Enhancing Strategic Thinking Throughout the Advertising Curriculum: An Account Planning Perspective

Although it is true that universities should not be mere training camps for industry, whether or not graduates meet certain requirements that employers expect is an indispensable measurement of the relevance of professional education. It is therefore not surprising that tracking what the companies are looking for in graduates remains pivotal to this discussion. Research results from different studies concerning what specific skills recruiters look for naturally vary to a certain degree. Some studies concluded that advertising/marketing employers focused primarily on graduates' oral, written, interpersonal, teamwork, and leadership skills (Davis & Miller, 1996; Kelley & Gaedeke, 1990), while others studies rated listening, negotiation, teamwork, leadership, career goal setting, and creativity as essential to career development (Carnevale, Gainer, & Meltzer, 1990). Most studies have found communication skills (verbal and writing) to be among the most wanted skills, and some suggest that verbal skills are favored slightly more than writing skills in certain entry-level jobs (Gaedeke, Tootelian, & Schaffer, 1983; Kelley & Gaedeke, 1990), while writing skills are valued more in advertising/marketing research positions (John & Needel, 1989). Advertising educators have examined core skills on a microscopic level. Robbs and Lloyd (2008) focused on skills and knowledge required by successful advertising account management.

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confidence: 99%

Employers’ Perspectives on Skills Needed for Entry-Level Advertising and Marketing Jobs: A New Computerized Approach

Lowry

Xie

2008

“…There is a need for more research into account planning in general (Hackley, 2003), and account planning education in particular. While existing research has addressed account planning education (Gale & Robbs, 2004;Lavery, 2000;Rose, 2006), it has missed the in-classroom experience of students -a gap in the literature that must be addressed to advance account planning education to the benefit of students, advertising programs and advertising agencies.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…in the classroom. If demand for the discipline continues to grow (Gale & Robbs, 2004), then the lack of focus on the classroom experience represents a pressing research need.…”

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confidence: 99%

Graduate Account Planning Education: Insights from the Classroom

Mackert

Muñoz

2011

While account planning as a discipline has existed in advertising agencies for decades, research related to account planning has been somewhat limited – particularly research focused on account planning education. Existing research in this area has focused on broader issues related to account planning education, with less focus on the in-classroom experience. This commentary shares the views and experiences of two relative outsiders – an academic teaching an introductory account planning seminar and a professional account planner entering academia. It seeks to initiate conversation and investigation about the role of in-classroom experience on preparing students for careers in account planning.

“…While no systematic review of advertising education research has been published, approaches taken by studies examining the state of advertising research provide useful templates for analyzing advertising education research and for bridging that gap in the literature (e.g., Kim et al, 2014;Pasadeos et al, 1998;Yale & Gilly, 1988), as well as studies that have analyzed pedagogical research in other fields (e.g., Eybe & Schmidt, 2001;Tsai & Wen, 2005). Further, previous advertising education research does suggest particular themes that advertising pedagogy research can be organized around, including the philosophy of advertising education, advertising as a field, and methods and tools for teaching advertising (e.g., Banning & Schweitzer, 2007;Gale & Robbs, 2004;Neill & Schauster, 2015).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The second theme -how to prepare the next generation of advertising practitioners in a way that both serves them and the industryis an ongoing discussion within the academic community (e.g., Banning & Schweitzer, 2007;Gale & Robbs, 2004). One of the central arguments in this topic is finding the balance between requiring courses that train students in practical skills related to advertising (e.g., copywriting, ad design) and courses that focus on broader, more conceptual topics, such as strategy and critical thinking.…”

Section: Educational Philosophymentioning

confidence: 99%

Looking Backward, Looking Forward: A Systematic Review of 20 Years of Research and Commentary Published by Journal of Advertising Education

Wirtz

Hayes

Yan

2016

This article presents a systematic analysis of all refereed articles, research reports and invited commentaries (N = 197) published in the Journal of Advertising Education from 1996 to 2015. The analysis revealed that the most common article theme was classroom and course instruction (52.8%; n = 104). Within that theme, articles about using a tool or approach in the classroom (e.g., using a class wiki; 47.1%, n = 49) and achieving a learning outcome (e.g., developing teamwork skills; 30.8%; n = 32) were most popular. The authors performed additional analyses on articles reporting data collection and analysis (N = 122). The researchers found that only 26.2% (n = 32) of these articles identified a theory by name, and only six (4.9%) offered a theoretical implication in the discussion. However, a significant majority of these articles provided practical implications for educators (86.1%; n = 105).