Baldwin& Partners with Michigan State University on Internship Program

Professor Ross Chowles, Dr Anastasia Kononova and Baldwin& are working together to create a one of a kind internship experience for advertising students at Michigan State University. Students will be asked to turn up their creativity and create a campaign for Ponysaurus Brewing Company using digital media like Twitter or TikTok as the creative outlets with the goal of creating awareness of the brand outside of its home market.

“The program will allow young creatives to let their skills be seen by industry professionals and gain real-world experience. Our department is focused on real-world experience and impactful research. So this is a good match,” said Ross Chowles, professor of practice in advertising and public relations and an academic specialist at Michigan State University.

“MSU has been putting our very impressive creative candidates over the last few years so we were very interesting in creating a meaningful real-world experience for young talent, at a time where internships are challenging to come by,” said David Baldwin, CEO of Baldwin& and a co-founder of Ponysaurus.  “We’re looking forward to seeing their fresh ideas at the end of the Summer semester.”

 The Leadership team at Baldwin& will be judging the campaigns and the winning concept may be executed by Ponysaurus.

David Baldwin is an author, film producer, entrepreneur, and one of the most awarded copywriters and creative directors in the ad business today. The founder of Baldwin&, co-founder of the Ponysaurus Brewing Co, co-founder of Take Your Seat, and author of the Amazon bestseller The Belief Economy, David is also the former chairman of the One Club, and his work has been recognised by Cannes, One Show, D&AD, Clios, Effies, and more. His film work (Art & Copy, The Loving Story) has won two Emmys and a Peabody Award.

Ross is currently a board member of The One Club for Creativity. He has also twice served as a judge for The One Club’s ‘The One Show’ and is the co-founder of The Jupiter Drawing Room. The Jupiter Drawing Room is the most awarded independent advertising agency in Cape Town, South Africa.

Professor Kononova is an associate professor of advertising at Michigan State University. Her research focus is media multitasking behaviour. The knowledge of media multitasking patterns helps enhance international communication, especially when using multiple platforms. Her works have appeared in many highly reviewed peer-reviewed journals such as: Computers in Human Behaviour, International Journal of Communication, Cyberpsychology, and many more. 

As one of the oldest university advertising programs in the world the Michigan State University program has a lot to offer. This program is also one of the largest in the country. While the program once focused on research, it is now strengthening its creative side. MSU’s mission is to maintain its strong and positive reputation as one of the top advertising programs in the US amongst peer programs and industry professionals.

Michigan State University has a unique lab called the Media and Advertising Psychology Lab (MAP), which allows students to learn biopsychosocial approaches to advertising. The lab is a pool of various majors and focuses such as health communications, advertising, social media, and many more. MAP is a mix of faculty, undergraduate, and graduate students.