The National Student Advertising Competition team
The National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC) team in the University of Kentucky College of Communication and Information’s Department of Integrated Strategic Communication is headed back to the national stage for the second consecutive year.
The NSAC team recently won first place in the district five competition for the 11th time. District five encompasses American Advertising Federation college chapters in Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia, and this year’s district competition took place in Toledo, Ohio, on April 23 with a total of 107 teams competing in 15 national American Advertising Federation districts.
After winning the district level, the team advanced to the semi-final round, held virtually May 5-6, where they competed against 19 other district winners from across the nation.
The top eight teams in the semi-final competition moved on to the national competition, which will be held June 2-5 in Nashville, Tennessee.
The NSAC provides college students from across the nation with the opportunity to create a comprehensive integrated strategic campaign for a corporate client, offering real-world experience in the classroom.
This year’s national client is Meta Quest 2, a virtual reality headset developed by Meta (formerly Facebook) Reality Labs.
Each year, the client provides a brief that reflects a real-world marketing challenge. Student teams must conduct research and develop a multi-modal campaign that addresses the client’s ask. Student teams create a plans book and then pitch their solutions to a panel of judges, from the district to the national level.
The team consists of 14 students: Camille Wright, Tori Smith, Grace Taylor, Kamryn Bogott, Emme Schumacher, Olivia Ford, Dani Jaffe, Katherine Yochum, Kate Maddox, Addison Cave, Makiyah Owens, Cat Kidman, Lauren McDowell and Julia Kimbrell.
“Winning District 5 for the NSAC was truly one of the most memorable moments I’ve ever had,” Cat Kidman, senior integrated strategic communications and digital media double major, said. “I can’t say enough how thankful I am for my incredible team and advisor; we all constantly motivated and inspired one another to develop this beautiful campaign, and I am so excited to see where we head from here!”
The team was led by faculty advisor Adriane Grumbein, associate ISC professor.
“It has been an absolute honor to work with this incredible team of women,” Grumbein said. “This semester, they have shown up again and again, pouring their heart and soul into creating awe-inspiring work. I have also seen each one of them grow both personally and professionally. But, beyond that, I have seen them grow as a team, learning to trust their teammates and work together to create something bigger than they thought possible.”