Student employees at a non-campus public relations and advertising agency got down with the dogs after wrapping up a job with one of their clients last week.

Imagewest is a student operated advertising and public relations agency located on Mass Media and Technology Hall’s third floor. The students work with clients on and off-campus. Last week, the Muhlenberg County Humane Society hired Imagewest to revamp their website and social media. 

Louisville senior Dominique Warfield, account executive, said through Imagewest, students get real world experience and work with real life clients. The group had one week to complete the job with Muhlenberg County Humane Society which Warfield said presented challenges like staying on top of deadlines.

Standford junior Macey Kaiser, multimedia creative, said the week helped her realize what the staff would be doing all semester. She said Imagewest gives her a lot of opportunities and a view of a career in advertising.

Imagewest hires a new staff every semester, and this project was the first for the summer staff. Kaiser described the week as boot camp for Imagewest. They spent two days on training, one day meeting with the humane society and then three days working on the project.

Kaiser said the experience brought the group closer and showed everyone’s strengths and weaknesses. She said it also allowed her to work as more than a designer, and meet with the clients. 

Students receive course credit if they complete 240 hours on staff. Kaiser said the motivation was different than a typical class because she wasn’t concerned with grades but with pleasing and maintaining the client. 

“It’s hard to teach the dynamic of an advertising and PR agency in a classroom,” Kaiser said.

Some of the tasks completed by Imagewest were redesigning the kennel tags, website, volunteer and adoption forms. The group also provided advice for social media use which Warfield said the humane society quickly responded and followed the recommendations.

For this project, the services Imagewest provided for the humane society were pro bono. Kaiser said the humane society was impressed and excited about the changes Imagewest made. She said seeing their reaction helped her realize how useful her skills can be.

“You can really make a difference in someone’s life with advertising,” Kaiser said.  

Warfield said the project was a great way to start the year and helped students work as a group. He said working as a team this early is important because it is how students will work on projects later in their career.

Reporter Rebekah Alvey can be reached at 270-745-6011 and [email protected].