Every year, the American Advertising Federation organizes the National Student Advertising Competition, featuring a different well-recognized client. This year, after many late nights and much tireless work throughout the semester, the team in Matthew Wilson’s Advertising Campaign Development class placed first at the AAF district competition.
The Advertising Campaign Development class “operates like a real advertising agency” says Creative Director Eliza Carlson. The class is split into four teams, each being responsible for a different aspect of the campaign. Aside from the two in-class sessions a week, teams were often meeting outside of class to complete work and meet deadlines. However, unlike the typical annoyance that can come with having to meet outside of class to complete work, students didn’t mind this outside-of-class work. “It has been the only class where I was not annoyed to do out-of-class work,” states Plansbook and Art Director Becca Jorgensen.
The class is highly regarded as a “must-take” class for many marketing majors. “When I was a freshman, I would always hear senior marketing majors talk about how intense, hands-on, and iconic this specific class was, and it immediately caught my interest,” stated Research Team member Madison Duong. “Taking this class has always been on my bucket list!”
This class also provided great real-world experience, as many members of the class are seniors going into similar roles post-graduation. “It was basically like a mini internship or job that gave us some great real-world experience,” stated Media Director and Pitch Team member Kylie Ryder.
Professor Wilson was a huge factor in the success of this campaign and this class. He worked tirelessly with each team, meeting with them outside of class no matter how late the meetings were, and gave honest and constructive feedback to make the campaign the best it could be. “Wilson always pushed us to do better, but never in a negative way,” stated Jorgensen. “I think the best teachers are the ones who challenge you because they see your potential. He gave us honest feedback, and it helped me grow.” Duong elaborates on this, stating that “he’s always honest about what he thinks and pushes us to think carefully about every choice we make for the campaign.”
The client for this year’s competition was AT&T. The four teams: accounts and strategy, research, media and creative each worked to perfect their portion of the campaign before compiling it into a 20-minute pitch. Each team member put their “heart and soul into this campaign” as Jorgensen stated, knowing that they were all working toward the same end goal.
Leading up to the competition were a lot of nerves and excitement. The pitch team had spent long late nights working to perfect their pitch. “The week leading up to the pitch I had been stressed about remembering my likes because I always want to be my best possible self,” stated Ryder. “One thing that Wilson said that helped calm me down was that “nobody knows the campaign better than you do.” Reminding myself that helped me realize that I knew all along what I was talking about, I just had to trust in myself and my fellow pitch team members.”
Winning first place at the district competition was a mix of emotions for the team involved, but a rewarding feeling knowing that all of their late nights and hard work had paid off. “Finding out we won was the most rewarding feeling. It made all of the stress and time put into this campaign worth it,” stated Accounts and Strategy Director Eve Wedewer. “I couldn’t be more proud of this team, the brains and creative minds this team has amazed me and I am beyond grateful to have worked with such like-minded people.”
Being a part of such a hardworking team proved that hard things are possible, even when you feel like you’re at your lowest and all hope is lost. “Wilson told us several times that this campaign would knock us down, and bring challenges that would make us question if we could even accomplish this campaign, but we must keep pushing because that hopelessness is a sign that our big, game-changing idea was coming,” stated Duong.
The campaign also proved that success is possible, especially when you are passionate about what you do. “My biggest takeaway from this experience is to always be willing to work hard,” stated Jorgensen. “Nothing ever comes easy, and you do your best work when you are passionate about what you are working on.”
Winning first at districts isn’t just a big accomplishment for the team as a whole, but for each person individually as well. For Ryder, it’s living proof that skills she has learned in other aspects of life can translate into her academic life as well. “As someone who competes in the Miss America Organization, I have learned a lot of professional and personal skills through my time as a titleholder,” stated Ryder. “It was such a surreal feeling to see how those skills translated into my academic life, allowing me to show the personal and professional development I have made simply from competing in the MAO organization.”
This isn’t the end of the road for the UNI AAF team. They have the opportunity to compete virtually in the semifinals this week and, if selected, will travel to nationals in June located in Pittsburgh. “This week we will be focusing on filming our pitch and further preparing more questions about our campaign that the judges might ask,” says Wedewer.
Being a part of such a hardworking team in such a highly regarded class has been a highlight for everyone involved. “This class has been the most impactful experience of my college career. Being a part of UNI AAF is something truly special,” stated Carlson. “It’s not just a class, it’s a team, a community and a place where I’ve found passion and purpose in my craft … if you take this class, you’ll be amazed at how much you’ll grow both professionally and personally.”
