Advertising professor and author W. Glenn Griffin spoke to students at the AdFed Conference on Saturday about research strategies and the different ways advertising professionals think of their great ideas.

“Standing on the Shoulders of Giants” was the theme of the American Advertising Federation student conference at the Journalism Building.

Throughout the day, different speakers gave presentations on public relations, account management, video production, social media and innovations in advertising, and at the end of the conference, professionals reviewed the students’ portfolios.

This year, the conference featured more diverse speakers from different branches of advertising, according to co-chair of the event and graphic designer at Xdesign Inc. Tiffanie Pitre.

“This year we got a more diverse group of speakers and brought in elements of PR and social media strategists and asked students what they wanted,” Pitre said.

Advertising senior Haley Shales said this was her third time attending the conference.

“It has definitely helped me talk to and develop a better relationship with professionals,” Shales said.

Griffin, advertising professor at the University of Alabama and author of the book “The Creative Process Illustrated: How Advertising’s Big Ideas are Born” was a headliner of the conference and spoke about his book, the changing industry and “metacognition.”

He explained metacognition is simply “thinking about thinking,” and a driving force of anyone in advertising.

“The conversation culturally about advertising is very bleak. People think we’re professional liars,” Griffin said.

In an attempt to change this conversation, Griffin and his co-author, Deborah Morrison an advertising professor at the University of Oregon, wrote a book asking advertising professionals to investigate their creative processes and illustrate them.

He said this concept does more than just let readers know how advertising professionals think — it forces metacognition into perspective as an imperative part of the creative process.

“You understand how your mind works better than anyone else does. People in advertising must be metacognitively efficient,” Griffin said. “If you are metacognitively aware, you are going to be able to put your mind into full gear when you need to.”

This year’s conference also included a social media panel of local professionals: CEO of College District Jared Loftus, creative director of Socially Awkward John Worrel and social media strategist at Zehnder Communications Ben West.

Pitre stressed the importance of students acknowledging the strong local talent, saying students do not need to move to Madison Avenue to produce good work.

“We want to keep attracting young talent,” Pitre said.

During the panel, Worrel advised students to experiment with social media branding.

“Throw something out there and try to be creative with it and see how it works,” Worrel said.

Advertising senior Johnny Sciortino asked the panel whether to post funny unrelated content or posts with links for products when running social media for a brand.

Loftus said balance is key.

“You need to balance what you are there for, what you like and what sells,” Loftus said.

West encouraged all advertising professionals to research in order to stay relevant.

“Research on social media so people know what you are talking about is important when developing the voice of a brand,” West said.

“This year we got a more diverse group of speakers and brought in elements of PR and social media strategist and asked students what they wanted.”