A group of UNM advertising students said they weren’t satisfied with the opportunities available to them at existing advertising firms, so they decided to create one of their own.
Seniors John Phan, Dylan Crouch and Son Trinh balance running Project Advertising, a firm that they created last Fall, with schoolwork.
“We don’t want internships,” Phan said. “We want to create our own opportunity.”
New Mexico AIDS Services, a local nonprofit, is one of Project Advertising’s clients. Phan, Crouch and Trinh created AIDS Services’ logo and its digital billboard design, which can be seen around Albuquerque. The students, all of whom are in the Anderson School of Management, also work on advertising campaigns for Rachel Matthew Homes, a local homebuilding company, and the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation.
Crouch said the job can be challenging.
“Clients are knocking at the door, but we are doing homework,” he said.
They said they learned many of the skills it takes to run Project Advertising in classes at Anderson.
“Everything we’ve learned at Anderson is becoming cohesive to the quality of work we do,” Crouch said.
Project Advertising also represents UNM at national marketing campaign competitions. Last year it competed in San Francisco, where it placed first out of 30 universities including Dartmouth, Syracuse and The University of Kansas.
Crouch said a smaller city like Albuquerque is the perfect place for Project Advertising to thrive.
“A big stone in a small pond makes a big splash,” he said. “That’s something that kids in New York or Chicago don’t have the luxury of doing.”
Full Disclosure: Dylan Crouch was a designer for the Daily Lobo last year. He no longer works for the paper.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
