Razorbacks Sweep 1st and 2nd Place in International Marketing Competition

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The members of RedTop Media, from left, Sarah Van Doorn, Sydney Richardson, adviser Ignatius Fosu, Amanda Millán, Hillary Frank and Emily Todd.

NEW YORK — Student teams from the University of Arkansas School of Journalism and Strategic Media won both first and second place in the 2017-18 Collegiate ECHO Marketing Challenge.

Out of more than 270 entries submitted by student teams from around the world, six student teams — three from undergraduate programs and three from graduate programs — were honored for proposing a marketing plan, which this year promoted Fossil's Smart Q Watches among consumers 18- to 35-years old.

The U of A undergraduate team taking the gold — RedTop Media — consisted of students Hillary Frank, Amanda Millán, Sydney Richardson, Emily Todd and Sarah Van Doorn. The team also won honorable mentions in the categories of marketing strategy, visual summary, and video commercial.

Members of Arkie Agency, from left, Julia Wright, Brooke Borgognoni, Jeffrey Wilson and Emily Langenfeld.

The silver-winning undergraduate team — Arkie Agency — was made up of Brooke Borgognoni, Emily Langenfeld, Julia Wright and Jeffrey Wilson. The team also won an honorable mention for creative strategy.

The teams were advised by Ignatius Fosu, associate professor of advertising in the School of Journalism and Strategic Media in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences.

"It was a delight teaching students who were extremely passionate about the assignment," Fosu said. "They were very committed, loved the opportunity to work on a real-world campaign and paid attention to every little detail. This unique opportunity has prepared them adequately for the real world. The University of Arkansas is very proud of the gold and silver winning teams!"

Members of the Lighthouse Marketing team, from left, Carley King, Morgan Moody, Elise Parker, Andrew McLaughlin and Clarissa Bustamante.

A third U of A undergraduate team — Lighthouse Marketing — made it to the semifinals of the competition. That team included Clarissa Bustamante, Carley King, Andrew McLaughlin, Morgan Moody and Elise Parker. All winning entries were produced in Fosu's fall 2017 and spring 2018 Campaigns course, which applies advertising principles and techniques to the preparation of a complete advertising and marketing campaign.

Among the undergraduate teams, Marketing EDGE awarded a total of $3,500 to students at the U of A and Temple University, whose undergraduate team won third place.

The Collegiate ECHO Marketing Challenge is hosted by Marketing EDGE, a national education nonprofit committed to fostering skill-ready, responsive and responsible marketers of the future. The content of this year's competition was provided by Fossil, an American watch and lifestyle company. 

Conducted since 1986, the Marketing EDGE Collegiate ECHO Challenge provides college students with a real-world marketing project by challenging them to create and pitch a marketing campaign to a leading brand. Over its 33-year history, Collegiate ECHO sponsors have included such prestigious companies as Collette Travel, Facebook, DIRECTV, Domino's Pizza and Microsoft Advertising.