No more graduate degrees in "mass communication"
Posted June 22, 2012 by Bev Barker | 1 Comments"The times they are a'changin'" - continued. My friend Polly, who moved to Richmond last year, alerted me to a story in the Richmond Times-Dispatch. "New director will take over the VCU Brandcenter in August." (VCU stands for Virginia Commonwealth University.)
Starting August 15, Helayne Spivak, the chief creative officer at Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness, New York City, will take over at the VCU Brandcenter, "one of the preeminent advertising programs in the country." Spivak's story and credentials are impressive.
But my focus was to find out more about the program. "VCU Brandcenter offers a two-year graduate program which provides an intensive, real-world education for future advertising leaders." There are five Masters degrees offered: Art Direction, Copywriting, Communications Strategy, Creative Brand Management and Creative Technology.
The so-called Copywriting Curriculum is a far cry from the days of mass marketing. Offerings that reflect today's fast-changing technology and social media include "Visual Storytelling, Creative Fusion, Professional Possibilities and Individuation." It's not just "Can you write?" to become a copywriter. We have to learn something new every day.
P.S. Spivak, who is a lifelong New Yorker, "will have to learn how to drive a car."
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Wow, a lifelong New Yorker moving to Richmond. There's bound to be a wee bit of culture shock involved in that transition, crossing the Mason-Dixon line and all. Staying close to the campus will help. And Richmond is not that far from Washington if she needs a big city fix. Still, New York to Richmond is definitely a big change. I'm reminded of the New Yorker cover -- I seem to remember similar map that predates this one but can't find an image of it anywhere.
Posted June 22, 2012 by Rae BenedettoSupposedly this is what New Yorkers think about themselves and the rest of us. But what do the rest of us think about New Yorkers? *Or, more accurately, what do they think we're thinking.)
Whether these images we have are reality or illusion, it's probably a good time to for an ad woman to get out of New York to somewhere they don't think advertising is dead,