JWU’s ADTEAM Wins the 2017 National Student Advertising Competition
Jun 26, 2017 4:41 PM
JWU Providence’s ADTEAM has won the 2017 American Advertising Federation (AAF) National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC), held in New Orleans. Their historic first-place win surpasses their previous best — a second-place finish at Nationals in 2015.
JWU’s 31-member team, made up of students in the university’s advertising and marketing communications, marketing, graphic design and media communication studies programs, placed first in the United States over 7 other finalists:
Our strengths this year — our research and insights — were tightly tied to our creative recommendations, and we have been rewarded for them. I am proud of this group for all that they have accomplished.Oscar Chilabato, JWU College of Business associate professor and AD TEAM advisor
All teams gave presentations before a judging panel that included executives from Tai Pei, this year’s NSAC corporate client. The first-place finish also came with a $3,500 grand prize.
All college teams that competed created an advertising campaign for this year’s corporate client, Tai Pei, which offers over 10 varieties of single-serve, takeout-style entrées, an assortment of Asian appetizers and a full line of family-sized products. The campaigns included each element of advertising: television, radio, social media, and print.
This year’s ADTEAM dove head first into their research and developed a product and consumer-centric advertising campaign that impressed Tai Pei executives and judges from across the country,” said Oscar Chilabato, JWU College of Business associate professor and team advisor.
Chilabato began encouraging his students to try out for student advertising competitions his first year at JWU, thinking they sounded like “an interesting class project.”
He quickly discovered they were much more: “The NSAC gives our students practical, real-world experience as they learn how to use qualitative and quantitative research methods needed to create and implement effective advertising campaigns. Our strengths this year — our research and insights — were tightly tied to our creative recommendations, and we have been rewarded for them. I am proud of this group for all that they have accomplished.”
Chilabato’s co-coach, Associate Professor Christine Ure, acknowledges that the NSACs are also a magnet for top industry recruiters looking for powerhouse talent: “We’ve opened up relationships with some great agencies who recruit from JWU.”
The trip to the national round of this year’s NSAC marked the sixth time in 7 years JWU’s ADTEAM competed in the final round of the competition.
To qualify for nationals, the ADTEAM competed in a district round, beating out schools such as Boston University, Endicott, Emerson and others. The team then moved on to the 18-team semifinal round, where they advanced in favor of institutions including Syracuse, Louisiana State University, Purdue and others.
Since they started competing in the NSACs, JWU’s ADTEAM has won Districts 8 times — an impressive record. The team has also won twice for Best Plans Book (2012 and 2013). In addition, the team has brought home multiple Hatch Awards in the student division.
The National Student Advertising Competition is AAF’s premier annual college advertising competition which provides more than 2,000 college students the real-world experience of creating a strategic advertising, marketing and media campaign for a corporate client.