SDSU Introduces Student-Run Media Agency

The San Diego State University School of Journalism and Media Studies is offering a special course this spring that will not only give students real-world experience running a media agency, but also teach them the basics of starting their own media company.

The course, called “Media Agency and Incubator,” is comprised of graduate and senior undergraduate students working in teams to service real clients needing help with public relations, advertising, marketing communications, digital media and more.

The client roster for the agency is diverse and includes nonprofits, corporations and small businesses.

Real-world experience

“A traditional internship is a great resume builder and teaches the entry-level basics of working in an agency,” said SDSU lecturer and current vice president of marketing and public relations for Slater’s 50/50, Erika DiProfio.

“This course takes it up a few notches by giving students an opportunity to not only create a plan, but to execute against that plan on the clients’ behalf. It is results-driven, just like in the real world.”

The media agency, named Arrow Media Group, requires students to strategize, meet with clients, pitch media, manage client budgets, and report results to clients — DiProfio said are job duties rarely given to interns in conventional agencies.

The course is funded by a donation from SDSU Journalism and Media Studies alumnus Scott Pansky, co-founder of public relations firm Allison+Partners.

The client list for Arrow Media Group includes:

• RAD-LAB, an architectural group spearheading the Quartyard project in the East Village of San Diego
• Cedros Avenue in Solana Beach
• The Craft Beer Certification Course in the SDSU College of Extended Studies
• The SDSU Children’s Center
• The SDSU X-Team, a group of students who are finalists in the $10 million Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE competition
• The Agency, a creative group in San Diego