Commercial Success
Karin Carlisle ’09 has been in the local newspaper, appeared on television, and on live radio, all in one week. That puts her right up there with many politicians today, and in the case of last Sunday, Super Bowl superstars. Carlisle is a business major with concentrations in marketing and international business, and a minor in advertising. She recently watched the Super Bowl with friends, not just for fun, but also for her Advertising and Promotions class. Carlisle became an expert in what many Americans watch the game for — the advertisements. Tasked with rating the $2.7 million 30-second spots, Carlisle and her teammates provided their expert findings to the local media.
“I learned that some companies need to learn a thing or two on how to make effective ads so they don’t waste an exorbitant amount of money on something that didn’t reach their target audience,” summarized Carlisle of her class experience.
The business and economics class is taught by Professor William Shannon, who teaches real world experience including knowing even the small things like the terms and jargon of the profession, according to Carlisle. “I am not just learning about ads and how to look at them but what an agency does, how it runs, basically all of the “ins” and “outs” necessary to work for an agency,” explains Carlisle.
In addition to her recent live and on-air spots, Carlisle has experience working in advertising, interning this past summer and over Christmas break at Media Marketing Group (MMG) in Boise, Idaho, her hometown. She co-wrote a paper with business and economics professor Jerry McElroy. The paper was recently published in a Tourism Management textbook, and she’s been asked to present it this summer at the 5th Biannual Symposium for Tourism and Hospitality in Charleston, South Carolina.
Carlisle has worked with Professor McElroy since her freshman year and is quick to acknowledge the impact he has made on her goals to work in advertising. “He [McElroy] has really helped bring out my potential,” says Carlisle. “Before coming to school I wasn’t sure if I had it in me to be in the business world. He has really shown me that I can accomplish a lot if I try and have the drive.”