JOHNSON CITY (Updated May 29, 2020) – East Tennessee State University’s National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC) team headed to the national championship for the second time in three years.
The team won in the semi-finals on May 7 after winning first place in district 7 of the American Advertising Federation (AAF) competition sponsored by Adobe. The final round of competition took place virtually on May 20, with winners to be announced June 8 during ADMERICA Adjusted, the AAF’s national conference, which will be held online. Trophies and cash prizes will be awarded to the top three teams, with additional prizes to be given based on research and presentation.
The NSAC tasks AAF college chapter teams to develop an integrated marketing campaign in response to a real-world marketing challenge facing Adobe. “Students must research the product and its competition, identify potential problem areas and devise a completely integrated campaign for the client. Each student team then ‘pitches’ its campaign to a panel of judges,” according to the AAF website.
The ETSU team is made up of 25 students from the departments of Media and Communication, Art and Design, and Digital Media. Participating students are: Haley McBrayer and Breanna Waldecker, Bristol; Emilee Storie, Elizabethton; Maggie Shelton, Greeneville; Rachel Howard, Jacksboro; Kelsey Bailey, Bailey DeVore, David Hamilton, Jake Hensley, Britney Rochette, Matthew Sifford and Zachary Taylor, Johnson City; Hank Collie, Jonesborough; Amanda Alom and Sam Douthat, Kingsport; Josh Mode, Knoxville; Karina Jurayeva, Maryville; Kelsey Hunley, Mount Carmel; Sam DeHart, Seymour; Laura Rogers, Unicoi; Isaiah Harwood, Woodbury; Lyric Jenkins, Marietta, Georgia; Kirsten Litz, Owego, New York; Jacob Oswald, Simpsonville, South Carolina; and Branson Street, Bristol, Virginia.
The AAF acts as the “Unifying Voice for Advertising,” with nearly 100 corporate members made up of the nation’s leading advertisers, agencies and media companies; a national network of nearly 200 local clubs representing 40,000 advertising professionals; and more than 200 college chapters with 5,000 student members.