The Agency


National Student Advertising Competition team members discuss creative concepts during a meeting.

Next-level Ideas and Marketing Strategy

At The Agency, students hone their skills in a professional, full-service agency setting. They work on real campaigns developing branding, messaging and marketing solutions for clients. Students gain experience in public relations, social media strategy, video production, multimedia research, advertising and more. The Agency works with a wide variety of clients on a university, regional and national level.

The Agency was created in 2014 through generous donations from area and alumni stakeholders. In fall 2016, The Agency launched Steam Whistle Creative as a creative marketing branch, extending the solutions available to clients.

Interested in joining The Agency? Stop by room 201 in Stauffer-Flint Hall or email faculty director Janet Rose at jsrose@ku.edu.

The NSAC 2022 team poses for a photo.
The 2022 National Student Advertising Competition team of Agency students placed fifth overall for their campaign for Meta Quest.

Award-winning campaigns

Each semester The Agency works with a diverse range of clients on a variety of projects. 

In 2021, The Agency campaigns students placed fourth in the general competition overall for their “For the Love of Fun” campaign in the District 9 competition of the American Advertising Federation (AAF) annual National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC) held April 16. 

The client for the national competition was Tinder, one of the leading dating apps among Generations Z and Y. Goals for the competition included driving “brand love” and downloads specifically among 18- and 19-year-old audiences. Budget for the campaign was $10 million to run from August to December 2021. 

The Agency team also won two of three special honors judges awarded.


Previous Clients

● Meta Quest (NSAC 2021-2022)
● U.S. Toy Company
● Tinder (NSAC 2020-2021)
● Dancefestopia
● Women Philanthropists for KU
● Ocean Spray (NSAC 2018-2019)
● University Daily Kansan
● Tomboy Design Studio
Agency members work together on the Meta Quest campaign.

Agency founders pose for a photo

Founding Investing Partners

● Donald Hunter, president & founder of ConferenceShow Inc.
● Jim Chastain, founding partner of RealityCheck
● Sullivan Higdon & Sink
● Muller Bressler & Brown
● Callahan Creek
● Bernstein-Rein
● Barkley
● Grapevine Designs

Contact The Agency

Want to learn more about how to join The Agency or become a client? Contact us!
William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications
1435 Jayhawk Boulevard, Room 201
Lawrence , Kansas 66045