Date of Defense

4-12-2021

Date of Graduation

4-2022

Department

Marketing

First Advisor

Karen Lancendorfer

Second Advisor

Greg Gerfen

Abstract

Within the Haworth College of Business at Western Michigan University, each student aspiring to graduate with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Advertising & Promotion must undergo a course entitled “MKTG 4810: Integrated Marketing Communications Campaigns”. Each iteration of the course is incredibly different as the class relies on the objectives laid out in a nation-wide, team-based case competition called the National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC) that is hosted by the American Advertising Federation (AAF).

Over the course of the AAF’s NSAC, each competing team - composed of students aspiring to work within the advertising industry - must work within a collaborative environment to produce a comprehensive integrated marketing campaign for the annual competition’s sole client. In addition to the production of a cohesive yet insightful book that overviews the entire plan, teams must also undergo a rigorous presentation, and multiple question and answer sessions, to prevail victorious.

During the 2020-21 NSAC, the WMU team was composed of 32 students who were divided amongst 5 sub-teams including Account, Media, Production, Strategy & Consumer Insights, and Creative. Each sub-team contributed significantly to the final product: a multi-touch point, nationwide campaign for Tinder with a budget of $10M and a slogan of “Why Don’t We”.

As one of two Account Executives on the team, my responsibilities included personnel management, timeline enforcement, team-wide communication and facilitation, as well as editorial privileges to ensure consistency and professionalism. Primary tools that my fellow Account Executive and I oversaw and utilized with the team included Slack, Google Drive, Zoom, and Outlook. Each of these tools maximized our team’s capacity for streamlined communication and capitalized on our innate need for collaboration despite ongoing challenges inflicted on the team as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ultimately, the leadership of the Account team, in addition to the unwavering passion and dedication of the other team members and faculty advisor, Dr. Karen Lancendorfer, allowed the team to place third in our district on April 9, 2021. While we did not succeed in our pursuit of winning the competition, this experience provided ample opportunity for students of MKTG 4810, including myself, to demonstrate and refine their marketing expertise in a safe, yet productive, environment.

Access Setting

Honors Thesis-Restricted

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