12/08/97 ONLINE ORIGINAL: SCHOOLS THAT MAJOR IN THE AD GAME

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SCHOOLS THAT MAJOR IN THE AD GAME

You don't necessarily need an ad agency to get great ads cheap. In recent years, a number of schools with "portfolio programs" have popped up around the country, and they can provide just what a small business in search of marketing help needs. These programs are like graduate schools, often drawing agency veterans keen on polishing their portfolios. Some students at these schools have already worked on such notable campaigns as Got Milk?, Miller Lite's "Dick" campaign, and ESPN's irreverent promotions. Schools often take on clients as class projects and can produce work as professional as any agency in the country.
For instance, SoMoJo International LLC, makers of Cafe Cola, a caffeine-laden coffee soda targeted to Gen-Xers, got its first campaign from Jessie Smith, a student at Miami Ad School. The ad was an image of a bloodshot eye being held open with a toothpick. SoMoJo bought the ad for $75, then ran it in a south Florida newspaper and at point-of-purchase displays. "We got a lot of calls right away from people saying 'Wow! What is that stuff!'" says SoMoJo President Spence T. Levy. The company projects sales of $1 million this year.
These schools have various criteria for potential clients. The Creative Circus in Atlanta charges modest hourly fees so as not to draw work away from the agencies that support the center. The Miami Ad School prefers clients of national stature, like car-accessory company Fittipaldi, which paid $1,500 for three student campaigns that became a series of magazine ads. The Adcenter at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond takes commercial projects but prefers public-service campaigns and requires applicants to submit a detailed proposal.
But virtually all of these programs also have a jobs board, where businesses can post help-wanted queries for student freelancers. The directors of most of these schools will also steer businesses to students capable of doing the particular work requested.
While many colleges and design schools have students capable of turning out a good campaign, the following schools are known for professional-level work:

The Art Center College Of Design, Pasadena, Calif. (www.artcenter.edu)
The Art Center offers everything from campaigns to logos, with an emphasis on graphic design. Entrepreneurs can write to the Red Eye Studio and describe your business, its advertising needs, and deadline. If your project fits the curriculum of the moment, it may be accepted. Clients pay for materials. The school will also recommend students for freelance projects, who will negotiate a fee.
Contact: Suzanne Manheimer, Director of the Red Eye Studio 626 396-2200, or for freelancers, Jean Mitsunaga 626 396-2320

The Creative Circus, Atlanta (www.creativecircus.com)

The Circus likes small clients that don't typically interest agencies. Clients should be able to provide a brief of specific marketing goals, discussing competition and pertinent business issues. The school will also assign freelance projects to appropriate students. Students typically charge fees ranging from $10 to $35 an hour.
Contact: Norm Grey, 404 633-1990

The Portfolio Center, Atlanta (www.portfoliocenter.com)
The Portfolio Center takes clients as class projects for expenses only and will consider assignments as small as a business card or as large as TV campaigns. Projects rejected for class may be given to student freelancers, who will negotiate their own fees, or to recent graduates looking for freelance work. The school has advertising, photography, illustration, and graphic-design departments.
Contact: Maryann Ritter, 404 351-5055

The Miami Ad School, Miami (www.adschool.edu)

The school prefers campaigns that will give students a chance for creative problem-solving and sustain a class for a 12-week term -- simple production jobs like business cards need not apply. A cash donation is required, but no specific amount is specified. The school has three editing suites for producing TV spots. Students are available for freelance jobs.
Contact: Pippa Seichrist, 305 538-3193

The Adcenter at Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond (www.adcenter.vcu.edu)
Potential clients must fill out a two-page proposal describing marketing goals, the approval process, budget, and media plans. The school produces four major campaigns a year. Businesses that aren't appropriate for a class project can post requests on a job board for student freelancers.
Contact: Catherine Curran, 804 828-8384 ext. 103
By Roy Furchgott in Baltimore
EDITED BY DENNIS BERMAN

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