What the Closing of Creative Circus Means to Ad Education

When the Creative Circus, the iconic advertising portfolio school in Atlanta, announced on LinkedIn that it was closing its doors after graduating its latest crop of students in 2023, the ad world took notice. Now it has to figure out what it means for the industry. On one hand, it signaled the passing of a storied institution, one that placed many creatives in roles at agencies. On the other, the private school’s high tuition for a two-year program became prohibitive for many and may serve as a bellwether for other institutions who have similar setups. So what happened at Creative Circus? David Haan, the executive director of the school, described the 27-year-old Circus' closure as a result of a "perfect storm" of factors. “There have been general downward trends in enrollment for a while [for all ad schools], and the pandemic didn't help," Haan said, adding that it's a hands-on kind of school, so a virtual environment didn't resonate with students. The Creative Circus, One of Advertising’s Iconic Portfolio Schools, Will Close in 2023 Haan, who has been at the Creative Circus for 13 years, said that the dropping enrollment forced the tough decision to shutter after the class that started in Oct. 2021 graduates and those students are placed into jobs. He said Miami Ad School, a well-known, large portfolio school with a campus in Atlanta, has agreed to take in students who had initially enrolled at Creative Circus. The closing of the school means that Haan and other staff will be out of a job. While he is contemplating the possibility of retirement, he said that his colleagues have options, including placement in other jobs by the recruiters they worked with or by Ancora Education, Creative Circus’ parent company, which operates for-profit schools around the country. Ancora Education, in turn, is owned by private equity firm Marblegate. “Our parent company has been good about finding some jobs for people…one of the things that we're very optimistic about is that everybody will wind up with something good,” said Haan. The changing face of advertising education The Creative Circus leaves a legacy of filling top agencies with its students, many of whom are still shaping and leading the industry. It’s no surprise that even those in the same competitive field are sad for its loss. But while many had good things to say about it, they also acknowledged that there are reasons why the school saw declining enrollment, including the changing needs of modern students and tuition costs. Tuition and time are two major factors in people staying away from portfolio schools like Creative Circus. At $45,012 for the two-year program, the Creative Circus wasn’t cheap. While it did offer aid, the cost for people who had already spent plenty on a four-year education loomed large. And taking an extra two years to learn the skills agencies were looking for could get in the way of getting into the workforce. Those issues have been keeping some qualified people from pursuing a future in advertising, thinking that they must have a portfolio school education to compete but not being able to afford it. But other opportunities are coming to market to help underserved populations get access to a solid advertising education. The One School, a portfolio school started by The One Club for Creativity, is a free option for Black creatives, and it’s one of several that have started to address the need to bring greater diversity into the industry. The One School will soon expand its offerings to all those who want to get into the ad industry with an affordable option, which is scheduled to be opened at a later date. “What we're looking to do is to implement a new school, which would be for everybody and will be affordable and accessible with a very modern curriculum that teaches the skills needed for the modern agency and brand,” Kevin Swanepoel, CEO of The One Club, told Adweek. "We're seeing so many more opportunities for people to get an education and experience in advertising. Whether it is the growth of schools happening directly at agencies, as at GSP and Wieden+Kennedy, the rise of free programs like One School, or the development of extensive internship programs like BLAC (Building Leaders and Creators), our industry is innovating in advertising education," Chris Witherspoon CEO of DNA, chairman of the BLAC Internship and board member of 600 & Rising told Adweek. Meeting the needs of the modern student Modern agencies are looking for broader and digital-first creators who can fill roles that are ever-evolving. For ad schools, that means creating a curriculum around the new digital nature of the industry, which is more than just billboards, TV and print ads, and one that trains them for both agency- and brand-side. “Some of the schools are missing out on making a viable product for the younger generation, digital natives who are coming up and now have all these different options available to them," said Swanepoel, pointing to increasingly popular paths like entrepreneurship, content creation and social startups. Gary Goldsmith, chair of creative direction at the ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, Calif., echoed that the educational model is changing, and that schools need to change with it. To that end, the ArtCenter program is not called "advertising" anymore, instead opting for "creative direction." He said more than half of the grads go to tech companies like Apple, Google, Facebook and Snapchat. As a result, Goldsmith said, "the department had been evolving over the last five years." "The skills we teach are very different than they would have been five, or particularly 10 years ago," he added. Some of the more traditional university programs need to go through a lengthy process if they want to change their curriculum, so they stick with what they’ve had, with professors that are sometimes out of touch with the fast pace of change at agencies. Newer schools like One School and incubator programs implemented by agencies, including those from BBH, Saatchi & Saatchi and Wieden+Kennedy, don’t have those issues and can change their curriculum with the times. “Advertising education has not changed much over the past 20 years. I believe there will be continued pressure on traditional portfolio schools, as there is on agencies and the industry at large. The landscape has changed, and in order to keep up with the changes, agencies and education need to change,” said Swaenpoel. The need to be virtual Tuition aside, virtual learning is vital to the survival of many advertising schools. The pandemic threw a wrench into traditional schooling, and while going virtual was an unwelcome necessity at first, it has become a trend in the way that students are learning now. “Surprisingly, we’re the only major portfolio school that offers a completely virtual full-time program, which we think is the future of this business, both agency-side and on our side,” said Denver Ad School founders Jesse Alkire and Heather Vanisko. The ArtCenter is also serving up classes online and in person, with teachers in its degree program who are now instructing from London and New York. This was ushered into place because of the pandemic. “It opened the door to be more creative and say, ‘hey, we're online, so let's get people from all over the world.’ And that's what we did, and now that we're back in person, that's not going away. An integral part of the program is being able to bring the best in creative instruction in all the different areas from other places,” said Goldsmith. One portfolio school may be closing its doors. But other doors are opening and giving students options for greater learning and greater inclusion into our industry. What Is Threatening the World’s Top Ad Schools?

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What the Closing of the Creative Circus Means to Ad Education

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