Lee’s NSAC team with their award. From left, Zack Skinner, Cassidy Kelley, Evelyn Mostrom, Kaley Barenkamp, Colleen Conneran, Taylor Watt, Axel Arzola, Dr. Megan Moe and Nathaniel Moe.
A team of advertising students from Lee University earned the award of Best Tagline as well as the overall third place award at the regional level of the National Student Advertising Competition for their campaign "Snapple: Filled with Curiosity." The competition was held at the American Advertising Federation District 7 Conference in the Carnegie Hotel in Johnson City, Tn.
Judging for NSAC is conducted by professionals in the advertising, marketing and communications industry. Entries are judged on creative messaging, media plan, strategy and integration, research, measurement and evaluation, and overall quality.
“This team enthusiastically engaged in creative strategy sessions, carefully considering the implications of possible ideas,” said Dr. Megan Moe, faculty sponsor for the advertising team. “They decided on a theme and tagline that impressed the judges who called their campaign 'mature' and honored them with the award of ‘Best Tagline,’ which is awarded infrequently.”
According to Dr. Moe, this year’s team scored higher than any team since Lee started competing in the NSAC in 2007.
"On a 500-point scale, Lee scored just 1.5 points less than the University of Alabama, which is close enough to inspire us to push even harder next year," said Dr. Moe.
Lee students on the team include Axel Arzola, Kaley Barenkamp, Colleen Conneran, Cassidy Kelley, Nathaniel Moe, Evelyn Mostrom, Zack Skinner, Emily Stephens and Taylor Watt.
According to Ms. Conneran, the team’s campaign was based on the tagline “Snapple: Filled With Curiosity.” They planned a year-long campaign that would build brand loyalty and recognition across the United States by utilizing multiple forms of social media.
“This competition not only connected me to professionals in my future career field, but also helped me realize just how passionate I am about advertising,” said Ms. Conneran. “It helped me learn my strengths and weaknesses as well as grow close to my teammates. You go in praying for the best, and when it actually happens, it's the greatest feeling in the world.”
Each year, a corporate sponsor provides an assignment or case study reflecting a real-world marketing challenge, which is provided to teams of advertising college students competing in the NSAC. The teams research the product and its competition and design a full campaign for the client which is then pitched to a panel of judges at the regional level. The winner from each regional level advances to the semi-finals, and the final eight semi-finalists advance to the national competition, held during the American Advertising Federation’s national conference.
Established in 1905, the AAF protects and promotes the well-being of advertising. It represents nearly 40,000 advertising professionals across the United States, with more than 5,000 college chapter members and approximately 100 corporate members. The AAF annually hosts the Advertising Hall of Fame, the American Advertising Awards, the NSAC, the Mosaic Center on Multiculturalism, and summer Ad Camps for high school students.
Lee’s NSAC team with their award. From left, Zack Skinner, Cassidy Kelley, Evelyn Mostrom, Kaley Barenkamp, Colleen Conneran, Taylor Watt, Axel Arzola, Dr. Megan Moe and Nathaniel Moe.