Information below provided by Stephen F. Austin State University Marketing Communications – Phone: (936) 468-2605 – Email: umc@sfasu.edu
NACOGDOCHES, TX – During its first few weeks of existence, Stephen F. Austin State University’s new student advertising and marketing agency has landed student staff members, its first two clients and a name: Axe Agency.
Faculty, staff, and students working at the agency pictured front row from left are Trisha Wheeler, Cass Sullivan, Erin Adams, Carissa Colunga, Tegan Smith, Sabrina White, and Dr. Amy Mehaffey. Pictured, back row from left are Tim L. Wood, Brandon Joest, Jamesley Flowers, Jaden Crane, Noah Fuller, and Dr. Bailey Thompson.
“We are building the agency from the ground up and have started with a team of nine student employees representing a mix of disciplines across campus,” said Trisha Wheeler, director of the agency, which is housed in SFA’s Arnold Center for Entrepreneurship.
The team members are:
• Erin Adams, media and communications senior from Canton
• Carissa Colunga, marketing junior from Houston
• Jaden Crane, media and communications senior from Athens
• Jamesley Flowers, entrepreneurship first-year student from Livingston
• Noah Fuller, media and communications senior from Orange
• Brandon Joest, international business junior from Conroe
• Tegan Smith, psychology junior from Corona, California
• Cass Sullivan, art senior from Nacogdoches
• Sabrina White, art senior from Nacogdoches
Tim L. Wood, SFA’s entrepreneur in residence, is excited about the range of skills these students bring to the agency.
“Many of them have experience in more than one area, including photography, graphic design, illustration, marketing and communications,” Wood said. “We were also very intentional about choosing students who were motivated, eager to learn and excited about what we are building.”
As a result of campus surveys, Axe Agency was selected as the advertising and marketing agency’s name.
“We wanted a name that was professional, memorable and reflected our SFA roots,” Fuller said. “Axe Agency captures all of that while giving us a strong brand identity. Most importantly, we want potential clients to know that while we’re a student-run agency, we’re doing real work for real clients and bringing the creativity and expertise to deliver at a professional level.”
Based on the agency’s first two clients, SFA Athletics and the Micky Elliott College of Fine Arts, the students were divided into a fine arts team and an athletics team. Through four different campaigns this semester, the teams will promote fine arts and athletics events directly to students and find ways to increase student engagement with campus activities.
“The students are approaching these projects as full agency-style campaigns, beginning with research, then moving into strategy, concepting and creative development,” Wheeler said. “They are connected to campus and understand the student experience, and they’re excited to help share and build on that culture.”
For the research phase, students are collecting primary data through campus surveys while conducting secondary research and exploring how student ad agencies at other institutions work.
“Being part of Axe Agency has allowed me to see the value of research in the strategic process,” Joest said. “I’m learning how to gather insights, understand audiences and use research to inform strategic decisions. It’s shown me that effective marketing goes beyond creativity; it starts with understanding the people you’re trying to reach.”
To help with the educational component of the agency, three faculty members will mentor the students: Dr. Amy Mehaffey, associate professor of practice in entrepreneurship in the Department of Entrepreneurship and Applied Business; Dr. Bailey Thompson, associate professor in the Department of Media and Communication; and Zachary Howell, assistant professor in the School of Art.
“These students are experiencing much more than a traditional student job,” Wheeler said. “Our goal is for them to graduate not only with their degree but with meaningful, real-world agency experience and work they can point to in their portfolios.”
In addition, Wood will offer his decades of agency experience in marketing and creative direction as well as six years of managing his own freelance marketing services with WoodThink Creative. Throughout his career, he has worked with major brands including The Home Depot, Chick-fil-A and DieHard Batteries. Wood is a graduate of the University of Kentucky’s communication program and Miami Ad School’s Portfolio Center.
“Tim will help guide how we approach the work and shape the campaigns, while I’ll build the agency structure and help students develop the skills they need to be successful in their roles,” Wheeler said.
White, brand manager for the fine arts team, said working with her talented teammates and being mentored by Wheeler and Wood has been inspirational.
“When you’re surrounded by people who are experts at their craft, it is so easy to want to learn from them and apply the skills you learn in your own work,” she said. “I can’t wait to see what the future holds for the agency, but getting to be part of the first year is incredibly rewarding, and I feel extremely grateful.”
For more information on Axe Agency, visit sfasu.edu/ace/axe-agency. For more information on student and community opportunities in the Arnold Center for Entrepreneurship, visit sfasu.edu/ace.
ABOUT STEPHEN F. AUSTIN STATE UNIVERSITY
Stephen F. Austin State University, the newest member of The University of Texas System, began a century ago as a teachers’ college in Texas’ oldest town, Nacogdoches. Today, it has grown into a regional institution comprising six colleges — business, education, fine arts, forestry and agriculture, liberal and applied arts, and sciences and mathematics. Accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, SFA enrolls approximately 11,000 students while providing the academic breadth of a state university with the personalized attention of a private school. The main campus encompasses 421 acres that include 40 academic facilities, 11 residence halls, and 68 acres of recreational trails that wind through its six gardens. The university offers more than 80 bachelor’s degrees, more than 40 master’s degrees and four doctoral degrees covering over 120 areas of study. Learn more at sfasu.edu.