Students Take Third at Regional National Student Advertising Competition

Part of ISU's 2020 NSAC team, left to right: Nick Bringhurst, Sophia Bissell, McKenzie Michael, Jason Vesser, Nyele Alvarez, Alex Villafano, Amanda Bennett, Orion Martin and Summer Shelton. 

After a month of Zoom classes, ISU’s National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC) team was ready for its virtual marketing pitch.

The team took third at the District 11 NSAC last month, marking the third time an ISU NSAC team has placed at regionals. The win was celebrated at a virtual awards ceremony on April 24.

“It made all the hours worth it,” said advertising major Nicholas Bringhurst. “Before the ceremony I was already proud of the work we had done, because the team really worked hard and we were proud of the work we put in, but to have it recognized this way just validated that work even more.” 

NSAC challenges students to create a full integrated marketing communication plan for a different national client each year. For the 2020 competition, students created a plan for Adobe.

The team kicked off the planning process this semester by performing market research and delegating tasks to four groups: PR, promotions and events; strategy and research; creative; and media planning and buying. Using findings from their research, students organized media plans, a creative strategy and promotional materials for their pitch.

“It was really cool and definitely a unique experience,” said graphic design major Charlotte Walton. “This was the first time in NSAC history that we did a business-to-business campaign rather than a business-to-consumer, so it presented a really unique challenge.”

After developing its plan, the team prepared its pitch for the regional competition. Some students focused on building the presentation, others on quality assurance, while others practiced their pitch.

The team delivered its 18-minute pitch via Zoom, screen-sharing its presentation. Though the shift to virtual presentations entailed technical difficulties, Bringhurst said, students were able to overcome those challenges thanks to their teamwork and the help of their advisors.

“I am leaving the class with the confidence to face another campaign because of all of the knowledge and experience I gained,” he said. “It was a rewarding experience and really pushed me to work hard and apply everything that I have learned in my class this far in my education.”

Students on the team included Bringhurst, Walton, Nyele Alvarez, Sophia Bissell, Matt Spaletta, Orion Martin, Jason Vesser, Jessica Rodriguez, Mia Wallace, McKenzie Michael, Tristan Beard, Katie Griffith, Lau Akana-Phillips and Valerie Blackburn. The team was led by assistant professor Summer Shelton and assistant lecturer Amanda Bennett, both of the Department of Communication, Media, and Persuasion.

“We could not be more proud of our students. Despite a global pandemic, these students adapted, stepped up and finished the competition stronger than ever,” Shelton said. “They literally did not miss a beat; it was pretty amazing. The success of this group of students and this campaign has me already looking forward to jumping back into planning our efforts for next year and taking the NSAC program to greater heights!”

Members of ISU's 2020 NSAC team, from top left: Charlotte Walton, Jessica Rodriguez, Nick Bringhurst, Nyele Alvarez, Orion Martin, Matthew Spaletta, Katie Griffith, Sophia Bissell, Jason Vesser, Lau Akana-Phillips, McKenzie Michael and advisors Amanda Bennett and Summer Shelton.