Webster University traditionally fares well at the American Advertising Federation’s district competition. This year was different. Not only did its team win the district title, but it beat out more than 200 colleges and universities around the country to place second in the nation.

The 19-person team finished second in the AAF national competition, beating out schools such as George Washington University, the University of Wisconsin, Southern Methodist University and the University of Tennessee.

“It’s all the students and that’s the power of it,” said Assistant Professor Sally Howald, one of the team’s two advisors. “You can’t make somebody work this hard.”

The team’s presentation outlined a full advertising campaign for Postal Vault, a company that manufactures secure mailboxes. The campaign sought to create a demand for the product; improve trade relationships with home builders and retailers; and establish Postal Vault as an industry leader. But more than improve the outlook for Postal Vault, the campaign offered students hands-on experience in the field and a golden learning opportunity.



“Not only did I learn more about advertising and marketing, I gained a lot of experience working with a wide variety of people and personalities,” said Account Supervisor Natalie Sasser (BA, Advertising and Marketing Communications/Management with an emphasis in Marketing, Web Site Development minor, 2006).

“I also learned a lot about myself. I was clearly able to recognize my weaknesses and mistakes from working with people with different perspectives. Most importantly, I learned that I need to learn how to handle stress!”

Creative Director Rachel Hamblin (BA, Advertising and Marketing Communications, 2006) said she learned the importance of passion and enjoyment of the process, not just the outcomes — exactly the point of the class.

“This is the type of student that goes for the total ‘give-it-all-you-got’ experience,” Howald said. “At our school in particular, there is a good solid group that know it’s going to be hard. They know they’ll have to give up a lot … and they go for it.”

Christina Klupe (BA, Advertising and Marketing Communications, 2006) joined the team at the urging of Assistant Professor Susan Seymour, the team’s other co-advisor. She served as media planner, an experience that helped her solidify her own plans for the future.

“I would have been lost had I not taken Media Planning, Buying and Selling,” Klupe said. “I actually took it because it fit into my schedule and it ended up helping me decide that I would enjoy doing this for a job someday.”

Roberto Salas (BA, Advertising and Marketing Communications, 2006) enrolled in the class as a way to beef up his resume. He served as art director on the project.



“I wanted to be part of it because I thought it was the best way to show professionals what I’m capable of doing,” Salas said. “Professionals love to see award-winning campaigns, so I got into the class with the mentality that we were going to take it all.”

Instructors for the class were upfront from the start — enroll in our advertising class and forget about Spring Break; plan on spending nearly all your free time completing our class project. “It is very realistic, the decision-making process and what goes on,” Howald said.

The warning deterred few.

The Webster University team included Ross Bradley, Elizabeth Campbell, Julia Huong Dinh, Joslyn Dumas, Katie Eigel, Diana Garbs, Bradley Gardner, Hamblin, Klupe, Alexa Kunz, Angela Maniscalco, Rachel Novak, Jennifer Ogle, Dilyan Pavlov, Salas, Amanda Sang, Sasser, Jessica Sontheimer and Amanda Zeller.

“There were times when we were discouraged and frustrated, of course, and times when we didn’t have faith in one aspect of the project or another,” Hamblin said. “However, the good thing about our team was that someone always had the energy to jumpstart our momentum and move us past the obstacle.

“More than once, our advisors were the ones who didn’t let us settle. Our team truly consisted of pure determination — and some really talented individuals.”

Extra! Extra!
Roberto Salas has since been named the Bronze Award winner in an international advertising competition sponsored by portfolios.com.

Return to Top  

• Words from the Dean

• Nikki Boyer ’97
  Media Communications

• Roll the Credits: SOC Alumni Permeate
  Crew of “Bill”
• Advertising Students
  Net National Honors

• Joshua Hearst ’06
  Audio Production
• Radhika Rai ’05
  Advertising and
  Marketing
  Communications
• Lindsey Timmerman ’05
  Public Relations

• Home Page
• About SCAN
• Become a GURU
• Send This to a Friend
• Contact Us
• Archived Issues
• Subscribe/Unsubscribe
• Copyright
• SOC Home Page