Student-operated integrated marketing communications agency appoints first advisory board

Fort Worth, TX

5/25/2007

Eleven professional advertising/public relations/marketing professionals in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex have accepted appointment to the TCU student-operated RealWorld Integrated Marketing Communications Agency.

Professionals who have accepted appointment to the first board are:

Susan Adkins, founder/owner of Adkins and Associates (ad/pr/marketing), Fort Worth

Hal Brown, publisher of Fort Worth, Texas Magazine, Hurst

Kelsey de la Torre, campaign assistant and Spanish liaison in the Fort Worth office of

Congresswoman Kay Granger

Dr. Jerry Grotta, advertising research professor emeritus and graduate thesis director at the Schieffer School of Journalism

Paige Hendricks, founder/CEO, Paige Hendricks Public Relations, Inc, Fort Worth

Ruth Ann Kearley, founder/CEO of Kearley & Company (ad/pr/marketing), Fort Worth

Norm Lyons, vice president community development/relations, Texas Rangers Baseball Club, Arlington

Tom Moroch, co-founder/CEO, Moroch Agency, Dallas

Karen Raskopf, sr. vice president, corporate communication, Blockbuster, Inc., Dallas

Allen Wallach, founder/principal, Concussion (ad/pr/marketing), Fort Worth

Julie Wilson, vice president development and corporate relations, Chesapeake Energy Corporation-Barnett Shale, Fort Worth

The board will hold is first meeting with a business and luncheon agenda Tuesday, May 29, at the RealWorld’s office building, 3008 Sandage Ave. It marks the end of the first school year of operation for the agency.

Dr. Jack Raskopf, director of the agency, said that the new board reflects "a wealth of experience in advertising, public relations and marketing."

"The experience and specialized knowledge of these first appointees to the board – plus their generosity in taking time out of their busy schedules to guide us – will be invaluable in developing the future progress, professionalism and capabilities of the agency" Raskopf said.

The student-operated agency has 28 nonprofit clients and has completed 95 projects since its inception September 2006. Most of the projects were developed to assist the nonprofits in their fund-raising efforts, Raskopf said.

The unique educational endeavor is the brainchild of Dr. Tommy Thomason, director of the Texas Christian University Schieffer School of Journalism.

"We wanted an operation that was separate -- but still affiliated with our school -- to give our advertising/public relations and other students a first hand professional experience. We haven’t been disappointed. In this first year they have created marketing programs and promotional projects in virtually all media and have learned the techniques of dealing with clients, which the students could not have experienced under a purely classroom milieu,"  he said. The agency was made possible through a $350,000 Vision in Action grant from TCU.

Thomason said that the grant was awarded based on two requisites -- the uniqueness of the project and its potential for strengthening TCU’s ties to the community.

"There are fewer than 10 student-run agencies in the nation, and none -- other than RealWorld  -- who specialize in serving the non-profit community," Thomason said. “This is also the only stand-alone ad/pr/marketing agency in any college or university in Texas.”

RealWorld’s operations are supervised by two professional staff members, Raskopf and Claudia Butts, assistant director and director of graphics design.

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RealWorld IMC/TCU
3008 Sandage Avenue
Fort Worth, TX 76109
817-257-5966
Fax 817-257-5969
www.realworld.tcu.edu