By: Carly Nelson

Florida State’s National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC) team, Arrowhead Advertising, took home first place at the district-level competition.

On April 19, Arrowhead emerged victorious at the American Advertising Federation’s District 4 competition in Orlando. The team placed first and earned awards for Best Brand Installation and Best Research and Insight. Arrowhead is one of 18 out of 103 schools that will move on to compete in the semi-final round of the competition held May 2 and 3.  

The American Advertising Federation’s NSAC is a premier college advertising competition where more than 2,000 students compete to create the best strategic campaign for a corporate client. This competition allows students to gain experience in advertising, marketing, and media production for a real-life client. This year, students across the U.S. created an integrated marketing campaign for NSAC client, Tide. 

Dr. Kelly Kelly, Arrowhead’s faculty adviser, spent the year guiding and supporting the Arrowhead team. 

“The team conducted copious amounts of research in the fall and identified a key insight and marketing problem,” Kelly said. “Their strategy addressed that problem and their executions charted a course forward for Tide. Ultimately, the competition is a learning experience, and I am so impressed with the teamwork, enthusiasm, and the process that unfolded.”

The Arrowhead team has devoted lots of time and effort to their campaign. Working together and within their respective teams, Arrowhead has been able to create, plan, and effectively present their campaign. Over the past eight months, the Arrowhead team has gone above and beyond to put together their NSAC campaign. 

Leah Solomon, this year’s Arrowhead team captain, spent the past year leading and ensuring the team is successful with their campaign. Solomon is overjoyed with the work Arrowhead has completed so far and is excited to see the future of their campaign as it continues on in the NSAC competition. 

“I am so incredibly proud of this team and the collaborative efforts it has taken to make our goal a reality,” said Solomon. “Winning districts is just the first step in the right direction, and we are so excited to see our campaign move to the semi-finals!” 

Best of luck to the Arrowhead team as they prepare to take their campaign to the NSAC semi-finals and beyond. 

Arrowhead Advertising team 2023-2024: Leah Solomon, Eve Larkin, AnnaGrace Bracken, Cory Cannarozzi, Gabrielle Christina, Christina Conenna, Sophia Diaz, Emily Hale, Caroline Hamon, Lauren Hansel, Jenna Harris, Tanner Hirten, Samanta Humphreys, Alexandra Martin, Madison Mayberry, Jack McMahon, Max Mitchell, Phaedra Mladenovic, Megan Mohrmann, Jackie Ouellette, Annabel Owen, Emily Pakula, Kassidy Saba, Haley Thomasson, Karen Toussaint, Faith Wood, Grace Wu

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Carly Nelson, a Sophomore in FSU’s advertising program, wrote this article for the team’s blog; edited by Megan Mohrmann.