UNL NSAC team to compete in AAF National finals for fourth consecutive year

May 31, 2012—The University of Nebraska-Lincoln is heading to the American Advertising Federation’s National Student Advertising Competition for the fourth consecutive year.

The national finals will be held during the ADMERICA! AAF National Conference in Austin, Texas, from June 2-5, 2012.

Nationwide only 19 out of 153 teams will advance to the national finals that involved more than a thousand advertising students across the country who initially took on the challenge from Nissan.

This year’s students were tasked with the challenge of developing a fully integrated marketing campaign to help Nissan build awareness and lasting favorability among African-Americans, Hispanic, and Chinese millennial consumers in the United States.

2012 NSAC team

2012 UNL NSAC team

AAF President and CEO, James Edmund Datri said, “This is truly exciting stuff.  Tapping into the mindset of the millennial market is a top priority for many companies these days and the NSAC is a unique solution to overcoming this challenge.”

Jon Brancheau, Vice President, Marketing, Nissan North America, said “Innovation is at the heart of Nissan products and services so we were happy to invite students across the country to offer us their own creative ideas and solutions as part of the National Student Advertising Competition. Many of the insights and proposals they developed will no doubt influence our future marketing campaigns.”

Students who participate in this program invest anywhere from one to nine months of time preparing these plans books and presentations.  In some instances, students interview for a position on their college chapter’s NSAC team.

Advertising students from the College of Journalism and Mass Communications took home first place in the District 9 AAF NSAC competition April 20 in Kansas City, Mo. Nebraska will compete with colleges and universities, including:

  • Butler University
  • Grand Valley State University
  • Hawaii Pacific University
  • Johnson & Wales University - Providence
  • Minnesota State University Moorhead
  • Ohio University
  • Penn State University
  • Portland State University
  • Southwest University of Visual Arts - Albuquerque
  • Syracuse University
  • Texas A&M University - College Station
  • Texas Christian University
  • University of Alabama
  • University of California, Berkeley
  • University of California, Los Angeles
  • University of Miami
  • University of Virginia
  • West Texas A&M University

The 2012 NSAC team members by hometown and the role they play are as follows:

NEBRASKA:

  • Bellevue: Sara Smits, media director.
  • Bennington: Dana Oltman, art director.
  • Humboldt: Michelle Pineda, account coordinator/project manager/PR.
  • Johnson: Hans Christensen, account services.
  • Kearney: Bingjie Zhao, media planner.
  • Lincoln: Zee Chiweshe, account planner/PR; Nolan Gauthier, copywriter; Dylan McCaugherty, interactive designer/writer; Abby Meyer, film; Tim Obermueller, copywriter; and Russell Troxel, copywriter.
  • North Platte: Jana Schneider, account planner/PR.
  • Omaha: Dennis Bukowski, art director; Calvin Drey, account planner/project manager; Kevin McCaskill, account supervisor; Rance Ristau, project manager; Landon Stahmer, creative director; and Ashley Turner, account planner.
  • Scottsbluff: Paul Henderson, account planner.
  • Sidney: Megan Homolka, copywriter/media planner.
  • Wayne: Maddie Jager, art director.

OUT OF STATE:

  • FLORIDA: Tayler Thomas, account planner/media planner/PR, Pensacola.
  • SOUTH DAKOTA: Chelsey Wahlstrom, account planner/PR, Sioux Falls.

About Nissan North America

In North America, Nissan’s operations include automotive styling, engineering, consumer and corporate financing, sales and marketing, distribution and manufacturing. Nissan is dedicated to improving the environment under the Nissan Green Program and has been recognized as an ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year in 2010, 2011 and 2012 by the U.S Environmental Protection Agency. More information on Nissan in North America and the complete line of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles can be found online at www.NissanUSA.com and www.InfinitiUSA.com.

For more information on Nissan North America, Inc. contact Vicki Smith, Corporate Communications at vicki.smith@nissan-usa.com or (615) 725-0749

About the American Advertising Federation

The American Advertising Federation (AAF), the nation’s oldest national advertising trade association, and the only association representing all facets of the advertising industry, is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and acts as the “Unifying Voice for Advertising.”  The AAF also has 15 district operations, each located in and representing a different region of the nation. The AAF’s membership is comprised of nearly 100 blue chip corporate members comprising the nation’s leading advertisers, advertising agencies, and media companies; a national network of 200 local federations, representing 40,000 advertising professionals, located in ad communities across the country; and 220 AAF college chapters, with over 6,000 student members.  The AAF operates a host of programs and initiatives including the Advertising Hall of Fame, the ADDY® Awards, the National Student Advertising Competition, and the Mosaic Center on Multiculturalism. 

For more information on the full range of AAF programming, visit www.aaf.org.

For more information on NSAC, please visit www.aaf.org/nsac or contact Education Services at education@aaf.org or (202)898-0089.