‘Everyone’s a marketer,’ says Elliott School alumna

Ti’Juana Hardwell ’10 believes everyone is a marketer. Or, at least, everyone can be.

Since graduating from the Elliott School of Communication with her bachelor’s degree, the alumna has helped early-stage entrepreneurs and small businesses develop their brands, attract clientele and grow. It’s a mission that’s close to her heart as an entrepreneur herself.

“I started my first business, Mamarazzi Entertainment Magazine, less than a year after receiving my diploma,” Hardwell says. “I was a broke college grad, and I remember how valuable it was having the skills to market and get the word out about my brand while on a tight budget.”

But, she’ll tell you, marketing isn’t just used for growing one’s own business; in fact, honing a brand identity, raising awareness and connecting with the right audience are the same principles behind effective community advocacy.

“I do this professionally, but I believe we all have a responsibility to champion the organizations and businesses that we care about,” she says. “Sharing information and connecting others to these organizations: These are simple actions that can make a big difference in sustaining the amazing resources that we have here in the city.”

It was during her time at Wichita State that she found her spark for entrepreneurship, one that would be kindled by her professors in the Elliott School of Communication, Dan Close and Les Anderson. “I didn’t think it would be so shortly after graduation that I’d go for it,” she says, “but they really did give me that empowerment to start out as an independent businessowner.”

She even coined her business’ name – Mamarazzi Communications – while a student. Close had posed two major writing assignments to her class: to interview someone dying and to interview someone living a double life. Although many of her classmates struggled to write the pieces, Hardwell proudly reported back to her professor with the two completed stories in hand. “He joked that I was like the paparazzi, finding those stories’ subjects and getting interviews with them,” she says. “But I, for women’s empowerment, had to correct him by saying, ‘No, I’m the mama-razzi.’”

She adds, with a smile, “It just stuck.”

Hardwell has expanded her services, and influence, considerably since her early days as an entrepreneur. In 2020, she launched her consulting service, Mamarazzi Communications, LLC, which now serves clients around the world. Even still, she hasn’t lost appreciation for her roots at Wichita State.

“Sometimes during college, you can feel like you’re just going through the motions,” she says. “But so much of what you’re learning serves to build you, your skills and your confidence. That’s made all the difference for me.”

It’s made all the difference for her clients and her community, too.

Hardwell is returning to campus to share her insights as a professional marketer for the WSU Foundation and Alumni Engagement’s fourth and final installment in the 2025 Elevate Speaker Series. Join us for her keynote presentation, “Everyone’s a Marketer,” at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 13, at Social Tap in Braeburn Square.