Advertising students wrap up year with strong finish in national competition

Students from the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media finished sixth in the final round of the 2014 American Advertising Federation's National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC) held May 28-30 during the AAF's annual national conference in Boca Raton, Florida.

The UNC team pitched in front of five representatives from Mary Kay Inc.'s marketing team, the client for this year’s competition.

UNC earned a spot in the finals after a round of semi-final judging April 25.

The team advanced to the semi-finals after winning first place in District 3 competition held April 4, in Cary, North Carolina. The team's 26-page advertising campaign and presentation was selected over campaigns from other schools in Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. The win marked UNC’s first district win since 2002. Across all districts, nearly 130 teams submitted entries to the competition.

Associate professor Joe Bob Hester advises the UNC NSAC team.

"This is an incredibly talented group of students," Hester said. "To finish sixth in the nation in is an outstanding achievement."

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.