Written By: Noe Moreno

On Friday, September 20^th, the Missouri State University Marketing Department’s Ad Club attended Spark KC, an event hosted by the KC Ad Club. By attending this event, students can connect with local advertising experts, learn about marketing trends, learn about the industry itself and are provided with advice from keynote speakers. Furthermore, a small career fair was offered at the end of the event. This event consisted of three group panel presentations, one keynote speaker, and two breakout sessions where students could pick between two different panel presentations (four different breakout panels were available in total). See below for a summarized itinerary of the event’s details, including a brief description of what they covered.

*Provided by KC Ad Club

• Welcome/Ad Club Foundation
  • Zach Fargo (President, KC Ad Club)
  • Marianne Gjerstad (President, KC Ad Club Foundation)

• The Hiring Equation: Provided insider knowledge covering the skills, qualities, and experiences that advertising recruiters value most – empowered students to position themselves better strategically within the job market for success.
  • Moderator: Suzanne Wolff (LandaJob)
  • Panelists:
    • Grant Leonard (Go Local Interactive)
    • Kelli Anstine (Bernstein-Rein)
    • Akiyaa Depusoir-Cochrane (Planted & The Brand Lab)

• From Cap & Gown to 9 to 5: Insight was provided to help navigate the transitions from academics to starting a professional career, offering advice on effective job-hunting techniques, interview skills, early stages of an advertising career and practical tips for long-term success.
  • Moderator: Cassie Slana (VML/WPP)
  • Panelists:
    • Hannah Knott (MMGY Global)
    • Maddie Schuck (Signal Theory)
    • Erin Giffin (Signal Theory)
    • Katie Herndon (BarkleyOKRP)

• Breakout Session #1
  • Behind the Scenes: A look into the roles of account, project managers and media planners. Understanding how campaigns are orchestrated, client relationships managed and successful project execution.
    • Presenter: Derick Cunigan (NFL)
    • Panelists:
      • Vincent Townsend (VML/WPP)
      • Abby Holliman (VML/WPP)
      • Mary Kate Cresap (EVERSANA INTOUCH)
      • Kelly Schleisman (EVERSANA INTOUCH)
    • Share, Like, Career: Social media marketing, how professionals navigate platforms to build brand presence, audience engagement and driving digital campaigns were all discussed topics.
      • Moderator: Zach Fargo (Trabon Group)
      • Panelists:
        • Shana Ryan (Ryan Group Innovators)
        • Casey O’Connell (National Geographic)
        • Lindsey Leesmann (MERGE)
        • Keaton Guess (Microsoft)

• Harnessing Human Creativity in the Age of AI: This presentation was provided by keynote speaker Elijah Kleinsmith. Elijah is the Innovation and Technology Director at Signal Theory. This presentation covered the use and reshaping of AI technologies in the job market and creative industries.
• Diversity in Advertising: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion within the industry was discussed.
  • Tom Demetriou (BarkleyOKRP)
  • Kimberly Chungong (BarkleyOKRP)

• Breakout Session #2
  • Words that sell: Understanding persuasive writing in advertising, how copywriters and public relations professionals captivate audiences and drive action.
    • Moderator: Cole Sales (KC Ad Club)
    • Panelists:
      • Mitch Howard (Signal Theory)
      • Justin Ricklefs (Guild Collective)
      • Grant Gooding (PROOF)
      • Paige Stortz (Signal Theory)
    • The Visual Storytellers: Visual communication, bringing brand stories to life using compelling designs and engaging video content.
      • Moderator: Joy Moeller (19 Below)
      • Panelists:
        • Lauren Langfitt (Signal Theory)
        • Halie Branson (MERGE)
        • Frankie Oviedo (Outrider)
        • David Kaufman (Outrider)
      • Career Fair
        • Signal Theory, Trozzolo, Emfluence, Garmin, Go Local Interactive, Hovey Williams, Freelance Exchange of Kansas City, DMH, MAC Council, Barkley, MMGY Global, Sandlot & Co., VML and also Walz Tetrick Advertising.

In attendance at this event were Ad Club members – Alison Robison, Emily Parham, Jordan Schwent, Joshua Combs, Kailee Bisland, Lila Dothage, Madilynn Cook, Malea Nelson, Mia Friese and Perla Oxlai. Professor Dr. Grigsby and Marketing Department graduate assistant Noe Moreno were also present. Reflecting on all the opportunities and knowledge presented at the event, Dr. Grigsby shared a few thoughts.

To begin, Dr. Grigsby shared about her personal experience, “Spark KC is a learning experience for me, too. As a professor, it’s helpful to hear about current issues and hot topics in the advertising industry, like how advertisers are integrating AI into their tool kit. It’s also a chance for me to hear about how recruiters are making hiring decisions, and what kinds of things they’re looking for on resumés – all of this helps me give better advice to my students when they’re looking for internships and jobs. It also helps me keep my course material up-to-date, so I can be sure students are getting relevant classroom experience.”

Further adding some overall thoughts regarding the benefit of this event specifically to students, “For students, it’s a great chance to learn from recent graduates, to get familiar with the Kansas City advertising community, and to broaden their networks. Spark KC has a lot of opportunities to connect with both current students across the Kansas and Missouri regions, and to connect with advertising professionals. Spark KC is a great place to ask questions, learn about scholarships, internships, and job opportunities, and – if you’re not sure what interests you or where you fit in – learn about different advertising roles and opportunities.”

Additionally, Ad Club members shared some of their personal experiences providing in-depth insights and perspectives from a student viewpoint.

Emily commented, “Attending Spark KC is one of my favorite professional experiences I’ve had in college. Spark KC provides valuable insight into the rapidly changing marketing industry. I learned from great panelists with a variety of experiences and backgrounds to better prepare me for my career after college. I also got to connect with other marketing students from other universities and learn of job opportunities with ad agencies in the KC area.”

Jordan added, “It was a very informational trip and I learned a lot about Marketing and Advertising in the real world. The panels also taught us about resumes and what employers look for! Everyone was really nice and gave us wonderful food for breakfast and lunch. I’m grateful for my opportunity to go to Spark KC and it was very helpful!”

Joshua also commented, “It was great! Plenty of workshops to attend and listening to professionals in the marketing industry was very insightful. Great opportunity to network with potential students and employers. I learned a lot of different things on this trip. The concepts and ideas I learned on this trip, I will be applying to projects I do in the future.”

Lila inputs, “Hearing from the panelists at Spark KC and getting to discuss face-to-face with professionals in the advertising field was both an engaging and informative experience. I was happy to learn tips for resume creation and interview tactics, as well as learning to harness creative strategies in an ever-evolving world.”

Malea shared as well, “Attending Spark KC was such a great experience because it got me thinking about things that I should be working on and getting reps in now that otherwise may have slipped my mind until going out and trying to get a job.”

As Emily, Jordan, Joshua, Lila, and Malea have all shared – attending Spark KC is a great opportunity for marketing students to attend! It’s a wonderful resource connecting you with professionals in the industry, networking with other students in the same/similar industry, expanding your horizons, and allowing yourself to continue learning and growing; both in your professional career via networking, but also educationally listening to the panelists.

Furthermore, they were able to learn more about the KC Ad Club Foundation Scholarship opportunities! As a Missouri State University student, you’re eligible to apply to their prestigious $2,500 scholarship – which aims to support your academic journey and career aspirations. Applications for this scholarship are coming soon! If you would like to learn more about this scholarship opportunity and the foundation, make sure to click this link to get more information!

Overall, the Ad Club had a great trip to the Spark KC event! They learned a lot about the marketing industry, were informed about scholarship opportunities, had the chance to network and attend a career fair – exploring job and internship opportunities in a new region! The Marketing department is delighted to hear about their successful trip and thrilled to see our BizBears taking action and exploring new opportunities. If you’re a marketing student looking for a new opportunity to get involved and grow, joining Ad Club is an amazing organization to join – they would love to have you be a part of their organization and join them on their trips and attending events.!

As always, Go Bears!