By Michelle Marinos
On March 18th, eight of our Ad Club members had the opportunity to travel to Dearborn for a tour of Team Detroit. We started the day learning about the success of a growing company and ended with a free concert from an up-and-coming music artist.
As Mathew McConaughey would say, this agency tour was “alright, alright, alright.”
With locations in over 40 cities across the United States, 3000+ team members worldwide, and popular campaigns, including the Lincoln MKC commercial featuring Oscar-winning actor Matthew McConaughey, our members were in for a treat. 
We started off the tour with Lance Cruz, a Learning and Developing Specialist, who provided us with some brief history about the company. There are over 1500 employees working at the Dearborn location, and Lance foresees this number only growing from here. He described advertising as the “big invisible industry” because people cannot seem to understand what they do; however, he encouraged all of us to consider applying for internships at Team Detroit.
Lance loves working there because of there is a work hard, play hard balance. For those of you who like the festivities that occur on October 31st, you would love it here. Halloween is taken very seriously at Team Detroit. Employees compete in an intense costume competition, and are encouraged to bring their children in for a night of trick or treating around the building. In a job that can be very hectic, Lance said that activities like these help keep things light around the office.
Next, we were joined by Senior Account Planner, Laura Berge, and Strategy Intern, Brianna Holmes, who provided us with information on Account Planning. They both agreed that the two main skills needed to succeed in this industry are curiosity and the ability to think strategically. If you are interested in learning more about Account Planning, here are three suggested readings recommended by Laura and Brianna:
- The Practical Pocket Guide to Account Planning by Chris Kocek
- Brian Surfing the Top Marketing Strategy Minds in the World by Heather LeFevre
- What is Account Planning? by the Account Planning Group
Later in the day, we ran into a familiar face! Rachel Martin, our former Fundraising Chair, who is now an Assistant Digital Media Planner for Team Detroit, had turned the trip into a small family reunion. Looks like our members are doing some pretty cool things post-graduation. Of course, part of the 2015-2016 Advertising Club E-Board had to pose for a picture together!
Next, we were given the grand tour of the office by former Grand Valley graduates Bridget Coppola and Taylor Bolleber. If you struggle with directions then this building may be a little difficult to navigate around. Fortunately, there are bright green, orange, and blue colored walls separating the different sections on the floors to help guide the lost souls wandering around the office, like myself.
Just when we thought the tour was over, our members were surprised to hear that we could attend a free concert. Singer and songwriter, Rachel Platten, performed three of her hit songs, including: “Fight Song” and “Stand by You.” Team Detroit will frequently bring in musical guests to perform for the employees. They often have artists whose songs they plan on using in their commercials make a special appearance at the office. Some of their previous musical guests include Walk to the Moon and JoJo!
So just a quick recap- we had the opportunity to tour a successful agency with several big-name clients, and attend a free concert by a big-name musical artist. Who would not want to work here?
Before we headed back to Grand Valley, Lance Cruz wanted to make sure we checked out this sign. Even though some people describe adverting as a “big invisible industry,” Lance reminded us to remember who we are, and what we are capable of creating.
On behalf of the GVSU Advertising Club, we would like to thank Team Detroit for giving our members such a memorable experience. We had a great time and learned a great deal about the advertising industry.
