Marketing and advertising students make their pitch

Frozen food sustained 22 St. John’s students for nine months – academically, that is.

For the last two semesters, 10 students from the Peter J. Tobin College of Business and 12 from the College of Professional Studies developed a complete advertising and marketing communication plan for Tai Pei Frozen Meals and Appetizers for their upper-level marketing course, in preparation for a year-end face off against similar programs from around the country.

Co-taught by Assistant Professor of Marketing Amber Chenevert of Tobin and Assistant Professor of Mass Communication Neil Feinstein of CPS, the National Student Advertising Competition Class assigns students to work on a project for a product chosen by the American Advertising Federation. The project requires students to engage in every aspect of a campaign, from planning and conception, through research and strategy, to planning and execution. The work culminates in a presentation at the AAF district competitions in the spring.

The St. John’s team presented at the District 12 competition at the New York Institute of Technology Auditorium in Manhattan on April 22, coming in second behind Syracuse but ahead of Penn State and Ithaca College.

“Our district is perhaps the hardest in the country, and the fact that we beat out schools that have more funding and deeper resources is proof of the talent of our students and the success of the unique, interdisciplinary partnership between CPS-Advertising and Tobin-Marketing,” said Chenevert.

Their enthusiasm undimmed by falling just short of taking home the top district prize, the presenting team of Kai Butler (CPS), Brandon Lisama (CPS), Mariana Gomez (Tobin) and Leonard R. Jones III (Tobin) treated the University community at large to a repeat performance of its presentation in the President’s Room at Carnesecca Arena on April 26. The team ran through the main elements of its campaign: research, strategy, creative, media, and evaluation. The campaign’s tagline, “It’s coming. Be ready,” refers to solving hunger with a Tai Pei Frozen meal.

“From a scholarship and practice perspective, the success of the NSAC class at St. John’s is a perfect example of why interdisciplinary projects matter,” said Chenevert. “This is the direction in which the industry is going.”