Four201 is an on-campus advertising agency where students interested in strategic communication, public relations and design will work on integrated marketing communication plans for local businesses.

The agency offers students the opportunity to expand their skills beyond the classroom and gain real-world experience.

The name “Four201” was chosen for the agency because the street address for IU Southeast is 4201 Grant Line Road.

Michael Abernethy, senior lecturer of communication studies and coordinator of IU Southeast’s strategic communication program, says he got the idea to put an agency on campus by looking at other college campuses to see what they were offering to their students.

Abernethy then began writing a business plan and securing funding to create an agency at IUS. He then handed the operations to be overseen by Tammy Voigt, professor of strategic communication, Yunmi Choi, assistant professor of strategic communication, and Kok Cheow Yeoh, the creative head of the graphic design program.

Voigt is now the program director for Four201, with Choi and Yeoh acting as mentors, helping students with projects when needed.

Students will be in a learning environment where they can work under the supervision of their professors when they may not know how to handle a situation. The students will receive training from faculty members on what to offer the client to provide maximum efficiency in their job assignments.

“Now they are trained with the proper classes, and the good thing for them is that we are here,” Choi said.

Voigt describes the agency’s goals as giving the students practical experience with real clients while they’re still on campus.

“Our students take classes in advertising campaigns, public relations, social media, digital media, brand strategy, media planning…,” Voigt said. “But nothing, nothing can mimic or replicate the value of actually doing work for actual clients.”

Voigt says Four201 is made up of two different wings of students.

The first wing is strategic communication students who are participating as an independent study, while the second half are graphic design students who study under Dr. Kok Cheow Yeoh.

Four201 will bill clients, just as they would in a professional business setting.

“There will be client billing to give them the real experience of how you manage accounts and generate income by doing this type of work,” Voigt said.

The money that is generated from the work students will be doing for their clients will be split in three different ways.

“40% will go to the strategic communication program, 40% will go to the graphic design program, and the remaining 20% will go into a repair and maintenance fund that will be used to acquire necessary equipment and supplies or repair anything that breaks,” Abernethy said.

Emma McCullough is a senior strategic communication major in Four201 who plans on working in the advertising and marketing industry in the future.

“I hope to have gained a better experience for when I graduate,” McCullough said.