Working with Mags in The PAG

By Leah Moran ‘10 - Advertising major

This summer I am fortunate to be completing my second 10-week internship with Starcom MediaVest Group in the heart of the Chicago Loop. Once again, I am working in the Leo Burnett building, which one can see many times in the movie, Batman: The Dark Knight. Never watch it with me, because I will constantly scream out, “That’s my building!” Although the two-hour commute makes it difficult to be cheerful in the morning, every day at work brings new, exciting challenges.

Starcom is a media agency and sister company to advertising agency Leo Burnett (Yes, that’s me high-fiving Leo in the photo). While advertising agencies actually create advertisements for their clients, media agencies develop strategies for placing those ads and negotiate the rates with different vendors.

For all of you advertising majors who are not convinced that media planning is a thrilling career choice, it is a much more interesting field than it may seem. While the daily work involves a lot of Excel spreadsheets, the media world has so much more to offer.

At Starcom, groups are classified as strategy or activation teams, depending on their specialties. Strategy teams work with a client to develop overall media strategies, assign budgets to campaigns, and choose which media to include in campaigns. Activation teams specialize in certain media (TV, print, digital, etc.) and work with all of the clients who include this medium in their campaigns.

Last summer, I worked on the strategy side of the Oracle account and specialized in the out-of-home campaigns. This involved developing an outdoor media plan for Oracle’s presence at the National Retail Federation’s Big Event in Chicago. This summer, I am working in the Publishing Activation Group (also known as “The PAG”), responsible for planning, negotiating, and buying ad space for clients in magazines and newspapers. I have worked with a variety of clients, such as Altria, Allstate, Exelon, the Museum of Science and Industry, Heinz, Nintendo, LEGO, and Samsung. By transitioning from a strategy to an activation position, I was able to gain a more thorough understanding of media planning as a step-by-step process. I also experienced how strategy and activation teams work together to deliver the best results to their shared clients.

It is common today for advertising professionals to claim that newspapers and magazines are “dying.” To remind industry professionals just how effective advertising in print still is, one of my major responsibilities is working in a small group on an internal public relations campaign displaying the power of print. The Power of Print campaign allows me to work with other PAG employees to research current strengths of print as an advertising medium, outline the research, compile captivating case studies to display, and plan a day-long event within the company to share information.

Some of my larger projects also include managing The PAG blog, completing reports to confirm that our ads are running correctly, and working on a print plan recommendation for LEGO’s DUPLO blocks campaign.

Aside from the work, one of the best things about interning at a media agency is the perks. Through my internship with the PAG, I have met editors, promotional planners, and advertising representatives from major magazines, such as O, SHAPE, People, Southern Living, and more. Getting to know key players also includes attending Cubs games, taking boat tours of the City, going to lunch, visiting the Chicago Tribune printing press, and collecting a ton of free magazines. Overall, the media industry is extremely fun, casual, and busy!

My two internships at Starcom have been great learning experiences and provided me with friends, contacts in the industry, and great memories. Entering my senior year feels bittersweet, but I am now confident that I will graduate prepared to begin my career.