17
November
2014
|
10:06 AM
America/Chicago

Marketing Students Create Winning Ad Campaigns at Annual Conference

Twelve UHD marketing majors participated in the 2015 AAF-Houston Student Competition & Conference held Nov. 8-9 at the Sheraton Suites Houston. Two of the three top teams included UHD students. Ana Mendoza-Flores was on the first-place team and Rocio Alcorta was on the third-place team. Participants came from campuses across Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma to compete at the conference.

The American Advertising Federation of Houston assigned students to teams to create a promotional campaign in eight hours. During this brief timeframe, teams must develop a theme, strategy, creative material and a video presentation. In the words of Ana Mendoza-Flores, "Having to come up with a creative solution as well as the marketing and media strategy within eight hours felt a little overwhelming but my group was full of talent."

This year's challenge was presented by Midtown Management District, which sought a fresh promotional campaign showcasing the neighborhood as a cultural arts destination. After the briefing by Midtown Management District, the teams dispersed across Houston to different advertising and media agencies where they worked intensely. The UHD students loved the experience. Rocio Alcorta summarized everyone's thoughts about the competition and conference by saying "The conference was a great experience that allowed me to apply what I have learned to a real campaign. It was a great feeling to work with strangers and be able to complete the task."

The mission of the American Marketing Association (AMA) University of Houston-Downtown (UHD) Chapter is to strengthen the members' marketing knowledge and practical experience by exposing students to real-world marketing through professional development events, social networking activities and community service projects. AMA collegiate members put classroom theory into practice.