UNC Hussman students earn third place nationally in prestigious advertising competition

A team of strategic communication students from the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media placed third nationally in the 2025 National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC), hosted by the American Advertising Federation during its annual conference June 5–8 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

NSAC is the premier college advertising competition in the U.S., offering more than 2,000 students the opportunity to develop and pitch a fully integrated marketing campaign for a real-world client.

The third-place finish comes with a $2,000 award and national recognition for the innovative campaign the student team developed for AT&T.

Each year, a corporate sponsor provides a case study outlining a current marketing challenge. Students conduct research, develop strategy, create media and produce creative executions. The competition begins at the district level, with winners advancing to semifinals and ultimately to the national finals. Of the 93 teams competing this year, only eight teams nationwide qualified for the final round.

“This national honor is a point of pride for our entire school community,” said Raul Reis, dean of UNC Hussman. “It is not only a reflection of our students’ talent and drive — but also of the mentorship by dedicated faculty members, the support from a committed staff, and the experiential learning opportunities that are a hallmark of a UNC Hussman education.”

Two UNC Hussman students — Avery Conder ’25 and Ericsson Moncree ’26 — were among four participants nationwide to receive a special “Executive Team Ready” award from Valerie Vargas, AT&T’s senior vice president of advertising and retail marketing. The award — which comes with a $500 prize — recognizes standout presenters whom Vargas said she “would not hesitate to put in a meeting before her executives.”

In addition to Conder and Moncree, the 16-member team included Evan Black ’25, Lexi Dixon ’25, Brynn Dodge ’25, Liv Goodson ’25, Le Ha ’26, Emma House ’26, Riya Jayanthi ’25, Emma Kate Lauf ’25, Jess Lee ’25, Shirley Meunier ’25, Connelly Miller ’25, Allison Rikard ’26, Lillie Sherman ’25 and Sonia Zhu ’25.

The client and other professionals judge the deliverables in the form of a 12-page plans book, followed by a live 20-minute presentation. In addition to Vargas, the competition judges this year included Matt Miller, CEO/CCO West BBDO and CCO of Omnicom for AT&T and Lianne Sinclair, associate vice president for corporate and brand advertising at AT&T.

Associate Professor Joe Bob Hester led the student team through months of preparation for the competition. “This team’s performance is a testament to their talent, dedication and the strength of our strategic communication program,” Hester said. “They represented UNC Hussman with creativity and professionalism at every stage.”

The school selects NSAC team members through a competitive application process early each fall semester. The team meets several times before winter break, primarily to conduct research. They then meet formally as a class in the spring semester to develop their campaign and deliverables.

The competitive tradition will continue next year, with the National Football League serving as the 2026 NSAC client. Applications for the UNC Hussman team will be accepted in mid-September 2025.