AAF National Student Advertising Competition 2025
Client: AT&T
Research driven integrated campaign for Gen Z, delivered as a plans book and a live pitch.
Team project at the VCU Brandcenter - cross functional
Role: Creative, concept development, storytelling, and deck build.
Background
The AAF National Student Advertising Competition is a nationwide program where university teams build a research driven, integrated campaign for a real corporate client. Each year the client issues a detailed brief with brand context, the business challenge, and performance objectives. Teams use this to guide research, strategy, creative development, media planning, budget, and measurement. Core deliverables are a written plans book and a timed live presentation followed by Q & A with industry judges. Schools compete through district rounds, then semi finals, then nationals. For the 2024–2025 cycle the client was AT&T.
The Ask
Use “Connecting Changes Everything” to grow brand love and relevance with Gen Z, driving desire and preference for AT&T.
Skills
- Research synthesis
- Strategy framing
- Creative development
- Media thinking
- Deck design
Process
I helped translate research into a single organizing idea, developed concept routes and example executions, and shaped the story arc for the deck and live pitch.
Deliverables
Plans book: a concise document that captures research, strategy, creative, media, and budget in a judge-ready format.
Final presentation: a timed live pitch followed by Q&A with industry judges.
Outcome
Strengthened cross functional collaboration and creative problem solving under real constraints. Deepened my understanding of how research, strategy, and execution align in a national jury setting.
Check out the Plans Book here
Check out the full presentation here