AAF - University of Northern Iowa

On Friday, April 19, the NSAC team from the AAF college chapter at the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) won a judge’s citation for “Stand Out Experiential” for their experiential activations that were part of their “Save Your Style” campaign for Tide presented at the AAF District 9 National Student Advertising Competition in Lenexa, Kansas.

The UNI team recommended that Tide’s sustainability goal to reduce the carbon footprint by encouraging consumers to wash clothes in cold water be accomplished by appealing to GenZ’s sense of style and their love of their own clothing. The team cautioned Tide that sustainability initiatives can backfire with GenZ – and that direct appeals can be perceived as “fake” greenwashing.

Instead, the UNI team presented Tide with a visually stunning campaign that appealed to GenZ’s love of their clothing. The campaign’s tagline was “Save Your Style”. By washing in cold water, GenZ consumers can reduce wear, fading, color bleed, and shrinkage. By appealing to GenZ’s love of fashion, Tide can position itself to increase positive brand consideration.

The thirty-two member NSAC team was the largest in UNI history, and included students from a variety of majors across campus:

NSAC 2024 Team Members

The National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC) is the premier college advertising competition that provides more than 2,000 college students the real-world experience of creating a strategic advertising/marketing/media campaign for a corporate client.

On Friday, April 21, the NSAC team from the AAF college chapter at the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) walked away with a third-place finish overall while also winning additional special awards at the AAF District 9 competition in Lenexa, Kansas.

This year’s National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC) involved a challenge from the jobs platform Indeed to increase awareness and consideration among the 18-24 age demographic in the United States.

Teams had to engage in primary and secondary research to identify insights to drive a messaging and media strategy, as well as execute creative campaign elements. Teams submitted a plans book with budget and schedule, followed by a 20-minute campaign pitch.

Best Presenter

UNI pitch team member David Holesinger (Marketing and Entrepreneurship, ’23) also took a top honor at the awards ceremony. He was named Best Presenter for his performance during UNI’s presentation.

Advisor of the Year

To cap off the night, the faculty advisor of the UNI AAF college chapter, Matthew Wilson won the Advisor of the Year award after being nominated by team members.

Kansas City Agency Visit

During the visit to Kansas City, the team also somehow found time to visit the award-winning advertising and branding agency Signal Theory, where they learned about the amazing work they do.

Returning Champs

Returning to this year’s team were four veterans from last year’s champion team that took first place in District 9 and went on to place 14th in the nation. Their leadership and experience were invaluable in helping this year’s team succeed.

The competition wraps up another outstanding year of AAF at the University of Northern Iowa – the only student organization for students with a passion for big ideas and creative advertising.

NSAC 2023 Team Members

It’s official: The 2023 NSAC client has been announced by AAF! Indeed, one of the world’s leading job search sites, will be the sponsor of the 2023 National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC).

This year we also join AAF in celebrating the 50th birthday of NSAC, which was started in 1973!

The UNI chapter of AAF first participated in NSAC in 2012. This year will be our 12th year of competition. Since we took the 1st place trophy last April at the District 9 Competition, we’ll be defending the D9 title this year and need all the help we can get!

About Indeed

Indeed is the #1 job site in the world with over 250M unique visitors every month. Indeed strives to put job seekers first, giving them free access to search for jobs, post resumes, and research companies. Every day, we connect millions of people to new opportunities.

About NSAC

The National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC) is the premier college advertising competition that provides more than 2,000 college students the real-world experience of creating a strategic advertising/marketing/media campaign for a corporate client.

NSAC started in 1973 and clients have included global brands such as Meta/Oculus, Tinder, Adobe, Snapple, Coca-Cola, Toyota, Bank of America, Pizza Hut, Burger King, State Farm, and Nissan.

More information about NSAC