Why I am pursuing the University of Illinois’ Master’s in Strategic Brand Communication this Fall. Proudly Sponsored Content.
A blog by Geno Schellenberger, an advertising professional and host of the Breaking and Entering Advertising Podcast. Geno shares his experiences, insights, and advice on advertising, strategic brand communication, and pursuing a Master's degree in the field. The blog aims to help aspiring advertisers break into the industry and thrive, while also providing valuable information and perspectives for professionals in the field.
Who are you? What’s this about?
My name is Geno Schellenberger. I am from Lombard, Illinois, and I currently reside in Chicago.
I lead communications at Havas Chicago, a full-service award-winning advertising agency. My main task is to brand and grow Havas, overseeing PR efforts for all Havas Chicago Village clients and managing internal communications to ensure creativity thrives.
Additionally, I host the Breaking and Entering Advertising Podcast, which has become the leading advertising podcast for students and the number 5 ad pod worldwide.
In March 2020, at the pandemic's start, I created the Breaking and Entering Advertising Podcast to help aspiring advertisers break in and thrive in the industry. We do this by sharing the stories and advice of successful advertisers, including Greg Hahn (founder of Mischief), Seth Gaffney (Founder of Preacher), Myra Nussbaum (President of Havas Chicago), Rob Schwartz (Chair at TBWA\NY Group), and stars from countless ad agencies.
One hundred sixty weeks (and 190+ episodes) later, I still post a new podcast every Tuesday with the help of my team, Buchun Jiang and Mikey Melarkey and Cooper Colvig.
Today - I will tell you about my decision to pursue a master’s degree in advertising. Maybe you will, too - maybe you won’t. That’s perfectly fine.
The program I am enrolled in is the Master’s in Strategic Brand Communication at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
How did your previous experience in the advertising industry shape your decision to pursue a Master's in Strategic Brand Communication?
I currently lead communications at Havas Chicago and Havas Boston (Arnold Worldwide), both award-winning full-service advertising agencies. Arnold is known for their work on Progressive with their hilarious Dr. Rick campaign. This means internal and external communications. In a way, I am advertising the advertising agency to attract new business and new employees while keeping our current clients and current employees happy. I predominantly achieve this through my journalist connections and other PR and social media tactics, which the Breaking and Entering Podcast helped me develop to produce results in this role.
Before Havas, I lead communications at Chicago Portfolio School. There I learned what goes into the creative concepting process and did my best to gain attention to the program and its students and get them hired. It was there my passion for helping aspiring advertisers break into advertising.
My first job was at Edelman, where I started the peak pandemic. There, I was taught a masterclass in the basics of public relations. Edelman truly is a masterclass for those wanting to pursue PR for the long term. The people there are wicked smart and talented. (I just visited Boston).
These careers are united by the passion to help brands grow and help aspiring advertisers along the way. Breaking and Entering, a leading resource for aspiring advertisers, was developed in my basement as the pandemic really stopped our lives in March of 2020. The goal was to help my peers find internships and jobs, which was when Zoom happy hours were really a thing. So I decided to record some beneficial informational interviews as I had nothing else to do outside in the physical world.
But Breaking and Entering and my love for advertising and strategic brand communication started in 2016. When I was a freshman taking the introductory advertising course at the University of Illinois, paired with my love of the show “Mad Men,” It was there I knew my future would be in the realm of creating advertising, finding creative solutions for brands and speaking to their consumers in a meaningful way. Less cigarettes and alcohol, of course.
It’s the same hunger and passion which called me to pursue a master’s. I love brands. Building them, maintaining them, and fixing them. I know that the SBC program is the next level I need to take to further my career at Havas and in advertising. There are areas I neglected to learn, such as data and analytics, that this program will help me develop and project management; as I progress in my career, I notice I will need to lead more, and the SBC program will help me do that.
My experience with the outstanding professors and faculty at the University worked wonders for my career as an undergrad. Now, I get to learn deeper with the same professors and new ones I did not have as an undergrad.
What specific aspects of the Strategic Brand Communication Program at the University of Illinois caught your attention and made you choose it over other options?
The SBC program caught my eye immediately. In fact, I neglected some further research because I fell in love with it so fast. Having stayed close to the professors at the University of Illinois, including guest lecturing and interviewing many of my favorite professors on Breaking and Entering, I always had a curiosity about the program.
One thing that really sparked this decision that crossed my mind was “it’s now or never.” This is not the truth, but it is true that every year of my life seems to get busier and busier. Breaking and Entering is growing fast. Very fast. My career at Havas is demanding more of me. Which I am incredibly grateful for. At the time I am writing this, I am 25 years old. I don’t know exactly how the future looks, but I plan on starting a family with someone at some point. I can’t imagine balancing a full-time career with a business, finding a girlfriend/wife, and having kids in the near future while adding additional hours to pursue the Master’s program.
But even as I type this, I know people do in this program. The program is designed for the working professional. It’s designed for people that are recent graduates. Or for the working professional with 30+ years of working experience and ten kids.
In 15-18 months, I should receive the Master’s Degree. It won’t cost me an arm and a leg. I don’t have to attend in-person classes and drop everything to complete the program. Will I have to sacrifice some social time? Probably. But beers with friends can wait.
Why not an MBA?
Well, because I don’t want an MBA. I am fortunate enough to know what I love. That’s advertising. I want to go all in on my passions. I also understand that this program is co-designed to include learnings from the Gies College of Business, so I will learn some aspects of an MBA in this program. Without the whole MBA program, that I don’t want - you know what I’m saying?
Why not a portfolio school?
I have probably discussed the benefits and drawbacks of portfolio schools for hours on the show. I worked at one for a year. Portfolio programs are really excellent for breaking into advertising. Specifically for the creative aspects of advertising. This means copywriting and art direction, and some strategy. I am not looking to break into a creative role. But by all means, if you are interested in breaking into a creative career, need the regimen, and can afford the portfolio model, it is a great way to break into advertising. You can also team up with 1-2 other like-minded creatives and apply to award shows to get noticed, like the Crowbar Awards and potentially get hired from that, but that’s for another blog.
I know that the SBC program will help me thrive in my current role and potentially help me break into academia in the future, where I aim to teach full-time at a university in the next ten or so years after I have developed as much practical experience as possible.
How will the program enhance your understanding of strategic integrated marketing, advertising, and multimedia communications?
The program has much potential to help me deepen my understanding of the more integrated marketing communications model. So far, in my career, I have learned so much about public relations and new business for advertising agencies. This is still narrow in the grand scheme of the marketing mix.
What I am very excited about is meeting my cohort. The program is designed so that you take one class at a time with the same cohort of people. They come from all walks of life. That alone will be a learning experience. Meeting people that work client-side is an entirely different ball game than advertising agency employees. Understanding what the marketing managers go through and their pet peeves when interacting with agency leads is worth its weight in gold.
This can help me better relationships with clients at Havas. It opens up so much.
As well, the curriculum includes subject matter I have never touched. “Strategic Branding: Global Perspectives” is a course I never experienced as an undergrad and have yet to learn about in my career. “Measurement and Evaluation” scares the heck out of me.
“This course will focus on the method and analysis for consumer insights but also for measuring effectiveness of various promotional strategies and campaign effectiveness. This includes an overview of quantitative research methods with emphasis on analysis and interpretation of data, and application to evaluating effectiveness of promotional strategies.”
I need to learn this. It’s so crucial for every campaign. Even on internal emails I send to the agency, I fail to read and analyze if people even read them. It applies to the large campaigns and even small surveys I send out internally or for Breaking and Entering.
And don’t even get me started on my project management. I need help with work back plans, prioritizing and managing deadlines within my team. I know Rich will help me get much better at this. No matter your career, you need to learn how to be your own project manager.
How do you envision bridging the gap between your industry experience and the academic insights gained from the program?
The beauty of this program is that it directly correlates to what I do for a living. That’s why I picked it over an MBA or portfolio school. I live and breathe advertising. It's all I do, whether Havas or Breaking and Entering.
The third course in the SBC curriculum is “Entrepreneurship in Business,” I started my own business and learned a lot about branding and positioning from forming Breaking and Entering over 3 years ago. But I was young, and I still am. I know I have much to learn. So this course directly applies. I might also have another business in the works with one of my friends that is indirectly related to advertising, and I will take the learnings from this course to help launch it. Maybe. Top secret.
All these courses will help me in my career and development. “Consumer Insights,” “Managing Projects and Teams,” “Promotional Strategy,” and “Strategic Analytics & Data Visualization” are only a few to list. Still, these are incredibly necessary in my role as a communications expert in the marketing world.
I have an undergraduate degree in advertising. I have been fortunate to work at some amazing places with even more amazing people, and I have 160+ hours of direct advice from the best in the industry, and I know I still have a lot to learn.
What are your aspirations for becoming a leader in the advertising industry, and how does the Master's degree contribute to achieving those goals?
I don’t know if I aim to become a leader in the advertising industry; that has never been my goal. My goal and the north star has always been to help aspiring advertisers break in and thrive in advertising, usually by interviewing the leaders in the advertising industry. I have always taken the perspective of the listener. But, I do find myself growing in my career. The first podcast episode I posted in April of 2020 will and should sound much different than the latest post. I hope.
The next north star is to help my people at Havas. I care deeply about my coworkers. I am there often, and they mean a lot to me. We all spend a lot of time together.
So, if I can be better at my job, help my coworkers succeed, help my clients get noticed, AND help Havas, that would be the best scenario. Pursuing this degree in SBC will help me achieve all three of those items.
Can you list other reasons why you selected this program?
A sense of fulfillment. This will be challenging by design. I love to challenge myself.
Timing. I am 25 years old. Each year, life gets busier. I do not have a wife or kids, but I plan to one day. Things will start ramping up in my personal life in the next five years, and I need to capitalize now while I still have energy and time.
Respect from colleagues and bosses. They may lean on me and my additional knowledge and skill set when I am finished. Who knows the doors that could open?
I miss learning. Perhaps hindsight bias, but I miss studying for a test. Collaborating on a group project with people I barely know. Taking the lead on projects and taking the backseat on some projects. I can't wait to feel that again.
I never got to walk at graduation. I graduated undergrad in 2020—peak pandemic. When I finish the Master's, my family and I will pack things up and head to campus to take graduation photos, which never happened in 2020. They will be proud.
Should the readers pursue a Master’s in advertising?
Well, if anything you read resonates with you per my rationale, I would be happy to answer any questions. And, I will keep you all updated on my journey. You can’t go wrong with investing in yourself. There are a lot of options within higher education and other training programs. You can also learn more by visiting sbc.illinois.edu
Paid Disclosure:
Disclosure: This episode of Breaking and Entering was made possible through a paid collaboration, which helped us produce and grow our show. While this partnership supports us, rest assured that our opinions and content remain independent and authentic. We value your support and are committed to providing valuable content to our listeners. Here is a link to the full disclosure: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Tp4Fw7p2aHthT8MVgW3WKDCdnO_T9i6eajQrpUBmyPY/edit
