R/GA Hosts the FUTURE

10/27/2016 Unknown 0 Comments


On Thursday night, October 20th, BIC held its annual Mix+Mentor networking event at the AMAZING new offices of R/GA on 33rd Street.  A crowd of over 100 guests showed their commitment to the future by meeting and promising to mentor members of BIC's Class of 2018 featuring 30 hard-working grad students from across the globe, around the United States, and right here from New York City.


Industry professionals, consultants, and recruiters from agencies such as R/GA, Ketchum, Interbrand, VaynerMedia, Droga5, Samsung, Night Agency, Hawkins International, VML, NYTimes T Brand Studio, Finn Partners, Kalson Communications, Jack Morton Worldwide, Y&R, The Barbarian Group, Citizen Relations, FutureBrand, Gravity, Publicis, Rooney Partners, Berlin Rosen, ABW Solutions, HA Roth, Porter Novelli, Deep Focus, DigitasLBi, Siegel + Gale, BBDO, 4A’s, PRWeek, and Time Warner offered encouragement, exchanged business cards, and made commitments to mentor. 


Our special guest of the evening was advertising legend and BIC Board Member George Lois who posed for selfies and offered words of wisdom throughout the night. Several BIC alums now active in the industry were also there to celebrate the power of mentorship. Some were caught on tape as our MentorCam circulated the room to document guests who were there to honor this year’s theme Mentor Like You Mean It. 


BIC Program Director Nancy R. Tag congratulated R/GA on its spectacular new space and expressed gratitude for  sponsoring this year's Mix+Mentor. She expressed a special thanks to catalyst Jenny Tieman and organizer Whitney Donaghy of R/GA as well as BIC Program Specialist Christina Castro and BIC Tech Specialist Mira Steinzor. Professor Tag then welcomed the crowd by introducing BIC's latest incoming class, the fourth since the program's launch in 2013. 


She also highlighted some of last year's outstanding accomplishments -- noting a theme of THREE in BIC's THIRD year: three recipients of $5,000 The LAGRANT Foundation Scholarships, first, second, and third place (once again) at the 2016  CCNY Graduate Symposium, three BIC teams chosen for The One Show Client Pitch, a $5,000 Zahn Entrepreneurship contest winner, our third MAIP winner, two articles about BIC students in AdWeek, and... a super heavy GOLD Pencil at the 2016 One Show Student Competition.  All evidence that mentorship matters!


But the focus of the evening was really on the incoming class: "By committing to BIC's two-year master's degree program in order to think more deeply about the issues impacting media and communications today," Tag noted, "these students have already demonstrated a commitment to the industry -- and to everyone in the room who's dedicated to future." Past sponsors of the BIC Mix+Mentor have been Y&R, Ketchum, McCann, and GREY.

Visit our GALLERY to see more photos!














PR Today: Nimble, Creative, Disruptive

10/24/2016 Unknown 0 Comments


In a recent PRWeek opinion piece, BIC Professor Sandra Stahl of jacobstahl speaks to public relations practitioners' natural "skills as strategists, storyteller, and purveyors of influence can and should take PR in an infinite number of directions if we allow them to, if the communications challenge demands it, and if we have the opportunities."

Read the full article here.


BICsters RISING

10/24/2016 Unknown 0 Comments


BIC alums are on the rise -- snagging new post-graduation jobs, getting promoted, shifting gears at new agencies, or even launching new product lines…!! Here are a few highlights since May 2016.

Donna Dei-Baning BIC ’16 snagged a job at NYTimes T Brand Studio in mid-August as an Insights Strategist on its brand new Creative Insights team. Donna says that she’s “been responsible for a lot of pre-sale ideation, working on pitches and responding to RFPs with stories that are rooted in audience insights and industry data.” So far, her projects have been for BMW, Google, American Express and most recently, L'Oreal. She gets to work across a lot of different verticals and weave insights into the strategies that inspire the creative team to develop custom programs for clients. 

André Ory BIC ’15 was recently hired at BerlinRosen, a public affairs and political PR firm, as a Senior Account Executive. Working in his wheelhouse, Andre manages strategic communications and media campaigns for leading foundations and non-profits on communications and media campaigns focused on public health, immigrant rights, and LGBT rights. His clients include the Elton John AIDS Foundation, Perception Institute, and the MacArthur Foundation. Just before joining BerlinRosen, André worked on communications and thought-leadership initiatives at global health strategy firm Rabin Martin, where he supported non-profit and corporate clients on public health programs targeting underserved populations. 

Himani Gupta BIC ’16 recently joined Retarus Inc., a leading global provider of professional messaging solutions, offering services for electronic corporate communications since 1992. Retarus manages the safe and efficient flow of information for enterprises around the world. Himani will be its Corporate Communications Manager, working closely with the Head of Marketing & Sales Strategy. 

Andy Kwan BIC ’16 parlayed a summer internship into a recently acquired position as Brand Analyst at FutureBrand, which “combines expertise in brand strategy, identity, digital, retails, environmental, product service design to define and connect every aspect of brand experience.” Andy will be helping FutureBrand.edu migrate to a new platform as well as work with its London team to reorganize its online brand identity. 

Javier Garcia BIC ’15 is about to launch his own company, Suyo, a socially conscious active apparel brand dedicated to making a lifestyle of health and fitness accessible to all. Suyo designs and produces gender-neutral activewear bottoms using exclusive designs produced by local artists. Suyo is a Pending B Corp committed to creating work opportunities in urban neighborhoods and investing in socially impactful efforts that benefit its employees, contractors and customers. Look for the official launch in early 2017. 


BICster Builds a Bot -- Cassondra's Responsive Recruiter

10/20/2016 Unknown 0 Comments


Tired of reaching out to recruiters and getting back nothing but radio silence? Cassondra Bazelow BIC '16 did something about it. She coded up Rosie, an automated recruiter with a surprise feature: it responds. Okay -- so maybe it doesn't land you that dream job, but at least Rosie responds quickly AND with flattery!! No wonder Adweek dedicated an article to this "still in progress" invention, stating: "In short, it's a sex bot for people who are sick of hearing "We'll keep your portfolio on file." To fully complete the fantasy, just close your eyes, lean back and fill in the agency's name for yourself."

Currently a senior art director at VaynerMedia, Cassondra snagged jobs in the Creative Department at BBDO and Tribal Worldwide even before graduating from the BIC program. So while Rosie the Responsive Recruiter may not be necessary for Cassondra, the rest of the workforce is grateful!

See Cassondra's work here.

Read the Adweek article here.

Brava to Lynn Appelbaum's Bravo Award from Hispanic PR Association

10/15/2016 Unknown 0 Comments


On Wednesday evening, October 13th, the amazing Lynn Appelbaum, Professor and Director of the Ad/PR Program at the City College of New York, was awarded the first Bravo! Educator of the Year Award from the Hispanic Public Relations Association. The HPRA National Bravo! Awards are the most prestigious awards in Hispanic communications recognizing the industry's finest campaigns across several categories. This is the first year that it has honored educators who serve the industry. 

This impressive achievement recognizes Professor Appelbaum's contribution over the course of a career dedicated to educating a diverse student body and making them profession ready. The HPRA accolade is not only well deserved, but no surprise to those of us who work with her and have seen her in action. Lynn is the lead author in a recent landmark study on diversity in the PR industry. Read it HERE

The Hispanic Public Relations Association (HPRA) is the foremost organization of Hispanic public relations practitioners in the US with chapters in Los Angeles, New York, and other major cities. 

Read more about this momentous evening HERE.