by Xochitl Campos
Daily Lobo
The UNM advertising club will start an advertising agency this year and create ads for clients.
The club usually participates in a nationwide student advertising competition, but the students decided to do something different this year, the club's president said.
"We decided to transform the club," Laura Favour said. "It is going to be for students if they are not sure what (type of advertising) they are going into."
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The club, LoboEdge, is a member of the American Advertising Federation.
Officers and advisers of the club met with about 20 students Wednesday to discuss initiatives for the coming year.
The agency will help students network, build a portfolio and get ahead in the advertising business, Favour said.
She said the group is hoping the change will attract more students to become members.
"In the past, it hasn't been that large because it is research based," Favour said. "A lot of students may not find that as intriguing."
She said the club's advisers are faculty members and experts in their field. They are there to ensure students can measure up against the rest of the advertising world, Favour said.
Karolyn Cannata-Winge has been one of the club's advisers since January 2005.
A big part of the advertising business is creating connections through networks and exposure, said Cannata-Winge.
"Up until this academic year, the main goal of the club was to participate in the National Student Advertising Competition," she said. "We pitched the idea to take a break from that and creating their own self-sufficient advertising agency."
The new objective of the club would be to get real accounts and real clients, Cannata-Winge said.
The clientele would not be extensive because the University would provide the agency's resources, she said.
The money the club earns would go toward sending students to conferences and allowing them to get more involved in the University community through volunteer work, Cannata-Winge said.
She said the students would benefit more from the agency than they did participating in the
competition.
"I'm excited because the competition is fantastic but because we don't build it into our curriculum, our students are at a disadvantage," Cannata-Winge said.
Professor Olaf Werder, one of the group's advisers, said the students chose a more challenging route by starting their own agency.
"I think we could be one of the best clubs, particularly because the students just chose to redirect their energies to LoboEdge," Cannata-Winge said.
Student Julianne Vallejos said the club gives students the opportunity to get their feet wet in the advertising business.
"I'm here to get experience and hope that it can be something I can put on a rÇsumÇ and give me the one-up on somebody,"
she said.
