IMC Partnerships Create Real-World Opportunities, Experience

During the spring semester, Ole Miss students from multiple courses worked directly with Mississippi organizations to develop promotional campaigns and creative content.

A group of students in the Fashion Promotion and Media course proved to be the right fit for Blue Delta Jeans. The collaboration gave students an opportunity to work directly with the Mississippi-based company known for its custom denim and growing national presence.

Working in teams, students produced photography, video and social media materials while overseeing art direction and campaign strategy.

"I believe it is one thing to learn strategy, creativity and communication in a classroom, but it is something entirely different to put those skills into practice," said Ashton Brooks Logan, adjunct instructor of the class. "This experience allows students to step into the real world before they ever cross the graduation stage.

"They are pushed to think beyond an assignment, respond to client needs, curate professional and polished media, and begin seeing themselves as young professionals."

The experience provided insight into professional client relationships, teamwork and creative problem solving in the fashion and branding industries. Nick Weaver, the company's co-founder, met with students early in the process to set expectations.

"I think having Nick so involved from start to finish was incredibly beneficial," said Hagan Hord, a senior from Stuttgart, Arkansas. "He was very clear about what he wanted to see, and knowing we needed to meet those expectations motivated us to work even harder.

"It gave us a glimpse into what it is like to work with a company as if we were a marketing agency."

One of the biggest challenges was coordinating schedules outside of class to create content and complete shoots, especially with large teams balancing busy spring semester schedules, Hord said. Despite the challenge, the experience helped prepare students for professional collaboration and creative work environments, she said.

"Working one-on-one with a company like Blue Delta was such valuable practice for the real world," she said. "It pushed us outside of our comfort zones, introduced us to new assignments and gave us experience that many students do not get before graduation."

Beyond fashion and branding collaborations, students in the integrated marketing communications capstone course are also partnering with organizations across Mississippi to develop communication and marketing campaigns. The course serves as a culminating experience for IMC seniors, allowing them to apply strategy, research, branding and campaign development skills to real organizations.

Professor Evangeline Ivy's class partnered with the Mississippi Presenters Network. Throughout the semester, students worked with the network to develop communication and marketing materials designed to support arts and cultural programming across the state.

"I reached out to Wayne Andrews after reading that the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council had lost an NEH grant to see if he might be interested in partnering with my class as a client," Ivy said. "When we met to discuss the opportunity, he told me about the Mississippi Presenters Network's plans to launch a fund to support the arts statewide."

Such partnerships allow students to move beyond theory and apply their skills in meaningful ways, Ivy said.

"In a traditional classroom setting, students can learn the theories and strategies behind integrated marketing communications, but working with an actual client helps them see how they are applied to real-world situations and organizational challenges," she said. "Students also learn how to communicate with clients, work collaboratively as an agency team and develop strategic recommendations that can be useful to organizations."

The partnership allowed students to work directly with the organization while providing valuable insight and creative strategy, said Carrie White, the network's program manager.

"Professor Ivy's model engaged our organization as a genuine partner, not merely a subject of academic study," she said. "Over the course of two months, the students conducted in-person interviews, designed and administered a survey, researched comparable organizations, and ultimately developed five compelling and competitive campaign concepts for our team to evaluate."

The experience also showed the broader impact experiential learning can have on communities and industries, White said.

"This program cultivates a meaningful connection to our state, one that may inspire graduates to build their careers here and contribute to Mississippi's economic growth," she said. "This initiative also serves as a powerful demonstration to businesses and nonprofits of the exceptional skills, training and resources emerging from the University of Mississippi."

For students, the partnership offered firsthand experience navigating the expectations and challenges of working with professional clients.

"Working with a real client was much more rewarding and realistic than any concept project I had done in previous IMC classes," said Morgan Reed, a senior from Atlanta. "For the first time, it felt like the work we were creating mattered beyond the classroom.

"We had to think strategically about how our recommendations would realistically work for the client, while also adapting to feedback and real-world expectations."

Reed served as an account planner for her team, focusing on research, survey planning and campaign budgeting. She said the experience helped her better understand how branding, audience engagement and campaign strategy come together in a professional setting.

"The biggest skill I developed was budgeting," Reed said. "It taught us that creating a strong campaign is not just about exciting ideas, but about making sure those ideas can realistically be executed.

"In the end, it was rewarding to know the campaign we created was something the client could actually put into action."

Top: Ole Miss senior Hagan Hord (second from right) and her student agency, Behind the Label, present their campaign for Blue Delta Jeans during an integrated marketing communications class in May. The class paired student agency teams with real-world businesses and organizations to give students professional experience. Photo by Ashton Brooks