Loyola Marymount University and thinkLA Launch the mSchool: Institute for Marketing at LMU

LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwire - Sep 6, 2012) - In the midst of rapid change in the marketing world, Loyola Marymount University is partnering with thinkLA to launch the mSchool: Institute for Marketing at LMU. The 14-week program recently began with a pilot course, "The Future Will Not Be Televised: The New World of Branding and Advertising." The program marks a new partnership between LMU's College of Business Administration and thinkLA, a nonprofit membership organization that supports collaboration, innovation and creativity among the media, marketing and advertising industries.

The mSchool will provide a world-class marketing education that is relevant and applicable to the digitally-connected marketing environment of today and into the future. The program, which is designed to expand into a two-year program, will develop the next generation of marketing professionals who can make an immediate impact in the workplace upon graduation.

Dennis W. Draper, dean of the College of Business Administration, noted: "In launching the mSchool, the College of Business Administration at LMU and thinkLA have created a new venture that represents an extraordinary fusion of academic excellence and professional experience. This partnership promises to revolutionize the education and development, not only of current students but also of those who are continuing to enhance their professional careers, for many decades to come."

The mSchool at LMU will expand its offerings to include undergraduate and graduate degrees in marketing, as well as an executive education program. All programs are designed to focus on core skills that are most relevant to today's advertising roles -- with an eye toward future competencies -- including account planning and research, social media, marketing plan creation, developing a core creative idea, creative content development, leveraging digital platforms to connect ideas and measuring effectiveness.

"My philosophy as a teacher and professor has always been to stay current and to help expose our students to the ever-changing world of branding and advertising, including bringing industry experts into the classroom," said Andrew Rohm, associate professor of marketing at LMU. "The mSchool is exciting because it does this and more -- it will help us truly reinvent the way we involve our students in the learning process."

The mSchool at LMU will feature advertising heavyweights from the Los Angeles area as guest instructors, including Winston Binch, Partner/Chief Digital Officer at Deutsch LA; Patrick O'Neill, Executive Creative Director, TBWA\Chiat\Day; and Eric Johnson, President, Ignited. Additionally, the mSchool will foster experimentation and innovation by offering selected courses off-campus at local agencies, brands and media companies, leveraging L.A.'s close proximity to power players in technology, advertising and entertainment.

An advisory board for the mSchool will guide the program to ensure its content maintains relevance. The program will also be supported by the 4A's, the largest advertising association in the country.

"The advertising industry is experiencing a shortage of fresh talent who can hit the ground running, right out of school," said Eric Johnson, Founder and President of Ignited, who also serves as Co-President of thinkLA. "The mSchool will help fill the talent gap by preparing the future workforce with the skills necessary to create next-level marketing that will educate, entertain and inform the world."

Jerry McGee, 4A's Executive Vice President Western Region, and Co-President of ThinkLA, stated: "The 4A's is pleased to support the mSchool as an innovative educational program. It marks a significant collaboration between the advertising community and academia that will develop an ongoing pipeline of talent for the future."

For more information about the mSchool, click here.

About Loyola Marymount University
Located between the Pacific Ocean and downtown Los Angeles, Loyola Marymount University is a comprehensive university offering 60 major programs, 38 master's degrees and a doctoral degree in education from four colleges, two schools and Loyola Law School. Founded in 1911, LMU is ranked fourth in "Best Regional Universities/West" by U.S. News & World Report. LMU is the largest Jesuit Catholic university for undergraduates on the West Coast with more than 5,900 undergraduate students and more than 3,000 graduate and law students. For more LMU news and events, please visit www.lmu.edu/news.

About the mSchool
The mSchool: Institute for Marketing at LMU will eventually offer undergraduate and graduate degrees in marketing, executive education programs and provide a research capability that supports a world-class marketing education that prepares students for the digitally-connected marketing environment of today and into the future. For more information, please visit www.lmu.edu/mschool.

About thinkLA
thinkLA is the largest regional advertising association in America, representing over 4,000 members in the media, advertising, promotion and marketing fields. The non-profit organization was formed in 2006, with the merger of predecessor organizations that have been operating continuously in L.A. for over 50 years. For more information, please visit www.thinkLA.org.

About the 4A's
The 4A's (American Association of Advertising Agencies) is the national trade association of the advertising agency business and provides leadership, advocacy and guidance to the industry. The management-oriented association, founded in 1917, helps its members build their businesses and acts as the industry's spokesperson with government, media, and the public sector. Its membership comprises virtually all of the large, multinational agencies and hundreds of small and mid-sized agencies across the country. More than 1,200 member agency offices served by the 4A's employ 65,000 people, offer a wide range of marketing communications services, and place 80 percent of all national advertising. For more information, visit the 4A's Web site at www.aaaa.org.