Advertising Education at a Crossroad

Abstract

The changes in the advertising industry are rapid and dizzying. The advertising industry is going through structural change and advertising education faces a daunting challenge in keeping up with the real world. Advertising educators must recognize the urgency of revising the curriculum to address this challenge. If not, while the industry transitions into a different chapter, advertising education will be left behind. This article discusses major changes in the advertising industry, and calls for thought leadership to bridge the gap between academia and the industry and to initiate proactive changes in advertising education.

Pedagogical Note

“…Lee (2019) indicates that digital technologies have disrupted the creative process in advertising, and many ad agencies now look for graduates with digital graphic skills instead of standard graphic software skills. Therefore, I contend the creative aspect of the advertising curriculum provides fertile opportunities for technology-focused teaching cases.…”

“…If a student demonstrates reasonable responses to discussion questions usually found in the teaching notes that accompany cases based on advertising scenarios and other business concepts learned in advertising classes, this could show a breath of accumulated student experiences valued by potential employers. Most advertising curriculum reviews point out the importance of the advertising capstone course to ensure a place for the integration of theory, applications, and creative skills accumulated through student experiences (Scovotti & Spiller, 2009; Scovotti et al, 2011; Whitlow, 2014; Lee, 2019). Therefore, in addition to a strategic integration of concepts in a capstone advertising course, a series of teaching cases could be integrated into the capstone course to use adaptive learning and demonstrate a breadth of contemporary topics and company experiences.…”

“…Additionally, structural changes in the advertising industry over the last decade have influenced the field research approach of case writers. Lee (2019) noted two major structural changes in the advertising industry over the last decade are the rise of consultancies (i.e., Accenture Interactive, PwC Digital Services, IBM iX, and Deloitte Digital) and the resurgence of in-house agencies. The perceived need to protect company intellectual property by these primary sources might increase their reluctance to provide (interviews or non-public financial data) and require case writers to rely entirely on secondary sources.…”