R/GA's Digital Greenhouse with Miami Ad School

New York, NY, April 6, 2009 - R/GA, the agency for the digital age , is pleased to announce a new partnership with Miami Ad School (MAS) to launch the school's first digital Greenhouse program at R/GA San Francisco. This program, which allows students to spend extended time within R/GA's walls, provides students with real-world, hands-on training in digital advertising. Up to now, only traditional agencies have hosted the Miami Ad School Greenhouse.
 
"We asked R/GA to partner with us on the Greenhouse program so students could experience what it's like to work in one of the most awarded interactive shops in the world," said Pippa Seichrist, president and co-founder, Miami Ad School. "R/GA has been creating groundbreaking brand experiences for its clients since before our students were even born."
 
A number of final-year students from creative and technology backgrounds are being invited to San Francisco each quarter throughout 2009 to spend 10 weeks at R/GA's office. Today, the second group of students have started a 10 week term at R/GA. Students work closely in weekly with Mauro Cavalletti, executive creative director, Peter Cole, technology director, and Ryan Denning, managing director, to learn the inner workings of the digital advertising industry.
 
Students also have the opportunity to enhance their portfolios by working on projects related to new-business pitches and client campaigns. Work created in the program will be entered in D&AD and One Show student competitions. In addition, all three R/GA offices in San Francisco, New York, and London will present regular seminars, either in person or through video conferencing, to give students greater insight into R/GA's collaborative creative process.
 
"In today's world, it's imperative that students have a strong understanding of how digital technology helps build brand-from the strategic and creative campaign-development process to the delivery of brand platforms. We are very excited to begin this unique relationship with the Miami Ad School and look forward to setting the benchmark for future digital programs, evolving them into solid programs that prime students with practical digital experience to jumpstart their careers," said Cavalletti.
 
The MAS Greenhouse program has been established in major design-centric cities around the world, including Stockholm, Amsterdam, London, and Paris. R/GA San Francisco, which opened in May 2008, will host the students in its new 16,000-square-foot office space in the trendy South of Market district. As the sole host agency for San Francisco, R/GA aims to not only equip students with knowledge to succeed in the digital industry, but also provide an enjoyable West-Coast experience.
 
About R/GA
R/GA (www.rga.com) is a full-service digital agency that transforms the way people interact with brands. Our commitment to design, technology, strategy, and innovation has defined R/GA's continuing legacy as an iconoclast in the world of communications and marketing. A range of holistic offerings that includes brand design, mobile, and retail, R/GA's agency model is adaptable to the ever-changing needs of consumers in the digital landscape.  
 
Founded in 1977, R/GA has received the most prestigious creative awards for film, broadcast, design, advertising, and interactive. It was selected as Adweek's "Digital Agency of the Year" for 2008, Ad Age's Agency "A-List" and "Digital A-List" for 2008, and Creativity's "Interactive Agency of the Year" for 2007. R/GA is part of The Interpublic Group (NYSE:IPG), one of the world's largest advertising and marketing services organizations.
 
About Miami Ad School
Founded in 1993, Miami Ad School (MAS) is known as the "School for Pop Culture Engineering" and offers innovative education programs that go where no other institution has dared. MAS is the only truly global educational network for the marketing communications industry, offering students the opportunity to study and intern in up to five different locations around the world, choosing from Miami, Minneapolis, San Francisco, Hamburg, Madrid, and Sao Paulo. Through partnerships with more than 50 companies, students can spend 10 weeks of their second year getting hands-on experience from working professionals at companies in up to four different cities including London, Sydney, New York, Chicago, Boulder, Dallas, Amsterdam, Dubai, Berlin, Sao Paulo, Moscow, Budapest, Beijing, Brussels, Moscow, and Shanghai. Graduates of the school currently work around the world at interactive firms, ad agencies, entertainment companies, ideation companies, and corporations.

For the past four years, the Gunn Report, which ranks agencies globally, has named Miami Ad School one of the most awarded schools in the world, based on the quality of awards received by its students.