Agency vs. Agency

Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock. It's Wednesday afternoon, 4:30 p.m. and you're adding the finishing touches to your presentation, running to class, and getting the last talking points sorted out with your agency. Then it's 5 o'clock and it's showtime! Agency vs. Agency. Who will take the win?

In Fall of 2019, Full-Time Lecturer Chris Russo expressed to his Monday/Wednesday COM 467 Integrated Communications Management class that they would compete with each other and present their ideas to win their first client. The class would be divided in half to create two different agencies. They would each be presenting to their client, Morgan Kirk, the Basic Needs Coordinator, and potentially have their ideas come to life for the Basic Needs Program. Kirk was asking the agencies to rebrand the Basic Needs Program and their resources that include CalFresh, Toro Food Pantry, and Emergency Housing. Kirk also asked the students to come up with ways to increase awareness on campus of these resources and expose the accessibility to students.

The Integrated Communications Management course is part of the Public Relations/Advertising major in California State University, Dominguez Hills, and taught by Russo.

In the official CSUDH course catalog, it states, "Analysis and development of strategies for planning/implementing integrated communications campaigns and preventing/solving integrated communications problems. Emphasis is placed on both individual and team case studies, incorporating strategic planning and writing techniques previously learned."

So let's break this down. This course provides insight into the roles that agencies have, what it takes to come up with a pitch, as well as present that pitch to a professional client. Russo teaches this course with the emphasis of providing the "real-life" experience and the hard work it takes to succeed.

Frank Zuniga is in his last year of school as an undergraduate. He communicates why this class is beneficial to take. "I chose his class for a reason and we were able to enroll in this class for a reason," Zuniga said. "Fate guided us in his direction to help us. We all learn something from our teachers, it may not be educational wise for some teachers but this teacher is helping us set up our careers for life."

Russo guides students on this journey because he knows how it is out there. He's worked in the industry for more than 10 years. "Russo is setting us up for success but also making it feel true like by resembling how it will be when we go out in the real world," Zuniga said, expressing his appreciation for the realism of this class.

After breaking down the roles of the agency and what they do, Russo asks for students to apply for three different agency roles that catch their attention or what they feel will be good at. He lets his students absorb what role fits best for them. He then individually asks students to fill out a form of what their strengths and weaknesses are and submit a resume. This will help him determine what role is best for each student. He practices this because this implements the real-life aspect of actually applying for a job. This begins to cause some nervousness from students, as we all do when applying for a job.

The lights are off, the screen is bright. The class is getting settled and curious. There is an empty Excel sheet. The class is introduced to their fate of their roles in the divided agencies. Russo goes down the list. Role by role. One by one, slowly presenting the students their new agency and their role. Some students feel like they got the part they deserved or wanted and others expressed that they had too many roles. Once the two agencies were established and roles were filled, their first task, as an agency, was to come up with a name. It may sound easy but it definitely wasn't. After using the class meeting to establish the names for the two different agencies, they welcomed, 'Beyond' and 'Spyce.'

The agencies got to work fast. Russo brought in Kirk, who was looking to "hire an agency" to help promote CalFresh, Emergency Housing and Toro Food Pantry. Both agencies heard the needs of the presentation and were quick to ask questions right after. (A common courtesy of presenting yourself with questions in an agency is to acknowledge your presenter, say your name, what agency you are with and your question). Russo gave them their assignments and breakdown of what was needed. Both agencies began brainstorming.

"He's preparing us for what lies ahead," Zuniga said. "He's been in our seats, before, during and after CSUDH. He knows what it takes to survive out there after CSUDH. He's made this class to help us not become lost or scared like he once was."

The agencies had to provide research, logos, and new ideas for events to gain attention and foot traffic. They also needed to create flyers for those events, outreach, and a healthy aesthetic for the brand. This unifies what Public Relations/Advertising students have learned in other AD/PR courses.

BEYOND and SPYCE both go head to head to present their agencies to see whose ideas win. Each agency had ideas that were different yet provided the needs of the client. Their client was surprised at what both agencies presented and had to make a difficult decision. Who was going to win? The students had to wait until the following week to find out who was the winner.

So what does this teach us? This course implements the aspects of real life from applying to a job, working in a group, sending everything on time, the importance of deadlines and the patience that comes when you have to wait for a response. This course teaches students about life.

"It's important because it's creating a teamwork environment and helping us work on our communication more," Zuniga said. "A lot of this practice will come into play in the real world. It's one of the best classes to take for a last semester because it reminds you that you're not alone and there are others with you. Especially Russo because he's walked the path we're going to walk. He's done the 'two and through,' CSUDH, and off to the real world. Now he's giving back to help us learn what he had to learn on his own so that we don't feel lost out there."

And for your curiosity, SPYCE was the winning agency.