JAMM’s Ad Team Places Second in District Competition
JAMM’s ad team places second in district competition
The University of Idaho Advertising Team placed second in the American Advertising Federation’s District XI Student Advertising Competition April 21, 2017 in Portland.
“The students deserve all the credit for our success — they never wavered throughout the entire process,” said UI team advisor Justin Barnes, assistant professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Media (JAMM). “This is a talented group that will continue to do exceptional work on the professional stage.”
National advertising and marketing professionals judged the competition. The client for year’s competition was Tai Pei frozen food, and the case study focused on increasing customer awareness among millennials. Eight teams from Idaho, Washington, Oregon and Montana participated.
The competition required student teams to develop a 27-page marketing campaign and a 20-minute presentation. The UI’s 17-member team has been working since September on the campaign, each student assuming a role modeled on positions in an advertising agency.
Karter Krasselt, Sydney Giacomazzi and Annie Exline were the team’s account executives. Other team members are Nikkaila Bain, Julianne Bledsoe, Jessica Bovee, Emily Bruneel, Justin Hoffman, Sierra Lile, Allison Mattson, Kevin Neighbors, Taylor Rhoades, Kenzie Reiber, Krista Stanley, Claire Whitley, Aubree VanDercar and Nikole Williams.
“I am not surprised that the Idaho team did so well,” said Brett Craig, executive creative director of Deutsch, LA, who saw their presentation. “Their strategy was strong, their creative approach was fresh and they delivered it all in a crisp presentation.” Craig, a UI advertising graduate, was recognized by AdWeek in 2014 as one of the 50 most influential buyers, sellers and marketers.
For this year’s competition, the UI team chose “A Fresh Take on Takeout” as its theme. The campaign focused on pseudoscientist, Siegfried Rice, who compared Tai Pei frozen food to several products outside of the frozen food market. The ideas was that if Tai Pei was already the best frozen food, what else what other products outside of its market could it outperform.
Barnes said the judges praised the theme. “Often, campaigns on the professional level never find it; however you, found it, and nailed it with your graphics, content and presentation,” the judges wrote. “You also never lost sight of your theme throughout your entire campaign.”
The University of Idaho Advertising Team has a long history of success. It won district competitions in 1992, 1995, 1996, 2013 and 2014. Professor Mark Secrist, who developed the school’s advertising curriculum, advised the first three teams. Barnes, a UI alumnus, joined the JAMM faculty in 2012. This was his fifth year as advisor for the Ad Team.
In this year’s Northwest district competition, Montana State University placed first, the University of Oregon placed third, and Washington State University was fourth.