All Guest Speakers Are Not Created Equal: Diverse Students Require Diverse Speakers

The importance of staying relevant when teaching advertising courses is hardly a new concept, nor is the use of inviting guest speakers to achieve this goal. However, empirically assessing advertising students’ perceptions of guest speakers is an underexplored area. To address this gap and consider the perspectives of diverse student populations, this article analyzes data collected from an introductory advertising course at a large southern Hispanic-serving university (N = 263). Results indicate students find value in having guest speakers, but not all speakers are created equal, and faculty need to strategically select who they invite and guide the presentation styles. Students prefer knowledgeable and passionate industry professionals as well as alumni who can share personal and industry examples. Gender and racial differences indicate women and Hispanic students have greater interest in learning from guest speakers. Additionally, first-generation (FG) college students demonstrated greater investment in guest speakers than non-FG college students.