The advertising major provides a perfect blend of creativity and business acumen, allowing you to launch a successful career in the dynamic advertising industry. With a digital-first mindset and hands-on experience early on, you'll learn how to develop compelling campaigns that connect to audiences and make an impact.
Advertising is so much more than creating effective, persuasive ads; it's about developing brands and connecting to people.
The Bachelor of Science degree in Advertising gives students the chance to connect with people through different media forms, by selecting the right audience, uncovering consumer insights and developing strategic and creative messaging, all with a digital-first mindset. Curriculum focuses on the advertising industry and the social responsibilities associated with this exciting form of persuasive media.
Students further develop and hone their skills through a required internship and a variety of extracurricular opportunities.
Kent State University’s chapter of the American Advertising Federation (AAF Kent State) is a student-led advocacy organization for the advertising industry.
As an on-campus hub for undergraduate and graduate students interested in all aspects of advertising, AAF Kent brings together those interested in advertising, fashion design and merchandising, marketing, entrepreneurship, visual communication design, and communication studies.
IdeaBase is a Kent State student-powered design agency located in Franklin Hall. IdeaBase bridges the gap between classroom and career by bringing together top-performing Kent State students to tackle real-world client problems. The team represents a variety of backgrounds, including visual communication design, public relations, advertising, digital media production, computer information systems, emerging media and technology, marketing and communication studies students.
In Student Media, students create content for TV, radio, print magazines and newspapers, websites and social media. Together, they reach thousands of people every day, delivering original reporting, information, entertainment and advertising.
Starting "Day One" of freshman year, students can work for these independent, nationally recognized, nationally award-winning student media outlets. In doing so, students gain relevant exposure to the communication industry, strong peer and faculty relationships and opportunities to launch meaningful careers.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects increasing demand for advertising-related careers through 2031. Median salaries for the paths below range from $62,800 to up to $133,380.
After studying journalism at Kent State in the seventies, Mike Jackson, '78, wanted to be the next Walter Cronkite, in that he had a big love for news. Kent State was where he gained more introspection about the world, after he had attended integrated Catholic schools in his hometown of Youngstown during his youth.
But after being exposed to advertising and attending graduate school at the University of Southern California, he really found a love for marketing.
“I needed to figure out a way to just pay for my education because I was paying for it myself,” Jackson said. “I landed a job as a kind of market representative for Coca-Cola.”
He got the job during his time at USC and was able to juggle both work and classes. This was his first role at a major company, and he loved it. And it was only the beginning of his impressive career.
Ten years later, Jackson went on to work for companies such as Pepsi and Coors as the operations manager and the vice president of marketing, respectively. He managed the second-largest advertising media budget at General Motors as the head of Marketing for North America. By moving up the ranks and working in various positions, he expanded his roles and also gained experience in fields like manufacturing and distribution.
“I love all aspects of demand building: whether it was PR, whether it was marketing, whether it was pricing, whether it was distribution, whether it was production,” Jackson said. “I love being in the mix and working with all of that.”
Kent State alumnus Chase Wilcox, ‘21, began his career through a direct message on social media to his now-employer, DNC Media, while he was still a student.
An advertising major, Wilcox completed his degree during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when Kent State and other universities across the world ceased the majority of in-person activities and moved to online instruction. Attempting to make the best of an unusual situation, Wilcox decided to take all online courses and moved to Florida, where he began successfully doing social media content for smaller brands on TikTok.
Once he grew his TikTok account to more than 100,000 followers, Wilcox began direct messaging companies, like DNC Media, for opportunities to develop his skills further.
DNC Media is a boutique agency located in Florida that specializes in growing businesses through growth consultation, video creation and monthly content campaigns.
His day-to-day work life focuses on three main things: brand strategy, video production and paid advertising. He helps develop client branding, brand objectives, content strategies and budgets for paid advertising, amongst other things. Most of the agency’s clients are in the travel and tourism industry, like Cultured Vine, a luxury concierge service in the Napa Valley region, and Atlas Ocean Voyages, an intimate yacht-style cruise line.
