It all started on the second floor of Walker Hall, Room 204, in early spring 2019. A group of students from the Department of Communication met and decided to build a student-run advertising agency from the ground up. 

Second Story Media works to provide students with experience and communication services to organizations in the High Country, Second Story co-president and senior public relations major Kayla Hall said. 

The agency has 20 members representing different majors, including graphic design, marketing, journalism, advertising and public relations.

 They offer services like logo and web designs, branding, marketing strategies and other services to nonprofit clients in the High Country, Hall said. 

To use the services provided by Second Story, organizations go through an application process. If the agency decides to offer services to the organization, they create a team of members best suited for its needs. The team then does extensive research before meeting with the client. 

Once it is decided what the organization needs and wants from Second Story, the team will start planning, designing, and going through a “yes, no, let’s talk about it more” process. The team meets with clients every couple of weeks with new ideas or corrections, co-president Olivia Bouzigard said. 

“When we meet with them, we like to focus on what we think they can do better, what services they want from us and how those needs can come together to create something we will be proud to give to them and that they will want to implement for the benefit of their organization,” Hall said. 

Second Story worked with High Country Breast Cancer Foundation to create a new logo and marketing scheme for the annual High Country Walk/Run for Breast Cancer, president and founder of HCBCF Irene Sawyer said. 

“It’s a lot of fresh ideas. They’re excited, enthusiastic, and they always want to have fun with it while staying professional,” Sawyer said. “They have come back to me with some ideas that I would never have thought about. It’s a win-win situation.” 

In the future, the agency is hoping to expand its outreach and work with classes outside of the communications department. The group already has plans to work with students in the art department, specifically collaborating with graphic communications majors for photos, junior public relations and Second Story operations manager Max Lichtfuss said. 

“We want to bridge the gap between the departments, and have a sense of transparency between many different students and build relationships in that way,” Lichtfuss said.

The agency is also looking to expand its services to for-profit organizations and charge for their services. 

“We are working as a real agency, and as we continue to build our reputation and show all the quality work that our students can produce, I could see us in the future moving out of the university and eventually having our own office,” Hall said. 

As Second Story looks to expand, they will always carry their name to remember their beginnings on the second story of Walker Hall, Room 204, Bouzigard said. 

“I would not be as confident in myself without it (Second Story Media),” Bouzigard said. “It’s boosted my confidence in knowing that I’m capable of doing these specific things, and we’re all leaders in the agency, and it speaks a lot to who we are and where we’re going to go.”