Inside student-run advertising agencies—how they are building the industry’s future leaders

David Lubars, who in June will receive one of the industry’s highest honors, the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity’s Lion of St. Mark, has spent over four decades in the business, including a celebrated stint as chief creative officer at BBDO Worldwide. But Lubars attributes much of his success to an experience he had long before the heydays of his career: Boston University’s student-run ad agency, AdLab. “It was invaluable,” said Lubars of the agency, which was founded in 1974 by his father, Walter Lubars, with a small group of students. Today, more than 300 people participate in the program each year, according to faculty advisers. AdLab is one of several student-run agencies nationwide, including Syracuse University’s TNH and Ohio University’s Next, the last of which opened its doors in October. These shops operate much more seriously than a college advertising club, with real clients, business problems and deadlines. There are executive teams, creative directors, account managers and strategists—all of whom meet routinely to discuss deliverables, production shoots and more. “It’s like being in the game rather than just practicing foul shots,” said Lubars, recalling his time at AdLab. Behind the scenes Student-run agencies largely mimic professional ones, and there are slight nuances to each. Some of the agencies charge for their services, others don’t. All of the work TNH and Next do for clients is free, with the client covering any costs needed for production, travel and media buys. AdLab, meanwhile, charges brands $500 to sign on as a client, and that fee increases based on the time and services required for the assignment. There are different ways students can become a part of these programs, too. At Ohio University, students can take Next as a class, an independent study or have it be one of their activities, said Chuck Borghese, a professor in the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism and managing director of Next. TNH members have to apply and pay dues to join the program, said Edward Russell, chair of advertising at Syracuse University Newhouse School of Communications. (Everyone who applies, including those outside of Newhouse, is accepted into the program, according to TNH’s website.) The amount of time spent working at the agency varies by student, but many say they have their hands full. “This is a really large time commitment,” said Sofia Lee, a director of accounts at AdLab who oversees five account executives and works with clients including the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and the United States Tennis Association. Lee, a part-time student at BU, is taking AdLab as one of her classes, spending about 25 to 30 hours per week on the agency. “It takes up probably 90% of my brain at all times. There’s so much going on at once, and that’s very true to agency culture.” (Lee has an internship at Dentsu Creative lined up for this summer after she graduates.) Balancing classwork with clients isn’t easy, but student leaders understand that agency life often isn’t. “Working with all of this problem solving, constant changing of deadlines and things like that, it’s just something I have to get used to—hard or not,” said Cole Meredith, president of TNH, who eventually wants to assume a management role at an agency. At TNH, upperclassmen are also responsible for coaching younger members. Through a program called “Greenhouse,” they educate new recruits on advertising and help them get a feel for working with a team. Eventually, those members move into the “General Body,” composed of various teams that each work with one client throughout the semester. Like his faculty counterparts at other universities, Russell stressed how capable the students are. “These kids are so good,” he said. “I do two or three things a year. I mean, it completely runs by itself.” The work runs the gamut To find new clients, student-run advertising agencies rely on a mix of proactive outreach and opportunities from alumni, which faculty advisers sometimes facilitate. Borghese, for example, helped Next land an assignment with Captain D’s, a seafood restaurant he used to work on during a stint at Omnicom Group’s Merkley+Partners, he said. AdLab has been able to attract brands given the reputation it has built over time, said Shawn Zupp, professor of the advertising practice at BU’s College of Communication and one of the agency’s faculty advisers. “The AdLab name is known,” Zupp said, adding that students are trained on how to evaluate inbound prospects. The agency has worked with several national clients, including Capital One and Wayfair, according to its website. It helped revitalize Under Armour’s presence on BU’s campus by creating a campaign that included digital billboards, out-of-home ads and short-form video clips, all centered around the idea “Embrace Your Game Face.” Startups are another core type of client for student-run agencies. Next has been working on social media efforts for Beyond Pulse, a wearables company focused on tracking athletes’ performance, development and recovery. The agency has already made a strong impression for its polish and professionalism. “Their approach is no different from agencies that were charging us ‘X’ amount of money from coast to coast,” said Michael Sup, the company’s co-founder. “I wish I could have them doing more for us.” Student-led advertising agencies are especially valuable for businesses with a limited budget, such as Parthenon Books, an independent bookstore in downtown Syracuse, which also needs an agency with local expertise. “The student-run agencies are really good for areas like ours,” said Ann Duddy, an assistant manager at Parthenon, which works with TNH on branding, PR and social media strategy. We’re not looking for an agency “that doesn’t know what our city is all about, who can’t send people over to walk through the store and talk to the people.” Collaborations with professional agencies offer student-run shops a rare window into the realities of the industry. Through independent agency Known, for example, TNH is getting the opportunity to work with Moderna. After the biotechnology giant hired Known to handle U.S. media, a TNH member reached out to an alumni at the agency about working together, said Kasha Cacy, Known’s chief media officer. The student-led shop will get the opportunity to respond to real briefs from Moderna, which they may then present directly to the brand, she said. “If there are good ideas we want to bring in, we can do that,” Cacy added. For Known, working with TNH is an opportunity in part to give back to ad industry, said Cacy. Traditionally, people started in entry-level roles and learned by working under more experienced professionals. But with the rise of automation, AI and other technologies, that pyramid-shaped structure has flattened—there are now fewer entry-level roles, making it harder for newcomers to gain experience, Cacy told Ad Age. “This is one potential avenue where you’re giving people more experience in college so that they’re able to jump into roles in different ways once they graduate,” she added. Lofty ambitions As the semester comes to a close, student-run advertising agencies will reshuffle their ranks, finding replacements for those that have graduated or, in some cases, decided to study abroad. But interest doesn’t appear to be an issue: Next has doubled its membership total to 24 in recent months, and the phone keeps ringing. “The alumni are lining up,” said Borghese. Next will start charging for its services in the coming school year, Borghese said, a shift in strategy that reflects the agency’s long-term aspirations. “My goal, honestly, is to get into pitches against regional agencies in Ohio,” Borghese said. “My goal is to be every bit as competitive as they are.” Sign up for Ad Age newsletters

Inside student-run advertising agencies—how they are building the industry’s future leaders

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