AD2 Tampa Bay Blog Posts
Competition, Real World Experience, and Making Ads; what more could an advertising student ask for? After launching the first Advertising Sprint in December (2020) it is safe to say this event was a success! Teams gathered on Zoom to compete in a 24-hour sprint to generate a winter campaign for a young Tampa company.
Through my experience in the Ad Sprint, it is exactly how it sounds, a sprint…
In only one day you are on the clock but with proper management and teamwork the stress can be rather minute. Having full rein over a campaign is extremely exciting and you are able to see a glimpse of what your future may look like. It is a competition so make sure every detail is perfect and know you have a campaign that a company cannot pass on. If you are yet to find your path in the industry this is your chance to try out different roles: Designer, Writer, Strategist, or Account Exec. Ultimately, the Advertising sprint is a lot of fun and a must for any passion ad. loving student or young professional.
As a former competitor and winner, I can assure all future students and young professionals this event is worth the price of admission… NOTHING! The Advertising Sprint is FREE for AD2 Tampa Bay members, it is however only $5 for non-members. So, for just a small price is it really worth missing out on? Along with the satisfaction of creating campaigns you get to boost your resume and portfolio while gaining the experience of an agency environment. This event is a great space to experiment, learn your strengths and weaknesses, pitch campaigns to clients, and improve your skills.
GET READY TO SPRINT…
-Matthew Gross
All it Takes is Just One Match
In a virtual world AD2 Tampa Bay was still able to host another event online, ISD (Internship Speed Dating). A huge thank you goes out to the incredible Lunchpool, its unique and creative website was the perfect fit for the ISD format. Because of them AD2 was able to host six separate tables for each company looking to find their match. The ISD was created to help connect students in the Tampa Bay area with employers in all different Marketing and Advertising roles. With students being able to switch table to table every twenty minutes everyone was able to learn about each company and find if they had a match or not. At the end there was an additional twenty minutes added for students to attend the table they found to fit them the best to show some more interest and have any final questions answered.
Allow me to sum up this event in only two words informal & formal. Let me explain, for people heading into their first meeting with employers or professionals it can be a bit intimidating however, that was not the case at all for the ISD. AD2 was completely spot on with the name of this event because it felt exactly like speed dating. Every company hosting a table was very personable and not only did they explain what they were looking for in an intern, but they were more than interested to hear what the students had to say as well. With that being said, remember you are still presenting yourself to these companies, so you do not want to cross the line as too informal. A good way to visualize this is “business casual”, be yourself but also be professional.
"If you can't advertise yourself, what hope do you have of advertising anything else?"
~David Ogilvy
Whether or not you found your match the ISD was a great way to network and make connections for the future. Getting your name out there is half the battle. For students looking to get their feet wet in the advertising world this is a must attend event. Absolute worst-case scenario you learn about the industry, but along with that floor comes the high celling of potentially finding your perfect match and landing a spot for the summer. As for organizations moving forward, I would love to see more agencies get involved. You never know who you might come across in this crazy world, maybe you’ll find the next Bernbach.
SIGN UP, YOUR MATCH AWAITS…
-Matthew Gross