Inside a Student-Run Ad Agency (Spoiler Alert: Its Clients Include Siemens)

By Olivia Deacon

Like most brands, global tech giant Siemens helped celebrate America’s sesquicentennial this summer.

Gen Z students at Ohio University created a video series highlighting Siemens innovative role in this American milestone. The end product was cool promotional spots for social media.

What we do at our student ad agency is real, very real. We work with real clients to strengthen their marketing and create engaging content.

For the Siemens project, we used Ohio University’s new 21-by-12 foot LED wall to make the ads. I was script supervisor.

I am from small-town Ohio (Wheelersburg on the Ohio River, population 6,000+). My college town, Athens, is in the foothills of Appalachia (population around 25,000).

The client (Siemens) traveled from Atlanta to Athens, Ohio, to collaborate with students.

Our client roster is a mix of large, regional, and local enterprises including nonprofits. Siemens is our biggest client since our student-run NEXT agency was launched in 2024.

In fall semester of 2024, when our agency started, 12 students enrolled. By spring semester of 2025, enrollment doubled to 24.

The first student agencies for advertising, public relations, and marketing started in the 1970s, according to Professor Douglas J. Swanson at California State University, Fullerton. Swanson is author of “Real World Career Preparation: A Guide to Creating a University Student-Run Communications Agency.”

Nationally, the pandemic hobbled or ended dozens of the student-run agencies due to lockdowns and enrollment disruptions. But the concept of students gaining on-campus experience by serving real clients has survived covid, thanks to students’ hunger for resume-boosting expertise.

Pro and con arguments about student-run ad agencies

Supervision

Our faculty advisor, Chuck Borghese, has deep industry connections in New York, Detroit, and Atlanta (he worked at Lowe & Partners, DONER, Ogilvy & Mather, Merkley + Partners, and DDB). We have oversight and freedom to be creative.

Turnover versus consistency

Our client relationships can continue for multiple semesters (including summer), allowing us to build an understanding of the brand and develop stronger work products.

The NEXT Agency consists of teams assigned to various accounts; students’ specialties include graphic design, videography, photography, research, copywriting, and social media.

During the summer, our team worked with ScatterDIY, a do-it-yourself pest control brand. With ScatterDIY, we created social media and marketing content designed to make the brand more engaging and accessible to its audience.

ScatterDIY tripled in sales this summer, which was a milestone for the client and for our student agency.

The value of youth versus novice experience

There is a learning curve because we are students, and our clients understand that.

We take the work seriously and provide our clients with access to a creative team with a fresh perspective. Clients are more than curious about Gen Z perspectives . . . they also want help in connecting with this important cohort.

The fundamentals of standout advertising are cross-generational. A great ad shows the personality of the company while clearly communicating — in authentic ways — what makes it worth supporting.

Experience at a well-run student ad agency exposes young ad makers to deadlines, collaboration, rejection, dealing with clients, and more. Ultimately, this real-world exposure helps the ad industry because entry-level applicants are ready to create and contribute, thanks to experiential learning.

About the Author:

Olivia Deacon is on track to graduate in the spring of 2027 from the School of Visual Communication at Ohio University.