A group of students from the Schieffer School of Journalism’s Advertising Campaigns team recently finished in the top 10 during a national competition in which students nationwide were challenged with developing an innovative campaign to help Coca-Cola reach a growing young Hispanic market.
Top advertising students from 15 regional districts around the country participated in the National Student Advertising Competition, which is sponsored by the American Advertising Federation. TCU represented District 10, which comprises Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and New Mexico.
This year, Coca-Cola challenged students to come up with an integrated marketing campaign to reposition Coca-Cola Classic among 13-to-24-year-olds. The teams researched the product and its competition and devised an integrated communications campaign. TCU’s team narrowed its focus to the 13 - 24 year old Hispanic market.
The Schieffer School campaigns team finished eighth in the nation among more than 100 teams who originally entered. Coca-Cola has invited the TCU team to corporate headquarters in Atlanta to share its strategy of appealing to a growing market of Hispanic teens.
“The reason we are so proud of our students is that they went head-to-head with some of the top advertising programs in the toughest district in the nation and won a clear victory,” said Tommy Thomason, director of the Schieffer School. “They established the school’s advertising program among the nation’s elite by finishing in the top 10.”
Mike Wood, TCU professional-in-residence in advertising, was the adviser for the team, with help from Dr. Stacy Landreth-Grau and Robert Largen of the Schieffer School advertising/public relations faculty.
