The Communicator

Angel Cisneros, a senior studying advertising, has had a remarkable journey that blends resilience, creativity, and a passion for communication.

Hailing from Dallas, Texas, Angel made the bold decision to move to Boston in 2020, amid the challenges of the global pandemic. Throughout his college years, Angel has not only navigated the complexities of adapting to a new city during unprecedented times but has also immersed himself in the vibrant world of advertising.

From his early years at Boston University, Angel set his sights on joining AdLab, drawn by the prospect of working with real clients and gaining hands-on experience. This interview delves into his experiences, internships, and the path that led him to winning an Adlabbie at COM’s AdLab, the country’s largest student-run agency.

Q: What’s your academic and professional background in the field of advertising?

A: I came into BU as a journalism major, but switched to advertising after taking COM 101 and learning more about the ad world. I joined some organizations on campus my sophomore year to gain a little more experience, such as the Guerrilla Marketing Society and Charcoal Magazine. My second semester of junior year, I participated in BU’s LA study abroad program, and interned at Concept Arts, an entertainment-based agency that works on movies and TV shows. This past summer, I interned at GroupeConnect, an agency under Publicis Groupe that works for Bank of America.

Concepts Arts Internship

Q: What motivated you to pursue an internship at Concepts Arts during your time abroad in Los Angeles?

A: I decided to intern at Concept Arts to get my foot in the door of entertainment marketing. Although I had initially hoped to intern at a record label or an agency that specializes in music promotion, I chose to work at Concept because their movie posters and social campaigns were creative and eye-catching. They also have an impressive list of past clients, working on movies such as “The Little Mermaid,” “John Wick,” and “The Hunger Games.”

Q: How did the experience at Concepts Arts contribute to your understanding of the advertising industry?

A: Because the pace of work at Concept was so fast, I got to work on so many projects and see the agency’s entire campaign creation process from beginning to end. My second week at Concept, I started contributing to the “Scream 6,” “The Little Mermaid,” and “John Wick 4” campaigns, all at different stages in development.

My internship experience at Concept was very personalized. After telling my manager I was interested in learning more about advertising strategy, I was given responsibilities such as tracking social listening analytics, drafting research reports on upcoming projects, and developing content for social media platforms.

GroupeConnect + Bank of America Internship

Q: Tell us about your summer internship with GroupeConnect + Bank of America. What were your key responsibilities?

A: During my time at GroupeConnect last summer, I was an associate copywriter intern. The intern team was tasked with ideating and developing Bank of America’s upcoming partnership with the Boston Athletic Association, as well as redesigning the Boston Athletic Association’s website and mobile app.

Although I was a copywriter, the interns worked together throughout the entire summer and contributed to all aspects of the project as a team. I primarily wrote website, digital, print, and OOH copy for the BofA x BAA partnership, but I also helped with the creative brief, media plan, and web design.

Q: How did this internship differ from your experience at Concepts Arts, and what valuable insights did you gain?

A: Because Concept Arts works in the entertainment industry and is based in LA, the work environment was much more casual. It was also a smaller company, so there was more flexibility in my responsibilities and I was able to connect with other people more easily.

One valuable insight GroupeConnect taught me is my dislike towards work environments that feel too corporate.

Adlab

Q: What inspired you to join the student-run advertising agency, Adlab, during the fall semester?

A: I’d wanted to join AdLab since sophomore year, mainly because I knew that they work with real clients, offering an invaluable opportunity to bridge the gap between classroom learning and hands-on, real-world experience.

Q: As an Art Director on the SiriusXM team, what challenges and successes did you encounter during your time with Adlab?

A: There were a lot of tight deadlines and short turnaround times when I was in AdLab. Our work went through a lot of rounds of revision, so sometimes it was difficult when we got conflicting feedback or no feedback at all until the night before the final version was due. However, we were still able to successfully get our deliverables in and complete our final project as a team.

Q: Congratulations on winning the Adlabbie! Can you share the project or campaign that earned you this recognition?

A: My team won the Best of Show – Creative Campaign award for our SiriusXM “Get Connected. Be Transported” campaign.

Q: How did your previous internships and experiences contribute to your success in winning the Adlabbie?

A: I think my past internships have taught me how to be a more strategic and creative thinker. When our initial SiriusXM campaign had an art direction that didn’t align with the company’s corporate branding, we struggled to come up with a new design that would still be interesting and relevant while also satisfying our client. However, because I had run into similar problems at both Concept and GroupeConnect, I felt more prepared when reworking our ads.

Q: What advice would you give to other students aspiring to pursue a career in advertising, based on your journey and experiences?

A: Never stop learning. I think in order to be successful in advertising you need to keep yourself inspired with fresh ideas and new perspectives, so you need to constantly be absorbing your environment and find new things to get motivated by.

Q: Now that you have gained diverse experiences, do you have specific goals or aspirations for your future career in advertising?

A: I hope to work at a record label sometime in the future, either as an art director or marketing coordinator. I’d even like to start my own label someday.