Students place in regional advertising competition
By: Nicole Newby
Issue date: 11/9/09 Section: News
At the American Advertising Federation competition and conference this weekend in Houston, SFA had members on all three placing teams. SFA was well represented again this year, bringing students from the global media, marketing and art departments.
Nicole Newby, McKinney senior, placed third; Whitney Dodds, Katy senior, Megan Schmidt, Celina senior, and Jessica Pullin, Garland senior, placed second; and Alie Jackson, Austin senior, placed first.
"My first year I won third, and my second year I won second, so this win felt great," said Jackson. "It felt good that all my hard work throughout the day paid off."
Fiesta Mart was the sponsor of this year's competition. The company asked the students at the conference to devise an advertising campaign to target English-speaking consumers. They wanted to break the stereotype that the grocery store just caters to the Hispanic population.
Jackson's team came up with the slogan, "How do you Fiesta?" They used the store's mascot, Pepe the Parrot, in a variety of traditional American settings to show that Fiesta groceries can be used for any occasion.
"We used traditional advertising vehicles to lead the untraditional outreach and interaction with stores and customers," Jackson said.
Unlike Jackson, who was experienced in the competition, Schmidt was attending her first AAF conference.
"I was on the media side," Schmidt said. "So, I was on budget process which was grueling but rewarding at the same time."
Students at the AAF conference also had the chance to have professionals in the advertising industry review their portfolios and resumes. Following the resume review was a panel discussion about the different jobs in the advertising and marketing field and how students can prepare for their desired job. Students asked questions about what certain jobs entail and how they can stand apart from the competition."
"Write a great cover letter," advised one of the panelists. "It says a lot about you, even if you don't have a lot of experience."
"Not everyone can be a creative director by the time they are 30," said another panelist. "You just have to make sure that you enjoy going to your job every day, and you will be fine."
Nicole Newby, McKinney senior, placed third; Whitney Dodds, Katy senior, Megan Schmidt, Celina senior, and Jessica Pullin, Garland senior, placed second; and Alie Jackson, Austin senior, placed first.
"My first year I won third, and my second year I won second, so this win felt great," said Jackson. "It felt good that all my hard work throughout the day paid off."
Fiesta Mart was the sponsor of this year's competition. The company asked the students at the conference to devise an advertising campaign to target English-speaking consumers. They wanted to break the stereotype that the grocery store just caters to the Hispanic population.
Jackson's team came up with the slogan, "How do you Fiesta?" They used the store's mascot, Pepe the Parrot, in a variety of traditional American settings to show that Fiesta groceries can be used for any occasion.
"We used traditional advertising vehicles to lead the untraditional outreach and interaction with stores and customers," Jackson said.
Unlike Jackson, who was experienced in the competition, Schmidt was attending her first AAF conference.
"I was on the media side," Schmidt said. "So, I was on budget process which was grueling but rewarding at the same time."
Students at the AAF conference also had the chance to have professionals in the advertising industry review their portfolios and resumes. Following the resume review was a panel discussion about the different jobs in the advertising and marketing field and how students can prepare for their desired job. Students asked questions about what certain jobs entail and how they can stand apart from the competition."
"Write a great cover letter," advised one of the panelists. "It says a lot about you, even if you don't have a lot of experience."
"Not everyone can be a creative director by the time they are 30," said another panelist. "You just have to make sure that you enjoy going to your job every day, and you will be fine."
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