With the wide array of clubs and organizations that the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill offers, deciding which ones to join can be an overwhelming task. If you are passionate about advancing your journalism, advertising, and marketing skills, these are clubs and organizations to keep an eye out for.

With the wide array of clubs and organizations that the University of North Carolina at

Chapel Hill offers, deciding which ones to join can be an overwhelming task. If you are passionate about advancing your journalism, advertising and marketing skills, these are clubs and organizations to keep an eye out for.

1893 Brand Studio

The 1893 Brand Studio is a team of students who gain real, professional experience by providing innovative marketing solutions to a diverse array of clients. As the marketing arm of the Daily Tar Heel, 1893 Brand Studio excels in the areas of copyright, graphic design, campaigns, social media marketing, web development, photo and video.

“The brand studio has allowed me to become a well rounded marketer,” Maggie Wong, managing director, said. “I have been able to learn about many different facets of marketing from copywriting to client relations. It’s also been a pleasure getting to work with talented students on diverse projects across industries!”

Coulture Magazine

Since 2015, students behind Coulture Magazine have highlighted fashion and lifestyle topics through creativity and storytelling. In the fall of 2022, the club published its 14th issue titled “The Reset Issue.”

Coulture Magazine encourages diversity in all aspects with goals of inspiring readers to challenge beauty standards. By discouraging conformity to unrealistic societal beauty standards, the magazine instead emphasizes the beauty of real, authentic features that make individuals unique.

Coulture Magazine specializes in areas of arts, beauty, copyediting, journalism, graphic design, outreach, social media, multimedia, style and more.

“Being a part of Coulture has allowed me to learn new things about myself and the Carolina community through the lens of fashion,” Clay Morris, editor in chief, said.  “By working with such a great team of creative individuals, I’ve been able to see how fashion impacts people from a myriad of perspectives.”

UNC Blue Sky Innovations

Through advanced technology, UNC Blue Sky Innovations creates and teaches visionary marketing strategies, such as immersive storytelling, to enhance lives

The organization is funded by the Hussman School of Journalism and Media and the Kenan-Flagler Business School. The team consists of both full time employees and student innovation fellows.

The team gains real-world experience and partners with professionals to enhance problem solving skills. Students explore artificial intelligence strategies in a collaborative environment to access the most advanced and productive solutions.

Some of the lab’s projects include RoboJ and health greeter kiosks. RoboJ is a rover that smoothly captures a 360-degree video, benefiting journalists. The health greeter kiosks use artificial intelligence to detect if an individual is wearing a mask or if they are at an adequate distance away from others.

“We solve complex problems leveraging human-centered design and emerging technologies like Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and AI for organizations,” Steven King, chief innovation officer, said. “But what makes our lab truly unique is the collaborative, interdisciplinary teams that students work on with professional staff, faculty and corporate clients.”

UNC Advertising Club

The Advertising Club at UNC-Chapel Hill is a chapter affiliated with the American Advertising Federation that encourages students to excel in their advertising passions. The club is open to all students and provides its members opportunities to advance their experience. These opportunities include, but are not limited to, skill workshops, guest speakers and networking trips. 

“Something the Ad Club has taught me thus far is how eager industry professionals and UNC alums are to support and connect with students. Networking events are only the start of building valuable connections, and our speakers, ranging from recent grads to agency presidents, have gone beyond with their enthusiasm to share their experiences and build lasting relationships with both the Ad Club members and me,” Emily Buchner, Advertising Club president, explained.

UNC-Chapel Hill is full of opportunities for students to refine their creative skills. When deciding which organization is the best fit for you, it is essential to consider where your skillset is the strongest and in what aspect you want to gain the most experience. Students should put time and energy into organizations that they can not only benefit from but also help excel. Joining organizations and clubs are some of the best ways to get involved, gain experience, grow skills and build connections.