Meet our club profile of the week: Harry Choi! Harry is the Co-President of “The Advertising Project”, one of Canada’s first on campus advertising clubs, founded at Wilfrid Laurier University in 2014. Here is what he had to say about himself and the organization!
Age?
21
Year?
Fourth
Program?
BBA, specializing in Human Resources with an option in French
Favourite food?
Sushi all the way. There was this one week where I had it for dinner 7 days in a row.
Favourite place in Waterloo?
Chainsaw – but my favourite place on campus is the club’s office.
Favourite memory of Wilfrid Laurier University?
That’s tough because there are so many great memories – does my exchange to France count as a memory of WLU? That was something I’ll remember for the rest of my life.
How would you describe Wilfrid Laurier University?
It’s a big community of helping hands; there’s a resounding philosophy of sharing and teaching.
What have you been involved with on campus since first year?
The Advertising Project! I started as a general member in my first year, was an Account Director in my second year, the VP of Account Management in my third year and now I’m the Co- President (shout-out to Laura Wang)!
Can you explain what “The Advertising Project” is and does, for those who haven’t heard about it yet?
The Advertising Project, or TAP for short, offers two niche initiatives: one is in the form of hosting workshops, conferences, events, and more for students interested in marketing but particularly advertising. This includes competitions, the opportunity to visit ad agencies, learning about graphic design, attending networking sessions, and the list goes on. The other half of our club is focused on providing free advertising services for local business and not-for-profits. We provide content creation such as logo creation, poster design, and more!
How did you get involved with “The Advertising Project”?
Two of my close friends were involved in TAP in my first year, back when it used to be called AdHawk Laurier. As one of them had served on the Accounts team, I was told about how he got to work with real businesses and real clients all while gaining some practical experience. That year, I joined as a general member to get to know more about the club and then decided that I would apply the following year.
As Co-President, what are your roles and responsibilities?
My primary role at large is to oversee the entirety of the club; that includes managing the team, our events, and our agency. Although I’m sure you know what that entails, it’s more so about working together as cohesively with our members to ensure that we provide students and businesses with the best work possible. Yes, I send out a lot of emails, I’m in countless group chats that never seem to stop buzzing, and I always find myself sitting in some sort of meeting, but my goal as President is to ensure that the TAP team is providing as much value as possible.
How could someone get involved with “The Advertising Project”?
Hiring for executive positions have ended, but there are tons of events that are coming this semester that you should be on the look out for! We recently had a speaker panel with the Laurier Marketing Association where we brought in executives from marketing positions and ad agencies to talk about their experiences and answer questions from students. In February, we hosted a full week of events for our first ever “Ad Week”, which we are planning to launch during the first full week of the month. It will include workshops, speakers, and games! We also have something big planned with Shinerama… but I don’t want to spoil the details. Our last big event will be in March with Students for Sustainability, where we will try to help a business hack the idea of Sustainability and Sustainable Advertising! And of course, if you know someone with a business that needs graphic design, we’ve got you covered.
If you could give your first year self advice, what would you say?
Don’t be so hard on yourself.
Favourite quote or motto you live by?
“Not all those who wander are lost” – J.R.R Tolkien.
This has no real relevance to me, I’m just a huge Lord of the Rings fan. But if you know anything about me, I stand by a lot of what Lady Gaga does and says, as she has been, without a doubt, the biggest role model in my life.
Thank you again Harry for sitting down to answer a few questions! Want to learn more? Check out “The Advertising Project”, on Facebook!