It's a Jin Win!!

12/20/2017 Unknown 0 Comments


Big BIC congrats to Jin Wei '16 for being awarded as part of the Campaign Agency of the Year - the largest and most highly recognized awards in the Asia Pacific. Her agency APAX won a gold in the Independent Agency category and a silver in the Experiential Marketing Agency category. 
The AMAZING Jin currently lives in Shanghai and is the Senior Marketing Executive at APAX Group where she focuses on the APAX RECREATION division which collaborates with Discovery Communications. It recently created a new IP - Discovery Adventures Parks with the first park in Moganshan, Huzhou, China, and will be developing ten more Discovery parks with outdoor and extreme sports themes.
She's very excited about doing the marketing part and mainly focus on the digital marketing for the content generation and channel distribution. Since working at APAX, she has won two trophies: one gold and one silver.
Brava, Jin!!

BIC Helps Grove School Redefine the Future of Engineering

12/19/2017 Unknown 0 Comments


Change the narrative. That’s what BIC's Fall Non-Profit Capstone set out to do. With the Grove School of Engineering as their partner, BICsters were tasked with shifting current perception that engineering isn’t for women or people of color. Seizing on the #MeToo moment and disruptive voices in Silicon Valley, nothing could be more timely or appropriate for this prestigious engineering school at City College led by Dean Gilda Barabino — who is herself the first African-American woman to preside over a non-HBCU college of engineering.


On Thursday, December 14th, four teams presented strategically driven campaigns that leveraged traditional, online, social, mobile, and other digital communications vehicles to spread the message, align it with the Grove School, and shift public perceptions. Anchored in a "big idea," teams demonstrated how their campaigns would roll out with a timeline of tactical elements for a yearlong plan. Professor Douglas Davis oversaw their efforts.

Dean Barabino provided a clear brief at the beginning of the semester as well as invited members of her staff and faculty to judge final campaigns at December's Client Pitch. Throughout the semester, students were aided by BIC alums, Nikki Lebenson Angulo ’16 and Marika Bailey ’16 who provided insights into the unique marketing challenges of non-profit organizations. BIC alum Javier Garcia ’15 provided added support towards the end of the semester as students finalized their presentations.


Each team developed distinctive approaches, from  challenging existing stereotypes to identifying trailblazers in the field. The winning campaign came from BIC Team Incite, which focused on diversity as the key to innovation. By looking in unlikely places for solutions, the possibilities are limitless.

Past non-profit capstone clients have been Columbia Children's Health, the Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership, and the UJA.









“PR Diversity: The Struggle is Real” a Double Finalist for 2018 SABRE Awards

12/18/2017 Unknown 0 Comments


In an amazingly competitive year, The Holmes Report just announced the 2018 Innovation SABRE Awards finalists and BIC Professor Angela Chitkara’s research on diversity and inclusion made the list in two categories: Best Agency Disruptions: Tools & Tactics and Innovation Excellence.

In addition, Professor Chitkara’s Spring 2017 event which invited industry CEOs to a panel discussion to reflect on her findings was placed on The Holmes Report’s Top Ten List of Events in 2017.

In its summary, The Holmes Report states that “months before the #MeToo movement turned a spotlight on widespread sexual harassment in the worlds of entertainment, politics and business, The Holmes Report partnered with the City College of New York's Branding + Integrated Communications program to focus on the industry’s diversity shortcomings. Based on research from associate professor Angela Chitkara, who interviewed numerous agency leaders about their efforts to drive a more diverse workplace, the panel featured CEOs from four agencies: DeVries Global (Heidi Hovland); Grayling (Peter Harris); Ketchum (Rob Flaherty); and Porter Novelli (Brad MacAfee). The participants agreed that 'diversity drives innovation,' and outlined some of the steps they are taking to make their firms more diverse.”

The winners will be announced on the evening of Tuesday, February 13 at the InterContinental Hotel in New York. The gala will follow the 5th Innovation Summit — North America that will explore the collision of content, media and technology.

For BIC Class of 2019, THEY'RE the brand

12/05/2017 Unknown 0 Comments


They’re baaaaaaaack! The Famous BIC Identity Guidelines.

With a nod to graphic designer Christopher Doyle, this semester-long project in Professor Gerardo Blumenkrantz and Nancy Tag's Idea Development course not only allows for personal reflection and analysis, but forces students to develop some basic digital design skills some for the first time. A requirement of the project is that all students use Adobe Photoshop and InDesign.

After the final presentations on November 15th, Professor Tag asked the question: "Before this assignment, who had never touched Adobe's InDesign software?" 90% of the class raised their hands. And yet, the results were quite amazing. For a larger sample of student ID Guidelines, go to our Bechance page portfolio page (later in December).


















BIC Open House. Admissions Fee Waiver. Curious?

12/05/2017 Unknown 0 Comments


If you -- or a colleague -- are searching for a "get your hands dirty" master's degree in communications, let us introduce you to a new kind of graduate program. Our 36-credit, portfolio-driven Master's in Branding + Integrated Communications (BIC) let's you research, think, collaborate, create, and feed your curiosity in three interdisciplinary tracks --  Management & Planning, Creative, and Public Relations.

Curious? On Monday, December 11th, BIC opens its doors to inquisitive candidates interested in applying to the BIC Master's Program for Fall 2018. The afternoon begins at 4:00 in Shepard Hall when Director Nancy R. Tag serves cookies and coffee while giving potential grad students an overview of the BIC Program. Attendees will be rewarded with a FREE admissions application — CCNY will waive the fee to everyone who signs in. Afterwards, the Office of Graduate Admissions will provide a campus tour. 

RSVP HERE >> bic@ccny.cuny.edu

Stick around. At 5:30PM, BIC holds its first @BIC Lecture of the season: #NotFakeNews >> The effects of a hyper-political environment on brands and the media. Is Fake News REAL? What's the origin of the term? How is it used as a strategic tool in our hyper-political environment? Michael Marinello, the SVP of Strategic Communications for Turner, and Frank Washkuch, News Editor at PRWeek, will discuss why media ethics and best practices are more important than ever.

Immediately following, candidates are invited to sit in on the Final Presentations of B2000 Research and Awareness class taught by Y&R EVP Belle Frank.  Hungry for more? Grab a bite in the neighborhood. Mention CCNY BIC for a special 10% Off Discount at FUMO, our favorite Italian restaurant, at 139th & Amsterdam for Dinner.  Valid 12/11/17 only.    

#NotFakeNews @BIC Lecture

12/04/2017 Unknown 0 Comments


On Monday, December 11th, the Branding + Integrated Communications graduate program will sponsor its first @BIC Lecture of the season: #NotFakeNews >> The effects of a hyper-political environment on brands and the media.

Is Fake News REAL? What's the origin of the term? How is it used as a strategic tool in our hyper-political environment? Join the debate as Michael Marinello, the SVP of Strategic Communications for Turner, and Frank Washkuch, News Editor at PRWeek, discuss why media ethics and best practices are more important than ever in this fascinating @BIC Lecture.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 11th, 5:30 to 6:30PM at The City College of New York, Shepard Hall, 160 Convent Avenue, Room S104, New York City.