicago. In addition to receiving the scholarships, TLF will also provide winners with airfare and lodging in Chicago to attend career-building events where they will meet with top communications professionals and participate in networking opportunities over the course of three days.

The LAGRANT Foundation (TLF), a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization based in Los Angeles, was established in 1998 by Mr. Kim L. Hunter to address the lack of diversity in the advertising, marketing and public relations fields. TLF provides scholarships, career development workshops, professional development, mentors and internships to African American/Black, American Indian/Native American, Asian American/Pacific Islander and Hispanic/Latino undergraduate and graduate students. Since its establishment, TLF has awarded $1.56 million in scholarships to 221 ethnic minority students and has provided in excess of 278 internships and full-time employment.

Read the full TLF scholarship announcement here. 

The City College of New York Announces Two CCNY Students Awarded LAGRANT Foundation Scholarships.

Five BICsters selected for the CCNY 8th Annual Graduate Research Symposium

Five BIC students have been chosen to present their branding and integrated communications projects, campaigns, and research findings during the upcoming CCNY 8th Annual Graduate Research Symposium. Edmund Graham Balogun, who won third place last year, has been asked to present once again. Nehal Mahmoud will deliver her presentation on the importance of internal communications to activate employees as brand ambassadors for CVS Health. Megan Fullagar will share her examination of Chipotle's mission-based approach to advertising, leveraging social media and gamification. Andy Kwan and Himani Gupta will present their multi-media campaign for New York Water Taxi ("Not the Only Ride You Wish Was Longer").

The CCNY Graduate Student Symposium is a platform for graduate students to gain recognition for their work by faculty, students and potential employers. It raises awareness about the wide gamut of programs housed at CCNY and helps distinguish the college as one of the premier higher learning institutions in the CUNY system.

Please come root for our BICsters as they present in The Great Hall in Shepard Hall on Thursday, April 23rd from 5-8PM! 

She Works Hard for the Money

If only we could talk about our salaries the way we talk about sales... 

Organizer and moderator Neisha Tweed gathered four successful women in advertising to explore that issue for a panel discussion entitled "She Works Hard for the Money." Hosted by BIC on March 17th, this all female affair allowed pros to share their stories and offer advice about getting what you’re worth and managing your money like a boss. From negotiating an offer to investing in your 401K, the topics covered the questions students have but are too nervous to ask --  and some of the things you didn't even know you should be asking. 

It was an educational and empowering conversation that broke down the job offer process, unveiled salary ranges in the industry, demystified 401Ks and gave practical tips on everything from talking to recruiters and starting an emergency fund. Attendees were able to jump in, ask questions, share their stories and get straight-forward advice from the panelists and each other, making it a truly intimate and impactful. 

Khara Wagner, Shameka Brown Barbosa, Rati Vaishya, Neisha Tweed, Cristina Pyle

Panelists included Christina Pyle, Director for ADCOLOR and Diversity & Inclusion Supervisor at Omnicom Group, Khara Wagner, Group Account Director, Shameka Barbosa Brown, Freelance Creative Director and Adjunct Professor at City College, Rati Vaishya, Talent strategist at McCann New York. The event was hosted by Neisha Tweed, Associate Creative Director and blogger, BabyFoodForCreatives.com. 

Selected comments from Attendees: 

* I learned so much that day and even started a savings. It's a small step but good one. :) 

* While college prepares you with the essential skills to be competitive in the job market, lectures are rarely geared toward managing the fruits of your labor.  The conversation we had was candid and powerful. It reminded me that as a woman of color it is my responsibility to be an exceptional worker and to insist I always receive the compensation I deserve.

* One of the most empowering things was hearing the panel of women talk about both the obstacles and achievements over the span of their careers. Neisha and the panelists reassured women that it isn't just okay to know of their worth and defend it in the workplace, but that it is important to do so in an effort to close the gender wage gap.

* It was beyond phenomenal.You have no idea how much the experience is already resonating with me and could not have come at a better time. I have found myself once again reevaluating a few major things in my life and I find that when I reach that point, it's usually my gut pushing me to make some changes, whether big or small.

PORTFOLIO BOOTCAMP WEEK @ BIC

A PARADE OF PROS came to campus last week to give advice, feedback and basically "kick ass" in BIC's weeklong Portfolio Bootcamp held exclusively for the BIC Class of 2015. All soon-to-be-grads skipped normal classroom hours to attend daily portfolio development sessions. Each evening was dedicated to refining specific elements of the professional portfolio in anticipation of the portfolio defense required of each graduating BIC student in May of 2015.

Monday kicked things off with a focus on case study development. Filmmaker and artist, Ash Meer; Director of Foresight, Manoj Fenelon; and Creative Director, John Colquhoun, were on hand to offer storytelling and video editing advice. Tuesday was content night featuring Public Relations Consultant Sandra Stahl of jacobstahl, inc. and Monique Tapie, Vice President and Co-Founder of Triomphant Communications. Wednesday focused on design and digital platforms and covered best practices for showcasing portfolio pieces online. Featured mentors included Art Director/Branding Specialist, Gerardo Cid, and Web Strategist, Gahlord Dewald. Thursday night dug deeper into content development, with mentors Laura Bowles, former Partner/Managing Director of Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Creative Director Nick Scordato, and Courtney Kozloski, Graphic Designer at Gravity. 

Throughout the week, BIC students were paired in one-on-one sessions with each mentor and gained invaluable feedback and personalized attention late into the night. On behalf of BIC Class of 2015, we give an ENTHUSIASTIC "thank you!!!" to all of the mentors who took the time to offer their professional expertise, tips, and tools for creative and strategic enhancements to student portfolios. We look forward to seeing the results in May!

Feedback + Food on Day FOUR of the Bootcamp

Filmmaker, designer, artist, writer, Ash Meer.

Creative Director John Colquhoun. 

Ash Meer and BIC student Batikan Aslan.

Director of Foresight, Manoj Fenelon consults with BIC student Ruth Ogbeab.

Art Director + Branding Specialist Gerardo Cid and Web Strategist Gahlord Dewald.

Yanin DeJesus gets advice from Graphic Designer Courtney Kosloski.

Ruth Ogbeab and Laura Bowles formerly of Crispin Porter + Bogusky.

Three BIC Finalists in Human Rights Poster Contest

BICsters won BIG at the 2nd Annual Human Rights Poster Contest organized by the CCNY Human Rights Forum. The competition called for poster submissions from across the entire CUNY university system.

Andy Kwan and Himani Gupta (BIC 2016) joined the #whyistayed #whyileft conversation by focusing their poster on domestic violence. BIC Class of 2017 student Naushika Perera invoked the right to clean water and sanitation with her powerful image of a child.

For the past two years, CUNY has sponsored the Human Rights Poster Contest to highlight the inherent value of each person based on principles of dignity, equality and mutual respect, which are shared across cultures, religions and philosophies. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations on December 10, 1948, sets out the basic rights and freedoms that apply to all people. 

Posters were asked to address the general topic of human rights or any one of the 30 articles comprising the Declaration.  Entrants are competing for one of two $2,000 prizes.  All posters will be displayed on the City College campus during the month of April 2015.  Winners will be announced on March 31st and honored at a ceremony to be held on May 4th at CCNY’s Center for Worker Education. 

View past submissions and winning posters created by CUNY students in support of human rights issues on the CCNY Human Rights Forum website.

Sally Rumble and Jeffrey Bowman: Insights, Experience + Confetti

All semester long, BIC Professor Madonna Deverson, Head of Intelligence Group at Ogilvy & Mather, has been introducing our first year students to trailblazing companies and leaders who are elevating brand experience expectations across the globe.

On March 16th, Sally Rumble, CreativeMornings’ Chief Happiness Officer, visited BIC to talk about how the team at CreativeMornings has built a global community of volunteers around the world to deliver free, monthly breakfast lectures designed for the creative community.


In truly happy form, Sally handed out confetti and colorful notebooks before guiding BIC students through the history of the company, how they’ve grown and how the company continues to scale at a global level while keeping the brand intact. CreativeMorning's novel idea has indeed caught on and ignited passionate speakers across the globe.

Follow CreativeMornings and view events past and forthcoming. BIC, Madonna and Sally have already begun brainstorming plans to bring a CreativeMorning event to our CCNY campus.

Professor Deverson invited another innovative leader to speak to her class this week: Jeffrey Bowman, Chairman of REFRAME and Managing Director of Ogilvy & Mather's Cross Cultural Practice. Jeffrey is one of the pioneers of the Total Market industry vertical and during his visit to BIC on March 23rd he shared insights into the Total Markets driving the ad world today.

Jeffrey invited students to attend REFRAME: The Summit —The 3rd Annual Total Market Industry Conference coming to Harlem on May 13th. Attendees will explore the New Marketplace and gain a clear understanding of what it takes to become a Total Market Enterprise. Mark your calendars. BIC will be there!

NYTimes Editorial Director Ann Derry lectures on latest initiatives in content marketing

On Thursday, March 5^th, BIC welcomed Ann Derry, Editorial Director of The NewYork Times, to campus where she spoke about the NYTimes new initiative she heads which is identifying partner and sponsor opportunities for video, television and film. The Times is creating new models for curation, distribution, monetization and growth, while developing strategy and coordinating editorial and business execution. This includes leveraging Times production, audience development and marketing capabilities. In her new role, Ann works with editorial, advertising, business development and technology teams to align partners with The Times’ strategic and tactical initiatives.

For the last fifteen years, Ann has been responsible for creating the video vision for The New York Times and helped pioneer the field of digital video. She founded and expanded The Times' video department, and developed its award-winning programs on television and all digital platforms. She’s won numerous awards including five national Emmy’s, four Alfred duPont Awards, two Edward R. Murrow Awards, too many Overseas Press Club Awards to count, and others.

Stuart Elliot at CCNY's Lunch w/Leaders

For nearly 25 years, Stuart Elliott was the advertising columnist of The New York Times writing the weekday advertising column to a circulation of 1.8 million readers. His weekly e-mail newsletter, In Advertising, was required reading for anyone in the media and communications business. And on Thursday, March 19th, Stuart Elliott was CCNY's guest in the Ad/PR lecture series Lunch w/Leaders to an SRO crowd.

Interviewed by BIC Program Director Nancy Tag in a Q&A format, Mr. Elliott had a lively back and forth with students as he nimbly displayed his deep expertise of advertising past, present, and future.  While admitting that he's not a good forecaster of trends (he confessed that he didn't think Facebook would ever catch on with adults), he predicted that the rise in social media would create even greater opportunities for advertisers in the next five years. He advised students to study "just about everything" in order to be competitive for the industry. He also mentioned that while there are fewer "three martini lunches" than in Mad Men days, today's fast paced professionals could really use a bit more relaxation. Other topics included how to advertise to digital natives and ethical dilemmas he's faced while covering the advertising business.

For the last five years, the Lunch w/Leaders lecture series, which is co-sponsored by the CCNY AAF Club, has hosted industry powerhouses and thought-leaders such as George Lois, Michael Roth, CEO of IPG, Barri Rafferty, CEO of Ketchum North American, Keith Reinhard of DDB, Roy Eaton, Faris Yakob, among others.

Our first Lunch w/Leaders lecturer of the spring semester, Mr. Elliott received his bachelor's and master's degrees from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. He lives in Manhattan where he enjoys immersing himself in politics, popular culture, American history, and nostalgia, especially old advertising.  

Spotlight on BIC at The ARF's Re:Think 2015

BIC Class of 2015 students Edmund Balogun and Nehal Mahmoud were featured speakers at The ARF's Re:Think 2015 conference this week in NYC! Their presentation on storytelling asked audience members to share a story in just six words and drew several participants. BIC professor Madonna Deverson, Head of Intelligence Group at Ogilvy & Mather, praised the presentation as “best of the day.” 

Edmund Balogun and Nehal Mahmoud present at ARF Re:Think 2015.

Madonna Deverson invited BIC Program Director Nancy Tag to share a coveted seat with her and collegues at the Ogilvy table during the David Ogilvy Awards dinner. It was a special night for BIC Professor and Y&R EVP Belle Frank as she was presented with a Silver Award for her “Body Language” campaign for the pharmaceutical brand XELJANZ. 

Madonna Deverson at the Ogilvy table.

Silver award-winner Belle Frank.

You can browse all the Ogilvy award winning campaigns and follow the Re:Think 2015 conversation on Twitter via #rethink2015. 

Weeklong Portfolio BOOTCAMP starts today...

To prepare for their May 27th portfolio defense in front of a jury of professionals, the Class of 2015 -- our first graduating class -- will be "blowing off" classes this week to dedicate themselves to polishing up their digital portfolios. Each night, students will be working in the BIC lab with "over-the-shoulder" tutors giving them expert advice on how to make their portfolios more dynamic. There's a theme each night: for example, Monday welcomes two filmmakers to advise students on how to create video case studies of their projects. Wednesday is dedicated to digital design. As the  BIC students aspire to INVENT leadership portfolios, the Boot Camp is an opportunity for them to "kick butt."  

Super Bowl 50: $6 million for 30-seconds

As the debate over the value of airing a spot on the Super Bowl still rages, Les Moonves, the chief executive of CBS, announced that the price of the average 30-second Super Bowl ad slot in 2016 could soar up to 33% to $6 million.  Business Insider reports that CBS, which will air next year's big game, is bullish about its ambistions in 2016. The last time CBS aired the Super Bowl, three years ago, the average 30-second spot cost $3.8 million.

Read More: http://www.businessinsider.com/cbs-q4-earnings-2015-2#ixzz3RefhO7u1

Ivan Ramirez is BIC's latest MAIP winner

BIC adds to its list of students who will be a part of the MAIP legacy with Ivan Ramirez who will be interning this summer in the Creative Department at McCann here in New York City. This follows last year's winner, Chris Villanueva, who interned at TBWA's Creative Department as part of MAIP. Another BIC student, Jacques Epangue, made it to this year's list of finalists. Three undergraduates of CCNY's Advertising and Public Relations program will also be MAIP interns: Joanna Ventour, Jerry Louis, and Rohan Patrick -- the last two for a second year in a row.

Each year, undergraduate and graduate students are selected for a 10-week paid summer internship at an 4A's member advertising agency. Students gain practical work experience, establish key industry contacts, and perhaps most importantly, become better prepared to land a full-time job in advertising when they graduate. At the same time, the program gives advertising agencies a cost-effective way to identify and recruit talented multicultural students.

Upon completion of the program, interns become members of the MAIP Alumni Association, a close-knit family of over 2,600 MAIP graduates that fosters the development of future MAIP interns as well as the professional development of the program’s alumni. Learn more about MAIP here. 

End-of-Semester Presentations: BIC Style

How did BIC wrap up 2014? First, we worked hard (and slept barely) throughout the entire fall semester to create GREAT projects in research, strategy, idea development, relationship building, multi-media creative, employees as brand icons & evangelists, and non-profit branding & integrated communications campaigns.

 

We learned from ALL STAR guest lecturers such as Madonna Deverson, Executive Director Intelligence Group of Ogilvy & Mather, Horst Stipp, Subject Matter Director at Advertising Research Foundation, Marian Salzman, Chairman of Global Collective and CEO, North America, Havas PR, Allyson Hugley, President of Measurement, Analytics, and Insights of Weber Shandwick, Kim Ketchell, Director of Strategy of Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness, Alison Gluck, Brand Planner of Young & Rubicam, Marisa McMahon of Millward Brown Digital, John Zweig, Chairman of WPP Healthcare, Julie Kravetz, Group Planning Director of Grey, Lance Mald, CMO MovMobile, Rob Burton, Managing Director of PreparedEx, Cathy Cohan, Global Chief Growth Officer at Y&R, Jim Kiszka, Senior Manager Digital Strategist and Paid Digital Media at Kellogg Company, and Gustavo Stecher, Graphic Designer specializing in Cultural and Iconic Branding.

In December, we spent days doing this: Rehearse. Rehearse. Rehearse.

THEN the pressure mounted when CLIENTS show up --  such as Anne Balogna, Vice President of Brand Strategy at TripAdvisor, Jennifer Jacobs, VP Marketing of New York Water Taxi, and Dr. Lawrence Stanberry, Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at Columbia University Medical Center, and Dr. Michael Weiner, Vice Chair of External Affairs for the Department of Pediatrics at CUMC.

And THEN this: PRESENT. PRESENT. PRESENT. PRESENT. And PRESENT again.

 

  The results? APPLAUSE. APPLAUSE. APPLAUSE.