Student-Powered Agency Offers Marketing Solutions Across Mississippi

The Hattiesburg native is one of the first students to join Magnolia Blues Agency, a student-run integrated marketing and communications agency housed in the School of Journalism and New Media. The agency is run through an IMC course, where upperclassmen get experience creating content, managing clients and completing market analyses, all while building professional portfolios.

"I want to focus more on actually doing the work and forming connections with clients, and later on I'll polish my portfolio website," said Pierce, who served as account executive on a recent client project. "I knew this was going to be a big challenge, but it was something I knew I'd end up being proud of."

Students in the agency meet with clients, developing strategies that tackle real-world issues. In the spring, students worked with Union County Heritage Museum and other clients. This semester, they are working with on-campus clients, including the School of Pharmacy, Ole Miss Esports and the Office of Research and Economic Development.

As word spreads, the agency is also receiving expressed interest from groups including Yoknapatawpha Arts Council, M Partner and a local realtor.

The agency promoted and help run the university's first-ever Sports Connect! event in September, connecting students interested in sports management and marketing with movers and shakers in the business.

"This class is honestly just as hands-on as my summer internship in the Chicago area," said MacKenna Sherer, a senior IMC major from Lake Zurich, Illinois, with a minor in political science. "I can put the agency on my resume or include it in my cover letter because I have the proof to say, 'I actually contributed. Here is my portfolio and this is my year of experience while still a student.'

"I'm very grateful that Ole Miss has integrated classes like this because I think students need this more now than ever. Marketing roles are wide-ranging and can be so confusing for young professionals, especially as someone going through the application process right now."

Sitting in the driver's seat for face-to-face client meetings and gaining confidence by solving real-time client requests is at the center of the mission, said Brian Smith, chair of the IMC department. Agency members cycle through multiple responsibilities, expanding their skills in areas ranging from graphic design to strategy and research before they enter the job market.

Smith made launching this agency-style structure a priority when he joined the university in 2024. He worked with Andrea Hickerson, the school's dean; Ike Brunner, interim agency director and instructional assistant professor of IMC; and Chris Sparks, instructional associate professor of IMC, to debut the course during the 2025 spring semester.

The plan is to build a self-sustaining agency that transitions from pro bono work to a pricing model that is more affordable than a typical agency. That money will fund student scholarships and experience-based learning. That growth will keep the focus on Mississippi, Smith said.

"We're the state's flagship university," he said. "It's always great when we can give back.

"This is experiential learning, but also service learning. It does great for our students' portfolios, but they're also doing great for our communities in Mississippi."

IMC is the most popular major on campus, and Magnolia Blues students said they enjoy the urgency of an agency setting with the safety net of a classroom.

Brunner said grading focuses on client feedback, portfolio quality and student engagement during agency meetings, or class time.

"If you're quiet by nature and not a go-getter, you're probably not going to do very well in this class," he said. "Our students can do this work; they just haven't always had an opportunity like this to showcase it."

As the end of the semester creeps closer, students running the agency said they're embracing a lesson that underscores all their work: IMC is about effectively communicating with people, not just about pushing products and narratives.

"Your job is to have a connection and be that bridge," Pierce said. "Why would you approach something like a robot? It's just not going to work.

"This is the degree where you really have to dig into your personality and your feelings because without that, you're just typing stuff on some document and giving it out. There's no love in it."

Top: Students in Magnolia Blues Agency collaborate on client strategies during class in the School of Journalism and New Media. The new student-run agency allows integrated marketing communications majors to practice project leadership, creative problem-solving and real-time communication for Mississippi organizations. Photo by Srijita Chattopadhyay/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services