UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A team of Penn State students won the district championship for the second time in three years during the American Advertising Federation’s National Student Advertising Competition, a highly competitive annual event that challenges college students to develop a fully integrated advertising and communications campaign for a national brand.
Penn State’s District 2 presentation was selected as the best from a dozen schools in an area that includes New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C.
The competition required student teams to build a campaign from the ground up by conducting original consumer and market research, developing a strategic platform, creating a comprehensive communications program across multiple channels and presenting a detailed media plan. Teams presented their work in a 20-minute competitive pitch before a panel of industry judges, who then challenged students with a 15-minute question-and-answer session.
With the victory, Penn State’s team, including students from the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications, advances to the national semifinal round, which will be contested virtually on April 30 and May 1. Teams are required to submit a video of their presentation for judging, followed by a live question-and-answer session with the panel.
The top eight winners from the semifinals will advance to the national championship, which will be conducted during AAF’s ADMERICA annual conference, scheduled May 28-31 in Austin, Texas.