HPU’S NSAC TEAM WINS GRANT AT AMERICAN ADVERTISING FEDERATION’S NATIONAL STUDENT ADVERTISING COMPETITION

HPU’s National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC) team participated in the AAF NSAC National Finals in St. Louis, Missouri, held in conjunction with AAF’s ADMERICA conference.  

At the NSAC award luncheon held on June 3, 2023, the HPU team received accolades, a trophy, and a $1,000 award for the “Best Use of Marketing Research” for their advertising campaign for Indeed. The $1,000 grant is courtesy of the NSAC research partner AdMall by Sales Fuel.

The SalesFuel’s AdMall for Agencies provides the “Best Use of Marketing Research Award” to one collegiate team each year. Teams are judged by NSAC judges for their use of marketing research from any source in the development of the campaign. The winning team receives a unique glass trophy and a $1,000 grant for their collegiate ad club.

Only the top eight qualifying teams compete in the finals of the conference, moving the best of the best forward. At this stage all teams compete fresh, regardless of their semifinalist rank.

During the finals, a judges’ panel from the client Indeed considered the plans book and presentation score sheets, reflected on the work of all teams and determined the rankings. The national judges included Federico Carcich, Carmen Graf and Javier Torok.

The Judges’ comments and final ranking were released on June 14, 2023. HPU placed eighth in the final round of a very closely scored competition. HPU’s team was recognized for their outstanding research and evaluation strategy. This is the first time HPU has ever received a monetary award for “Best Marketing Research in the National Student Advertising Competition.”

One judge mentioned the strength of the team’s opening presentation, how it provided insight and context of the competitive landscape.

Another judge stated, “You have recommended one of the highest budgets, but it's clear you've done your homework on it, as well as included a contingency fund for optimization. This is a fair budget, you did well!”

HPU’s team was the smallest team to compete in the NSAC national finals. The largest team had over 300 student members contributing to the project. Impressed by HPU’s overall production quality and surprised by the size of the team an AAF national representative commented that, “the judges were so impressed, we’ll be talking about this team for years to come.” 

AAF (Hawaii) District 13 NSAC Chair, Noah Tom said, “It was such an honor to be connected in any way to your amazing team this year. This will be one of those stories that we will tell till no one is left to listen. The award HPU won usually goes to a placing team. 

NSAC Awards and Prizes

The top three teams were awarded with trophies and cash prizes: 1st place: $3,500; 2nd place: $2,500; 3rd place: $2,000.  

AdMall by SalesFuel: “Best Use of Marketing Research Award” to HPU.

The award includes a $1,000 grant and a trophy and is given to a finalist team who has demonstrated the best marketing research in their NSAC presentation and plans book.