National Student Advertising Competition

The American Advertising Federation's National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC) is the premier college advertising competition. It provides more than 3,000 college students with real-world experience by requiring a strategic advertising/marketing/media campaign for a corporate sponsor. Schools from each district are selected to present their campaigns to a panel of industry executives at the AAF National Conference.

How the NSAC Works

Each year, a corporate sponsor provides an assignment or case study outlining the history of its product and current advertising situation. The case study is always candid and reflects a real world situation. Students must research the product and its competition, identify potential problem areas and devise a completely integrated communications campaign for the client. Each student team then "pitches" its campaign to a panel of judges.
Regional NSAC competitions are held each spring in 15 districts throughout the U.S. The winning team in each district and one wild card team then advances to compete on the national level at the AAF National Conference in June.

The Structure of the NSAC Competitions

The AAF is divided into 15 districts, each containing one to five states. Each district holds a competition in April and the winning team advances to the national finals which are held during the annual AAF National Conference in June. Judging is conducted by professionals in the communications industry. Judges at the national level are selected from the client and their advertising agencies. Yearly, some districts will have as many as 18 teams competing and nationwide more than 150 colleges and universities take on the NSAC challenge.

There is no better way to learn about the advertising campaign process than by actually developing a campaign for a real client.
The competition is governed by the Education Services division and the AAF Academic Committee, a group of advertising educators and practitioners from across the country, who oversee the policies and procedures of the competitions. These members ensure that there is a level playing field and that the competition demonstrates the highest academic and professional standards.

The 2010 National Competition

On April 24, 2010,  HAWAII PACIFIC UNIVERSITY, CHAMINADE UNIVERSITY OF HONOLULU and THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII-MANOA will do battle at Servco Auto Honolulu in Mapunapuna in order to represent Hawaii in the American Advertising Federation NSAC National Finals scheduled for June 10  & 11, 2010 in Orlando, Florida.

The winning Hawaii team automatically goes on to the National Finals, while other states have multiple chapters, meaning those teams have to compete at regional and district levels to see who gets to go to nationals. From the winning team, five students and an advisor will be flown, expenses paid, to Orlando, Florida.

2010 Case Assignment:  State Farm Insurance

This year, students have been tasked to develop a fully integrated marketing communications program, to continue to change Young Adults’ perceptions of the State Farm brand, moving beyond the previous “Now What?” campaign into branded communication:

• Target: Independent Young Adults 18-25
• Timing: May 2010-May 2011
• Budget: $40 million

Business Goals and Objectives

Overall goal is to gain State Farm’s fair share of the Young Adult market by changing the perception of State Farm among Young Adults, which will then lead to consideration of the brand and purchase.

• Primary objective is to achieve growth through new Young Adult Auto policies
• Secondary objectives include achieving growth through:
• New Young Adult Renters policies
• Retention of Legacy Young Adult Auto policies (those Young Adults from an existing State Farm household)
• Retention of current Independent Young Adult Auto and Renters customers

For more information, visit the national website, aaf.org, or contact District 13 Coordinator Paul Lam at paull@servco.com