University of Oklahoma Students Create Real Campaigns for Big Clients in Public Relations and Advertising Capstone Classes

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NORMAN, OKLA. – The University of Oklahoma Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication provides advertising and public relations students with hands-on experience by working with real clients. This past semester, students had the opportunity to work with Phillips 66, Titleist, and Toyota, acting as agencies, creating comprehensive campaigns, and presenting their work directly to representatives from these household-name companies. In previous years, the classes have worked with clients such as Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Microsoft, Honda, Acura, OG+E, Paycom, City of Tulsa and the Oklahoma City Zoo.

The course is a full professional experience. Students work in teams to get an agency-style experience and take on a real-world challenge provided by the client. They begin by conducting a thorough analysis of the research, examining both the brand and the market, and then proceed to develop a campaign from the ground up.

“They pitch their ideas to the clients,” said Sherry Kast, who teaches the public relations course and serves as area head of public relations for Gaylord College at OU. “They take all of the information that they've learned so far in their research and they apply it to a campaign. This gives them a very hands-on approach to the project.”

Each team creates a campaign goal and develops strategies, tactics, timelines and a budget. Through their initial research, they build personas – profiles of their target audience – not just based on age or gender, but on shared interests. Then they design creative concepts, and by the end of the semester, present a finished campaign.

The students also develop a campaign book that can run to over 200 pages in length. This book includes everything from research and strategy to final creative materials. They use these books for their final pitch to the client at the end of the semester. Each student also receives a copy of their campaign book, which can be used in future job interviews to demonstrate real-world experience working with popular brands.

Public relations student Lauren Simpkins shares how she built her confidence in working with corporate partners, managing a large budget, and conducting in-depth research for her group’s project with Phillips 66.

Ten of the student agencies created public relations campaigns for Phillips 66. These projects are part of a broader tourism and Route 66 centennial celebration campaign. Titleist is paired with advertising students who developed fresh, creative advertising campaigns.

“What’s amazing for the client,” said Kast, “is to see how impressed they are with the quality of work that the students are doing – it really is amazing.” The students present their early ideas at midterm and then deliver their full campaign at the end of the semester. Clients give direct feedback, asking tough, professional-level questions.

Debbie Yount, who leads the advertising focus for Gaylord College and is the faculty advisor for the ad agency teams, said these companies like to work with OU students “because they get great value out of the content that they actually apply.” Yount worked in advertising prior to joining OU’s faculty. Her industry connections bring top clients to the program.

“It’s fresh thinking and ideas that come from a group of students who have never been told no,” she said. “This is the first time they see everything come together from a comprehensive point of view.”

Students walk away not only with real work experience for their resume, but also with the confidence to thrive in their future careers.

“I was so excited to work with such a well-known brand,” said Simpkins. “Working with Phillips 66 has helped me build my confidence and given me an insight into my future career as a PR practitioner.”