The University Ad Team is in another sort of Sweet 16 — it’s among the nation’s top 16 teams in Miami today vying for first place in the National Student Advertising Competition, sponsored by the American Advertising Federation.
The 17-member squad, known as Upstream Advertising, beat nine other Northwest teams in April for the regional title, then took a much-needed two-week respite before resuming fundraising, rehearsing and planning for nationals.
“Winning regionals was like the cake,” senior advertising major Jillian Johnson said. “Winning Florida would be like the candles and the icing. It would be just perfect.”
In the time between the regional and national competitions teams are only allowed to make minor changes to their presentations, so up until departing for Florida the team worked on fundraising the $22,000 for the trip and rehearsing the 20-minute presentation in front of various groups.
The University Ad Team has won regionals for three years in a row but has yet to win a national title. Erin Marshall, a senior in public relations, said, “It’s a big deal this year because U of O has done really well in the past. A lot of people are paying attention this year to what the Ad Team is doing.”
Each year the American Advertising Federation has a paying client — this year’s is Bank of America — and asks student teams to submit plans for solving the client’s advertising problem.
Bank of America’s challenge: Present a communication plan that addresses the perceived lack of credibility of the company’s existing investment branch.
University Ad Team strategy: Using the motto of “straightforward investing,” market the company’s existing subsidiary as a separate, affiliated firm and create brand recognition for that firm independent of Bank of America’s image.
Fall term, the 17 members joined smaller groups, each responsible for part of the project. A research team conducted original surveys and found other relevant information about the affluent market. A creative team took that information and devised ads for various media. Account executives managed the hypothetical finances. A four-member presentation team showcased the group’s work in competition.
Members of the team said once they figured out what the strategy was, everything else started to gel. By the time the team boarded the plane to Anchorage, Ala., in April, members were confident.
Marshall said most of the team members opted against watching the other nine teams at regionals to prevent further aggravating their nerves, but she watched those presentations.
She said other teams used a lot of flashy techniques, including one team that danced.
“Ours was so different,” Marshall said. The University team dressed in all black suits and used no humor or levity in the presentation. I knew “we either won or we lost — last place.”
At the awards banquet, the team sat around a table nervously awaiting the results. When fourth, third and second place were announced and they hadn’t heard the University of Oregon called, the suspense was almost more than they could take.
Kelly Schrader said she started to cry before the announcement came because she knew they either won or didn’t even place.
Once they heard University of Oregon, “It was like we won a Grammy,” said Schrader, who won this year’s Willis Winter award for outstanding advertising graduate. “We were all standing up cheering, laughing. Some people fell over.”
During the team’s last meeting Sunday before departing for Miami, Hillary Shultz, a senior Ad Team account executive, gave words of advice to the team.
“We just need to go in there with the same attitude as we had in Alaska and act in no way cocky,” she said. “Because they have all done the same thing we have.”