NATIONAL STUDENT ADVERTISING COMPETITION

GAIN INSIGHT AND INCREASE

BRAND AWARENESS

“Students get a chance to create all the

facets of a creative campaign. They understand the work involved in researching and planning and

implementing every detail. It prepares students extremely well for what they will be doing in an

agency or for a client.” David Koranda

Professor University of Oregon

WHAT IT MEANS TO BE AN NSAC SPONSOR

The AAF’s National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC) is a unique program

that challenges student teams to design a comprehensive marketing campaign

that addresses a real-life issue facing your brand. As a corporate sponsor, the

NSAC provides you with valuable insights, fresh ideas and pertinent data all

while building brand awareness with the next generation of marketers and

consumers. The student teams are comprised of college chapter members

from nearly 200 schools across the country. These students have been trained

in the art and science of the advertising and marketing industries and have

produced innovative and ingenious marketing plans year-after-year.

Headquartered in Washington, DC, the American Advertising Federation (AAF) serves as the “Unifying Voice for Advertising.” We

have more than 200 local clubs across the country. representing nearly 40,000 advertising professionals. The AAF helps more

than 5,000 college chapter members kick-start their careers with an array of student programs. We have nearly 100 corporate

members who are loyal and supportive of our ongoing efforts. Each year, the AAF hosts numerous programs and initiatives,

including the Advertising Hall of Fame, the American Advertising Awards, the National Student Advertising Competition, the

Most Promising Multicultural Students program, the Mosaic Awards and summer AdCamps for high school students.

“The NSAC is a fantastic opportunity for students to apply

everything they have learned in the classroom, into a real-world,

practical situation. Nothing prepares [students] better than participating in

what is essentially a new business pitch by creating a fully integrated

marketing plan.” Blaise D’Sylva

VP Media Dr Pepper Snapple Group

NSAC Timeline

• May

Finalize sponsorship details with the 2018 NSAC Sponsor

• June

Announcement of NSAC Sponsor during ADMERICA

• June–August

AAF National + NSAC Sponsor collaborate

and finalize case study for NSAC teams

• Late August/Early September

Release case study to NSAC teams

• September–March

NSAC teams work on their campaigns

• April

District Competitions—15 competitions at the local level

• Early May

Semi-Finals—top 18 schools compete

• June of the Following Year

Finals—top 8 teams compete during ADMERICA, AAF’s

national conference, for 1st–3rd place

HOW THE NSAC WORKS Each year, the AAF partners with a major company to challenge its college

chapter members to develop an integrated marketing campaign for a specific

product, service or brand aimed at diverse target audiences. This corporate

sponsor provides a case study reflecting a real-world situation, outlining the

campaign’s objectives and the sponsor’s current advertising situation. College

chapter teams conduct research; identify consumer needs; and pinpoint how

to effectively communicate the sponsor’s message. Students then develop a

comprehensive campaign that includes creative executions, media placement,

public relations and other promotional tools. The teams pitch their campaigns

to a panel of industry judges through a three-tiered competition structure.

Often times, the client is so impressed with the quality of work, that they

incorporate elements of the students’ campaign into their national branding.

“Pizza Hut saw this opportunity with the NSAC

as a way to help move our digital ordering channels ahead of the

pack. Those that advanced all the way to the finals should know that their work could stack up against a lot of what we see in the real marketing

world today.” Jared Drinkwater VP of Marketing

Pizza Hut

TANGIBLE BENEFITS OF SPONSORING THE NSAC• Take away innovative marketing ideas for corporate implementation.

As the NSAC sponsor, you will be presented with thousands of ideas

that can be used to develop strategic plans and integrated marketing

tools for your company.

• Receive local, regional and national recognition. While students are

conducting field research for their NSAC projects, they infiltrate their

local communities with the company’s brand and its products/services.

In addition, NSAC district coordinators and local ad clubs promote your

company’s brand within their geographic regions.

• Recruit top advertising talent. With more than 1,000 attendees at

ADMERICA each summer, you get the chance to network and recruit

high-achieving, high-potential students from across the country.

“The research that was done, the

insights that were gathered, it reinforced what we were

thinking AND challenged what we were thinking…If you’re a brand and

you haven’t taken the opportunity to try to become the case study that these kids work on, you are

missing the boat.” Tim Van Hoof

Director, Marketing Communications State Farm

YOU’D BE IN GOOD COMPANY The value of the NSAC has been apparent to the industry as a whole.

The competition has been sponsored by some of the most influential brands in

the world. Previous sponsors have included:

• Automotive: American Motors, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Nissan, Saturn,

Toyota, Toyota Echo, Toyota Motor Sales

• Retail: JCPenney, Hallmark Cards, Levi Strauss & Co., Glidden,

Eastman Kodak, Mary Kay Cosmetics

• Food & Beverage: The Coca-Cola Company, Coors, Frito-Lay Inc., Kellogg’s,

Burger King, Pizza Hut, Snapple, Nestlé Foods, Tai Pei Frozen Foods

• Finance: Bank of America, Visa

• Services: American Airlines, American Red Cross, AOL, The Hearst

Corporation, The New York Times, State Farm, Visit Florida, Yahoo! Inc.

• In 2016, Snapple challenged NSAC teams to create an integrated holistic marketing campaign to grow Snapple volume in

the United States, specifically raising awareness in areas outside of Snapple’s Heartland areas.

• In 2015, Pizza Hut needed to increase their mobile conversion efforts. They charged NSAC teams to create a comprehensive

national advertising campaign urging customers to use current technologies to order their pizza online.

• In 2014, Mary Kay’s case study focused on increasing its footprint with women, 18–25, through new product launches. They

needed to bridge the gap between the Mary Kay brand and how millennial women think about Mary Kay.

“We’ve recently launched several product

lines specifically for the college-age woman so it has been a natural fit to partner with the AAF as the sponsor of this year’s NSAC [and] engage some of the brightest and most innovative student marketers

with our brand.” Sheryl Adkins-Green,

Chief Marketing Officer Mary Kay Inc.

1101 Vermont Avenue NW, 5th Floor, Washington DC 20005

P: (202) 898-0089, E: nsac@aaf.org, W: aaf.org/nsac

HOW TO BECOME AN NSAC SPONSORNSAC participation is an experience that students remember for a lifetime. These same students are young influencers on their

campuses as well as via their social media platforms, which is an additional benefit for sponsors wishing to receive wide-range

exposure. Imagine having hundreds of “mini-agencies” working on your brand to create a customized campaign to address your

organization’s needs. The insight gathered from the competition will be a cost-effective way to provide you with the intelligence

needed to address your brand’s real life marketing challenge.