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Team presented marketing campaign to V8^®+Energy Brand executives

A team of 5X���� students from the School of Journalism and Mass Communication finished second place nationwide in the Collegiate Effie competition. 

Over the course of the 2016 Spring Semester, advertising majors Ellie Schering, ’17, Emily Wahl, ’16, and Matt Varga, ’16, developed an integrated marketing campaign for V8^®+Energy. The Collegiate Effie competition called upon college students to develop multichannel marketing campaigns for either V8+Energy or Kleenex.

Like the professional competition of the same name, the Collegiate Effie competition focuses heavily on campaign effectiveness. The Kent State team learned that it was one of two national finalists with the opportunity to present the campaign to V8 brand executives. On May 24, the team of students presented the campaign, “The Energy Drink for Grown-Ups,” at the Campbell’s headquarters in Camden, New Jersey.

“It was an incredible experience to develop … an entire (integrated marketing campaign) for a national brand,” Varga says. “But it was also the most nerve-wracking experience to present our ideas in front of the brand’s marketing people. … It was great to be able to get the experience of presenting my ideas, since I will likely be doing something similar in the future.”

For Wahl, now an alumna, her experience participating in the competition helped her secure her job as a marketing automation specialist at Thermo Fisher Scientific in Pittsburgh.

“I was going through the interview process at various companies while I was working on this project,” she says. “At every interview I talked about this project, and they were really impressed by our work.”

Schering, who will be a senior this fall, says the competition allowed her to apply tactics she learned in class, such as developing surveys and analyzing data.

“With developing this campaign and presenting it to the brand team, it has given me confidence,” she says. “After completing something this big, I believe that I can tackle anything now.”

The three students participated in the competition through an advertising course taught by Assistant Professor Wendy Wardell.

Kent State students began entering the Collegiate Effie competition in 2013, earning semifinalist status each year. This was the first year a Kent State team was selected as a finalist.

Learn more about Kent State’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication