Recently, BrandExtract had some visitors…
No, we didn’t have an all-company alien encounter or a surprise visit from the in-laws.
Our visitors were much more interesting than that.
BrandExtract proudly hosted a team of 9 students from Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana who were participating in the American Advertising Federation Houston 2011 Student Conference and Competition.
At this conference, students are separated from their school friends and put onto teams of 8-15 students from a variety of states. The teams are then sent to advertising agencies, media companies and marketing firms around Houston to work on a real campaign for a real client. For many students, this is their first time working outside of the classroom on a real-life campaign, which is great for their portfolios.
This year, students were challenged to create a fully integrated marketing campaign for the soft drink Sunkist by the DrPepper Snapple Group, and present their ideas on camera in just eight hours. You can see in the picture below the students were working very intensely to get their campaign completed by deadline.
The team had a ton of great ideas, and beat the deadline. BrandExtract was very impressed with their creativity and their ability to work together despite not know each other prior to the conference. Congratulations team!
Having participated in this competition the past 3 years while I was a student at Oklahoma State, I know how valuable this experience is. Not only do students get a taste of the fast-paced, deadline-driven world of advertising, but also they get a unique opportunity to network with professionals. Students come from all over Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma, so this event also gives them an opportunity to start building professional relationships in other markets that can last the remainder of their careers.
I highly recommend that students get involved in their school’s AAF chapter and attend events like this competition. Professionals come to these events for the main purpose of meeting the new talent in the industry, and students should take advantage of that. I also recommend students make business cards for these events and have their online portfolio, website or blog URL on the card.
The Houston conference and competition is just one of many networking events throughout the year that the AAF offers. Many of the conferences are for students to network and learn from professionals, and prepare for their careers in the industry. Check out the AAF-Houston website for more information: http://www.aaf-houston.org/
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