ORU’s National Advertising Team Wins Adobe Judges’ Award
Oral Roberts University students recently competed in the 2020 National Student Advertising
Competition (NSAC) event hosted by the American Advertising Federation (AAF). The
national academic event historically draws 150+ U.S. colleges and universities who
field teams to respond to a client brief. This year, the AAF competition was sponsored
by Adobe. In a recent District winners’ announcement, ORU’s team won the Adobe Judges’
award for Best Program Strategy.
Competing schools were asked to build a business-to-business awareness campaign for Adobe’s advertising technology products marketed as the Experience Cloud for Advertising. As part of its case response, which includes a 26-page plans book, 20-minute client presentation, and 10-minute question-and-answer round, the ORU team recommended Adobe elevate its software training program, the Experience League, and expand its professional credentialing options.
Adobe Executive Creative Director Adam Morgan made the award to the ORU team via a Zoom ceremony. As part of Adobe’s sponsorship goals, Morgan said the company hoped to identify great ideas the company had not explored or implemented. “These are like gold, pure gold for us,” Morgan said.
The ORU team helped fill some missing elements in the Experience League program with “a phenomenal plan of training and certifications. [It’s] something we can totally use” to “push things forward,” Morgan said.
The team also recommended a long-term strategy built on quality content (that is, meaningful content to advertising and marketing professionals). Selling software often can take 18 months to two years, and in the “long cycle of learning and growing, [this idea] was all about education and training and certifications,” Morgan said. “People bet their careers on software," and this one idea helps them decide why they’d want to become “an Adobe expert,” stake their reputations on it, and “make a career out of it.”
The ORU team began research on the case last August as part of two capstone courses for which students earn credit--one in research and a second in campaign planning. According to Dr. Cristi Eschler-Freudenrich, the team’s faculty advisor, ORU has competed for seven years and earned a top award in four of these. In 2018, the ORU team finished seventh nationally.
“This year’s case was more challenging, and our team spent a lot of time understanding the business-to-business model,” said Eschler-Freudenrich. “Initially, we connected with ORU alumni who lead B2B companies and advertising agencies to understand how they approach their own work and business challenges. I’m sure the team would agree just to understand SaaS, the software-as-a-service marketplace, and new advertising technology was a course within a course.”
The students pivoted in early March when AAF announced the competition would be held virtually due to COVID-19 restrictions. “Our team’s account manager, Natalie Wilkinson, kept the team focused, even as the rules of the competition changed. The team, dispersed across the U.S., met via Zoom and recorded its presentation virtually. In a critical, defining moment, Natalie demonstrated what it means to be a leader,” said Eschler-Freudenrich.
For ORU students interested in applying for the NSAC team, the opportunity is open to any ORU second-semester junior or senior student with skills and/or experience in marketing, management, research, graphic design, cinematic film, social media, public relations, advertising or related disciplines. For more information, visit ORU.edu/CMD.
Photo caption: Seniors from ORU’s Communication & Media Department represented the University in this year’s American Advertising Federation-sponsored national student competition. This was ORU’s seventh year to compete and first year to compete virtually. ORU NSAC 2020 team members include (left to right): Ruth Lightfoot Schirato, Erin Cruise, Joel Joplin, Yvannia Melendez Pastor, Dominic DeMeo, Brooklyn Houser, Emily Small, Alexander Haywood, Natalie Wilkinson, James Adamski, Genevieve Jackson and Stephen Ottaviano.