UNC repeats as NSAC District 3 winner

For the second year in a row, students from the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media won first place in District 3 of the 2015 American Advertising Federation's National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC). The competition was held April 3, in Raleigh, North Carolina.

For the district competition, the team prepared a 26-page advertising campaign plans book for Pizza Hut and then pitched their campaign in person. The team's campaign was selected over campaigns from nine other schools in Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.

On May 4 and 5, the team will join 16-20 teams from across the country in the semi-final round, competing for one of eight spots in the finals. The finalists that will compete in Las Vegas will be announced on May 6, 2015.

Associate professor Joe Bob Hester advises the UNC NSAC team.

"This is an incredibly talented group of students with tremendous work ethic," Hester said. "I am so very proud of them."

Team members include:

Taylor Baird
Sara Carter
Niland Daly
Sarah Delk
Alexandra Dempsey
Kathleen Doyle
Lauren Edwards
John Geraghty
Anne Lanier Gilbert
Alexandra Grimm
Yasamin Haghshenas
Katie McNulty
Emily Overcarsh
Breeze Riley
Angus Robertson
Elyse Schaefer
Janie Sircey
Dylan Simel
Emily Stallings
Samuel Sykes
Allison Wall

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.

Photo courtesy of @dhmcmahan.