Axe ’Em, Jacks!
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - SFA students took home top honors during two conferences held to recognize collegiate ingenuity involving advertising and marketing.
In October, SFA students were among the first-, second- and third-place winning teams at the American Advertising Federation-Houston Student Conference, and two teams of Rusche College of Business students placed first in the marketing strategy and salesmanship competitions at the Regional American Marketing Association Conference.
Competitions of this nature provide transformative experiences for students as they gain skills and abilities at the intersection of three areas – technical skills, general competencies and personal characteristics, according to Dr. Steve Bullard, SFA provost and vice president for academic affairs.
“Employers today want much more than technical capabilities, and experiences like these are a power example of how SFA provides these opportunities each year,” Bullard said.
At the AAF conference, SFA student team members Amy Keyser, Kingwood art senior, placed first. Brooke Alverson, Nacogdoches mass communication senior; and Theresa Vinh, Houston marketing junior; placed second. Mackenna Cotten, Wimberly art senior; Jordyn Palluth, Keller mass communication senior; and Caitlin Whittington, Corrigan art senior; placed third.
More than 90 students representing 13 universities participated in the AAF competition, which tasked students with developing advertising campaign plans designed to increase registration for the city’s AlertHouston emergency alert program.
At the AMA Conference, SFA team members Mary Morgan, Houston sophomore; Vinh and Jared Upham, League City sophomore; placed first among 30 teams in the marketing strategy competition, where each team had 30 minutes to determine and present the best marketing strategy for its client, James Coney Island, a Houston-area restaurant.
“It was a great experience,” said Vinh, who serves as vice president of promotions for SFA’s AMA chapter. “This was my first AMA conference, and when they announced that we won first place, it was awesome.”
Additionally, another SFA team comprising Stephen Ross Jones, Cypress senior and vice president of finance for SFA’s AMA chapter, and Braxton Robinson, Dallas senior and president of SFA’s AMA chapter, won first among 25 teams in the salesmanship competition, which challenged students to select a product, describe the setting, and present and close the sale within two minutes.