Texas State AAF team wins first in district competition

Posted by Jayme Blaschke
University News Service
April 24, 2008

The American Advertising Federation (AAF) team at Texas State University-San Marcos placed first at district competition in Dallas on April 17, beating out 15 other universities from the states of Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Louisiana.

With the win, Texas State advances to nationals June 7-9 in Atlanta, Ga., where the team will compete against 17 other district winners from around the country. In Dallas, the Texas State team finished ahead of second-place Texas Christian, third-place Oklahoma State and fourth-place Southern Methodist.

The client this year was AIM (AOL's instant messenger), with the subject being that company’s suite of new products.  The target audience was 15- 24-year-olds.  Approximately 200 universities from around the country begin the competition in September.  Only the district winners and one wild card team advance to nationals.

Five presenters (Antonio Banos, Amanda Cartwright, Brian Hambrick, Lyle Jenks, and Katy Korzekwa) made a 20-minute presentation to judges from marketing and advertising.  The team also prepared a 32-page plans book.  Both the book and the presentation consisted of creative executions and promotions backed by research.

This year's team was made up of 20 students from marketing, advertising, public relations and communication design, representing the McCoy College of Business Administration and the School of Journalism and Mass Communication.  The faculty advisors are Mary Ann Stutts of the Marketing Department and Alexander Muk of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

This marks Texas State's 11th trip to nationals in the last 18 years.  Texas State placed in the top six at nationals all 11 times, including national championships in 1990 and 2005.