June 13, 2006—The student team representing the McIntire School of Commerce and U.Va. has won the National Student Advertising Competition, sponsored by the American Advertising Federation and held in San Francisco in June 2006. After finishing second two years in a row at the national AAF competition, Professor Jack Lindgren’s students topped 16 other finalist universities from throughout the nation. Each of these schools had to win its regional competition. The total competition involved almost 200 universities.

“This achievement is a tremendous outcome for the students (actually now recent graduates), their families, Professor Lindgren, and all Comm School faculty and staff who taught and supported the champs,” said McIntire Dean Carl Zeithaml.

The presenting team included Jennie Averbook (McIntire ’06), Zoe Chen (McIntire ’06), Erin Fromherz (A&S ’06), Karen Land (McIntire ’06), and Cathy Sposato (McIntire ’06).

Lindgren’s entire class prepared for the competition during the spring semester, sending the team of five to present a campaign developed for Postal Vault, a Dallas-based company that manufactures, sells, and distributes postal and delivery receptacles designed to protect and secure mail and parcel packages. AAF asked competitors “to use a combination of traditional and nontraditional forms of advertising, with an emphasis on nontraditional, to ‘own the real estate’ in a consumer’s mind that Postal Vault is their brand of choice when choosing to replace or install a mailbox.”

McIntire has a strong track record in the competition. In five of the last six years, McIntire finished first regionally. In 2004 and 2005, the School won second place at the national level.

AAF’s National Student Advertising Competition is the premier college advertising competition, providing more than 3,000 college students with “real-world” experience by requiring a strategic advertising/marketing/media campaign for a corporate sponsor.
 

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