Sept. 19, 2024
Photo by Nate Brown
MOJO Ad, the Missouri School of Journalism’s student-based, professional advertising agency, is reaching for the stars this semester with a new dream client: NASA. Students who are part of MOJO Ad will build campaigns for NASA’s Artemis program, a historic initiative that plans to put people, once again, on the moon.
Three MOJO Ad teams will collaborate throughout the fall semester to design distinct campaigns for Artemis. Students will fill a variety of roles such as account manager, strategist, graphic designer and video producer.
“This was a dream scenario in so many ways,” said Jon Stemmle, professor and chair of strategic communication at the School of Journalism and co-director of MOJO Ad. “We’re working with one of the most well-known brands in the world — everyone knows NASA — and the students get to experience a different type of client than they typically get, since this is a government agency. This isn’t like selling a car or a burger, it’s promoting a path for the future of mankind.”
Senior Audrey Stowe, who has had a lifelong passion for space and NASA, was thrilled when Connell revealed MOJO Ad’s partnership with NASA.
“I was beyond excited,” Stowe said. “I’ve always wanted to work for NASA in some capacity. I found my calling through advertising and strategic communication, so working indirectly for them on this client project is amazing.”
Stowe’s dream client was no secret, and many of her fellow classmates immediately turned in her direction when the news broke. Stowe did not disappoint: As it all sank in, she shed tears of happiness.
“We had a public relations specialist from NASA come to one of our classes last semester, and I had mentioned to [Stemmle] that I was super interested in working for NASA at some point,” Stowe said. “But that was months and months and months ago, so I’m really impressed they remembered that about me.”
That public relations specialist was alumnus Dylan Connell, B.J. ’14, a public affairs manager at NASA. He recently returned to campus to help brief MOJO Ad students alongside Lora Bleacher, the Artemis strategic communications director at NASA Headquarters.
“I think I’m having just as much fun as they are,” Connell said. “I remember sitting where they were sitting — quite literally — so to then be back as the person presenting to them is really a full-circle moment.”
Connell hopes that in tackling subject matter as expansive as the space program, students will come away not only with practical professional experience but with a greater understanding of how to navigate difficult and demanding tasks as a team.
The challenge will come to a close at the end of the semester, when the student teams will present their campaigns to Connell and Bleacher, marking another entry in a string of prominent MOJO Ad clients that has included AT&T, Mondelez International’s Sour Patch Kids and Warner Bros.
