Laue joins SDSU as advertising program grows

As enrollment in South Dakota State University's advertising program continues to grow, the School of Communication and Journalism is expanding its faculty with an experienced industry leader who has spent nearly 20 years helping brands solve complex marketing challenges.

Kristy Laue, an SDSU alumna and former chief creative officer at Lawrence & Schiller, has joined the university as associate professor of practice in advertising.

"We have experienced substantial enrollment growth within our advertising major and minor in recent years," said Josh Westwick, director of the School of Communication and Journalism. "This momentum reflects both the strength of our curriculum and the success of our graduates, who are making impactful contributions across the advertising industry."

Westwick said Laue's extensive industry experience will help prepare students for careers in a rapidly evolving advertising profession while strengthening the program's connection to the industry.

"Our professors of practice bring a high level of industry experience into the classroom, providing our students with the opportunity to connect with industry leaders and build professional networks that support their career development," Westwick said.

A North Dakota native, Laue came to SDSU intending to only study news editorial before a mentor, SDSU professor emerita Roxanne Lucchesi, helped her discover advertising. After graduating in 2006 with degrees in advertising and journalism, internships and early career opportunities led her to Sioux Falls, where she built a career spanning nearly two decades in the advertising industry.

She held positions at Daktronics, SDN Communications — where she worked with SDSU’s Vice President for External Affairs Vernon Brown — and Sanford Health, but ultimately spent most of her career at Lawrence & Schiller, a Sioux Falls-based marketing, advertising and branding agency.

Laue began at Lawrence & Schiller as a copywriter and advanced through leadership roles as creative director, vice president of creative and ultimately chief creative officer.

"I went from specializing in writing and creative, making the work, to then coaching the people who make the work," Laue said. "It was a great transition for me."

As her responsibilities shifted from producing creative work to mentoring teams and developing leaders, teaching became a natural next step.

"To end up now in a teaching role makes a lot of sense," Laue said. "I'm continuing those coaching and teaching skills that I'd already been using professionally, but now with students."

Laue first joined SDSU as an adjunct instructor in 2024, teaching the advertising capstone course with associate professor of practice Heather Solberg while continuing her work at Lawrence & Schiller.

The experience confirmed her desire to move into higher education full time.

"I really liked being able to mentor and give back to students in the way my professors poured into me when I was learning at SDSU," Laue said. "It kind of felt like the right time."

In the classroom, Laue hopes to use her professional practice by sharing real client experiences and emphasizing the strategic thinking behind successful advertising campaigns.

"I've heard over and over again from students that they want real stories and real-world experiences," Laue said. "Here's the client. Here's the problem. Here's what we did. Here are the roadblocks we ran into."

Drawing on work with clients such as the South Dakota Office of Highway Safety, Taco John’s, South Dakota Department of Social Services, Montgomery's and Travel South Dakota, Laue plans to help students understand not only how to develop creative ideas, but also how to build strategies that solve business problems.

She believes that while technology will continue to change how advertising is created, the advertising program's emphasis on strategy and problem solving will remain central to preparing graduates for the profession.

"You can use artificial intelligence as a tool to help you be more effective, but it's never going to replace that strategic thinking," Laue said. "It's never going to replace those human truths that make advertising effective."

Returning to campus, Laue sees the opportunity as a chance to give back to the university that prepared her personally and professionally.

"It feels like a full-circle moment," she said. "I've had a really successful career because of the foundations I built at SDSU, and now I get to help build those same foundations for future students."