The National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC) team from SMU competed in the American Advertising Federation (AAF) District 10 regional competition in Austin, Texas on April 17. They placed fourth overall and took home the Best Promotional Strategy trophy in what turned out to be a pressure filled, highly competitive event. The SMU NASC team, taught by Brice Campbell, Executive-in-Residence, and Willie Baronet, Visiting Executive-in-Residence, has been hard at work since the beginning of the Spring 2014 semester when they began doing preliminary research and strategy development for Mary Kay, this year’s national client. Using the tagline #RETHINKPINK, the team created a cohesive and memorable campaign designed to change the perception of Mary Kay among young women 18-25 years old. Students focused their efforts in Account Management, Account Planning, Traditional and Social Media, Research, Promotions, Public, and Creative (including casting and photographing the women featured in the ads), producing a comprehensive campaign executed solely by them.
Willie Baronet reflected on the experience, stating, “as a first time faculty in this competition I was overwhelmed by the amount of work required of the students. And impressed by the opportunities they had to present in front of industry leaders, as well as members of the Mary Kay marketing team.” All members of the 2014 SMU NSAC team are pursuing a BA in Advertising from the Temerlin Advertising Institute (TAI). Advertising majors are required to complete ADV 4399 Advertising Campaigns as part of their curriculum. This class combines major advertising theories with practice, allowing students to develop and present an advertising campaign to a real client based on current advertising challenges that the client is facing. Students that take Advertising Campaigns during the Spring semester have the opportunity to participate in the National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC). Recent NSAC clients include Glidden Paint (2013) and JCPenney (2012).
Please join the Temerlin Advertising Institute (TAI) in congratulating this year’s SMU NSAC team on their outstanding work and accomplishments!
Members of the 2014 SMU NSAC team are: (Students) Amelia Ambrose, Katie Bernet, Anne-Marie Clegg, Rachel Delesk, Andrew Fennessy, Kelly Gilliland, Elizabeth Glander, Lauren Goddard, John Ross Gramentine, Ashley Gross, Emily Jedlicka, Hillary Johnson, Jaimmy Koroma, Bernabe Maldonado, Alexandra Nowlin, Margot O’Daniel, Morgan O’Hare, Mary Olson, Ari Passy, Morgan Saxer, Dustin Weil, (and Faculty) Brice Campbell, Executive-in-Residence, and Willie Baronet, Visiting Executive-in-Residence.
