By ALIA CONLEY
J Alumni News staff
Stacy Fuller visited UNL advertising classes on her return visit to Lincoln
Stacy Fuller wants students who think they don’t have a shot at jobs in big cities to think again.
Fuller, a UNL J school advertising alumna, moved to Chicago for her first job — quite a change for someone who grew up in McCook, Neb., a town of 8,000 — and she’s kept moving on and up.
Fuller has changed jobs five times, but she said that’s just a part of working in the advertising industry.
She is now the account director at R/GA, a digital advertising agency in New York City. She returned to UNL for J Days in April to receive the award as the 2010 Outstanding Advertising Alumnus.
While at UNL, Fuller spoke to different advertising classes, including advertising professor Stacy James’ Principles of Strategic Communications, a large introductory lecture. James said many students e-mailed her to tell her Fuller was the best speaker they’ve had in class.
Helping to encourage today’s students
“A lot of the students in that class are freshmen and sophomores, so it’s very encouraging to them to see somebody who has been successful in the professional world,” James said. “It gives them something to aspire to as well.”
After joining Rapp Collins Worldwide in Chicago, where she worked on brands like Harley Davidson and United Parcel Service, Fuller moved to Los Angeles to work for Deutsch Inc.
“I didn’t know anyone in L.A., but when you get an opportunity like that you’d be crazy to not take it,” Fuller said.
She stayed with Deutsch for five years and worked with Expedia for four years to help rebrand the company. The Expedia campaign is one that Fuller is most proud of.
“We wanted an iconic symbol that represented travel. A suitcase is always going to mean travel,” Fuller said. “While [the campaign] was out, it was very successful. We helped move [Expedia] from being a travel website to being a travel partner.”
Fuller then moved to New York to work for Young and Rubicam in the advertising division called BrandBuzz, working on brands such as Burt’s Bees and the National Basketball Association. Then she switched to Translation, an advertising company started by rapper Jay-Z.
Midwesterners can make it anywhere
UNL grads have an advantage in the advertising world, Fuller said.
“Being from the Midwest is better — we’re harder workers, more reliable and trustworthy. If people really are interested in working for a large agency, move to a large market.”
After a successful Wrigley’s campaign with singer Chris Brown, Fuller left and freelanced for a couple of months before landing her current job at R/GA. Talk about a lot of changes.
“People move on quite a bit,” Fuller said. “If you really want to make any hikes in pay, you have to switch positions. Moving a lot is the nature of the industry.”
But Fuller remembers her ties to UNL and her long-time professors, including James, who said Fuller was a bright star in the college.
“It’s very easy for me to remember student who are really top notch,” James said. “It was her can-do personality; she was always willing to go the extra mile. She reached higher than she needed to.”
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