Contact: Ralph Derickson

(click photo to enlarge)
Team of integrated strategic communication students in the School of Journalism and Telecommunications

The District 5 competition was held in Charleston, W.Va., April 24. The UK team will go on to participate in a national competition in Dallas, Texas, June 13-14. The district win includes a prize of $500 to help the UK students with their expenses to participate in the national competition.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 30, 2004) -- With a campaign slogan of “Vacation Like You Mean It,” a team of integrated strategic communication students in the University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Telecommunications has won district-level student competition in the American Advertising Foundation (AAF) challenge featuring Florida tourism.

The team, whose campaign also advised the Florida Department of Tourism to “advertise like you mean it,” was directed by Rick Roth, associate professor of journalism and telecommunications. “This is a real coup for our students in the advertising program and provides a ‘real world’ work experience that is just invaluable for their future careers in advertising and public relations,” Roth said.

The District 5 competition was held in Charleston, W.Va., April 24. The UK team will go on to participate in a national competition in Dallas, Texas, June 13-14. The district win includes a prize of $500 to help the UK students with their expenses to participate in the national competition.

About 3,000 students participate annually in the AAF competition. Only 16 schools are selected to present their campaigns to a panel of industry executives at the national competition.

The 2004 National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC) challenge was to develop a $7 million communications plan to increase domestic leisure tourism from out-of-state residents to Florida.

The UK team won over several Kentucky schools including Western Kentucky University and Murray State University and schools from Ohio and West Virginia such as Youngstown State and West Virginia University in the District 5 competition.

This is the second consecutive year that a UK team has won the District 5 competition. UK has won the district in three of the past four years. The UK Integrated Strategic Communication program, which prepares students for careers in advertising, public relations, direct marketing and sales promotion, is one of three undergraduate majors in the School of Journalism and Telecommunications.

The School of Journalism and Telecommunications was re-accredited last year by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications. UK’s program is one of three accredited programs in Kentucky.

The UK students on the advertising competition team and their hometowns are: Eric Banks, Nicholasville; Rebecca Colley, Ashland; Kelsey Corcoran, Ft. Thomas; Elizabeth Duncan, Lovington, Ill.; Claire Fangman, Louisville; Christopher Filiciello, Little Egg Harbor, N.J.; Katherine Gray, Parrottsville, Tenn.; Lauren Hites, Prestonburg; Kelley McCabe, Louisville; McKensi Milburn, Dade City, Fla.; Jared Rapier, Lexington; Breeanna Rosen, Huntsville, Ala.; Cori Scanlon, Lexington; Lauren Sutton, Louisville; and Ashley Tingle, Campbellsburg.