Chicago Agency Tours

Photo courtesy of Eleanor O'Hara

On February 27th 2015, the members of both GV PRSSA and GrandPR had the opportunity to head to Chicago and spend the day at DePaul University. While in the Windy City, members of PRSSA chapters from around the Midwest were able to tour two agencies and participate in the Innovation and Influence: A Social Media Forum.

The whole day was great; it was amazing to see the faces of fellow PRSSA members from all different schools. The day began with agency tours; there were eight total agencies, four groups of two, for the students to see. I had the opportunity of touring the agencies of Spark and Leo Burnett. Both in the heart of the city, we learned about the fun and fast paced environment that agency work has to offer.

At Spark, the speakers gave the group a background of what the company does and who some of their clients are. They gave us a few case studies and then left the floor open to question and answers at the end. It was very inspiring being able to see recent graduates hard at work and hear about their personal journeys to end up at Spark. Before our group left for the next tour a Spark associate, Bailey Appleton left us with some great advice. She wanted us to know that we need to have an open mind in our quest to finding our career path.

Next, our group headed to Leo Burnett where we learned about what 80 years in the business does for a company. Our speakers talked a lot about all the things that Leo Burnett has done, including the recent Like a Girl campaign from Always. We were also shown the Samsung Social Media Center. It was very interesting see what goes on behind that scenes of campaigns that we, as consumers, are familiar with. The speakers also gave us perspective into the different roles you can have in an agency, including: analytics, strategy and accounts. After they talked to us, Jaclyn Tracy took us around the office and the group was able to see first hand what it is like to work in a big city (it's pretty fabulous).

After a morning filled with inspiration and day-dreaming about life in the bit city, the groups headed back to DePaul’s Loop Campus for the Social Media Forum Breakout Sessions. I had the pleasure of hearing Molly Lynch, of Lynch Communications, and Jenny Heinrich, of MSL Group, talk about social media's influence.

Molly Lynch, of Lynch Communications Group, explained to us the importance of Twitter and how to use it in the right way. Social media is always changing and she informed us on how to stay on top of the changing trends. Lynch gave us tips on live tweeting and the value of listening on social media. She showed us successful brands and their engagement with their audiences via Twitter; these brands included Oreos and Wendy’s. Lynch closed the discussion with reminding us the importance of building your personal brand on Twitter, but gave us the friendly warning 80% professional, 20% personal (90/10 if you want to be really careful).

To end the day, we had one last talk with Jenny Heinrich, Vice President of Digital Media & Social Content, introduced the concept of influencers to us. Although it sounded like a simple topic, it opened my eyes to the fact that its not only celebrities, like Taylor Swift, that are influencing brands. With social media today, blogs, vines, tweets and Instagram posts, are all seen as influential to their intended audience. She talked about all of the work that goes into finding an influencer, where do you find them? Who are you reaching with that influencer? Are you oversaturating and losing credibility with your influencer? Heinrich stressed the importance of content when it comes to influencers and you have to project that content to places where it will be seen and perceived in the right way.

The day at DePaul exceeded my expectations. I was able to meet and network with my fellow PRSSA members from all across the Midwest, I was able to see two great agencies and learn about what they do for the industry, and I was able to hear two influential women speak about things they are passionate about. When I left DePaul after that day, I felt inspired and my mind was turning with ideas of the future. At Grand Valley, we learn about PR and Adverting but while on the tours and having Lynch and Heinrich talk to us, I was able to see what I learn be put into practice. It gave me insight into a possible future ahead.

Eleanor O’Hara, Advertising and Public Relations major. From Grosse Ile, Michigan, big fan of One Tree Hill and has a dog named Spike.