UNL advertising students win NSAC district competition 2nd year in row

Advertising students from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Journalism and Mass Communications took home first place in the District 9 American Advertising Federation's National Student Advertising Competition April 30 in St. Louis. This is the second year that UNL will compete for the national title in the nation's leading student advertising competition.

Nebraska will represent District 9 at the national finals in Orlando, Fla., June 10-12, during the annual American Advertising Federation conference. Nationwide more than 150 colleges and universities took on the NSAC challenge in district competitions at 15 locations over the past three weeks. The ninth district represents advertising clubs and American Advertising Federations in Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri and Kansas.

"I had the chance to watch the team's dress rehearsal and I was really impressed with the research, thought and creativity that had gone into their campaign as well as the professionalism of their presentation," said Charlyne Berens, interim dean of the college. "We're all so proud of these students for working hard, learning a lot and making our college look so good."

Two of the presentation team members included account planner Kate Stevenson and co-creative director Kyle Stebbins, both of Lincoln.

"From inception to execution, this project taught us all more than we could have ever expected," said Stebbins. "Countless hours in the lab taught us about teamwork, and responsibilities." Stevenson, who credited her fellow team members, said, "The entire semester has been the real experience. So many of my teammates made sacrifices to make our finished product what it is."

Phil Willet, an assistant professor of advertising, said, "In the five years I've been associated with NSAC it was one of the best presentations and plans books I have seen at either the district or national level. Our students and faculty should be very proud." Willet served as the adviser and instructor for this year's team.

Rich Bailey, an adjunct professor in the College of Journalism and Mass Communications, helped the NSAC team with the presentation component.

"Our success regionally in the last two years coming in first demonstrate that our kids can certainly compete effectively with students from anywhere in the country," Bailey said. "The value of the NSAC project is that it as close as they will ever come to a real-world experience within the classroom because there are winners and losers. Even those who don't win gain tremendous value from the experience by seeing what goes on in a competitive setting."

Amy Struthers, head of the advertising sequence, said "We have grown NSAC from six students our first year (2004-05) to a powerhouse team of 25 of our most passionate students. Across the board, students who participate report this is the best part of their college experience, and consistently, the NSAC students have gone on to great jobs in our industry."

This is the sixth consecutive year that UNL has entered what is considered the premier college advertising competition. It provides more than 3,000 college students with real-world experience by requiring a strategic advertising/marketing/media campaign for a corporate sponsor. This year's sponsor is State Farm, a group of insurance and financial services companies.

This win places Nebraska among an elite group of 15 district winners. Nebraska will be competing with winning teams from Boston University, Syracuse University, George Washington University, University of Virginia, Florida State University, Marshall University, Butler University, Purdue University-Calumet, Savannah College of Art and Design, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Texas State University-San Marcos, University of Houston, University of Oregon, Art Center of Design-Tucson, Chaminade University of Honolulu, University of Nevada-Reno and Chapman University.

The 2010 NSAC team included 25 UNL advertising majors. Following is a list of the team members by hometown and the role they played:

NEBRASKA

Beatrice: Aaron Jarosh, co-creative director.

Hastings: Derek Dillon, account planner.

La Vista: Sara Leimbach, interactive; Tyler Thomas, account supervisor.

Lincoln: Maggie Geist, copywriter; Jennifer Larson, public relations; Shea Samani, media; Daniel Scheyer, art director/copywriter; Kyle Stebbins; co-creative director; Kate Stevenson, account planner; Brett Tesmer, copywriter.

Omaha: Andrew Ciaccio, copywriter; Doug Flegle, copywriter; Drew Guiney, copywriter; Nicholas Huff, copywriter; Mike Sammons, associate creative director; Will Sharpe, copywriter; Erin Sorensen, interactive; Katie Sorensen, media.

Plainview: Kayla Mosel, account planner.

Waterloo: Jessica Williams, account planner.

ELSEWHERE

Elmo, Minn.: Michael Taylor, copywriter.

Fargo, N.D.: Matthew Bergh, media.

Taos, N.M.: Jamie Ksieski, copywriter.

Woodbury, Minn.: Chelsea Thompson, account coordinator.

WRITER: Marilyn Hahn