An important global advertising executive visited Murray on March 29 to discuss about the growth of his company to business and advertising students.
Tim Love, vice chairman of Omnicom Group and the CEO of Omnicom Asia Pacific, India, Middle East and Africa, gave a presentation on not only how the advertising world has expanded but also how Omnicom has grown throughout the year.
Love said Omnicom has become the world leader in advertising, due to numerous projects such as international contracts in Asia, India and Africa.
Gill Welsch, a lecturer in the department of journalism and mass communications, said because of Love’s successful past, he was the right candidate to talk to the students about Omnicom and everything the company does.
He said Love, has worked with a prestigious advertising agency on contracts with Nissan, Procter and Gamble Co., UPS Inc. and has even started his own advertising agency, Tim Love Advertising, which has worked with major clients such as Lenscrafters and the National Council For Adoption.
Love graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in communication, where he was James Webb Young scholar and later received his master’s from the Miami University of Ohio. Love was also named “Most Outstanding Graduate” by the University of Illinois in 1972.
Love said he spoke at the University to promote his idea of maintaining a clear, non-technological way of communicating.
He said that it is important to remind people of preserving a personal image when it comes to the business world, despite technology advancing at a fast-paced rate.
Love said the main inspiration with expanding Omnicom’s international image started with his first career upon graduating college.
“Working with the Ad Council on the Peace Corps campaign imprinted on me that advertising is a noble career which can help improve lives,” Love said.
In his lecture, Love explained how the current projects he heads with Omnicom are simply stepping stones for other projects down the road.
“We are positioning ourselves for the future,” he said. “We are constantly looking for new ways to organize our services around our clients.”
Love said the realization of how important communication and more specially, language are to the business world needs to be clear from the start.
“In today’s world, with international business ventures becoming a daily thing, many companies, including Omnicom, are coming to understand how language barriers can be overcome,” Love said.
Love is a founding member of numerous international programs Omnicom runs, such as the 4A’s (American Association of Advertising Agencies) Minority Advertising Internship program. He was also on the board of the Underground Railroad Freedom Center, and the Business for Diplomatic Action.
Worth Shemwell, a senior from Hazel, Ky, said he was glad to have learned more about what Omnicom does and how they are expanding.
Shemwell said when professors told him about the lecture, he saw it as a quick way to learn about what the advertising company entails.
“Many large companies in the United States rely on Omnicom and it is beneficial to know how Omnicom operates,” Shemwell said.
Yalin Shen, a sophomore from Shanghai, China, said the one thing that interested her about Love’s presentation was his foreign work. She said she found the direct connection of Love’s work in Asia to be an interest factor for her.