UNC team will travel to Florida for NSAC advertising competition finals
Students from the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media will compete in the final round of the 2014 American Advertising Federation's National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC) May 28-30 during the AAF's annual national conference in Boca Raton, Florida.
The UNC team won first place in District 3 competition held April 4, in Cary, North Carolina, and earned a spot in the finals after a round of semi-final judging April 25. Along with seven other finalists, UNC will pitch in front of representatives from Mary Kay's marketing team and agency of record for the AAF conference.
For the district competition, the team prepared a 26-page advertising campaign plans book for Mary Kay Inc. and then pitched their campaign in person. The team's campaign was selected over campaigns from other schools in Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. The win marks UNC’s first district win since 2002.
Associate professor Joe Bob Hester advises the UNC NSAC team.
"I am so proud of these students," Hester said. "Their long hours, late nights, and weekends of work really paid off with a win against some very tough competition."
Team members include:
Taylor Baird
Maddy Baldwin
Molly Ball
Justine Berger
Jimmy Branley
Karly Brooks
Alex Brusko
Megan Canjar
Scott Dobbin
Emily Halstenberg
Russ Holler
Bekah Meyers
Renee Montpetit
Elyse Schaefer
Janie Sircey
Ashley Templeton
Jonathan Unger
Laura Vroom
Sophie Wolf
About NSAC
Each year, a corporate sponsor provides a case study outlining the history of its product and current advertising situation. The case study reflects a real world situation to challenge students' critical thinking abilities and creativity. Students must research the product and its competition, identify potential problems and develop an integrated communications campaign for the client. Each team then pitches its campaign to a panel of judges.
Pictured: UNC NSAC team members and adviser Joe Bob Hester at the District 3 awards ceremony.