Innovation is important, but not at the expense of the tried and true. That was the key to success for imagiCal at the National Student Advertising Competition regionals in Reno on April 21. imagiCal, the UC Berkeley chapter of the American Advertising Federation, took first place to become one of 16 schools across the country advancing to the national finals in Austin, Texas, from June 3 to 4.
This year’s challenge was to design a $100 million ad campaign for Nissan targeted at multicultural millennials between the ages of 18 and 29. The company asked teams to highlight innovation in its product line. Most competitors focused on branding Nissan as an innovative car company, but according to imagiCal President Anna Zhi, BS 12, Berkeley’s team zeroed in on a few specific advances and matched them with concrete retail and sales strategies.
“I think that’s one of the things that helped us win this year,” Zhi says. “A lot of our PR features are designed to get people to look inside the cars.”
This year’s imagiCal team includes more than 30 students. The chapter is sponsored by both Haas and the ASUC and has been competing in the National Student Advertising
Competition since 1980. It has won seven times at the regional level and placed both third and fourth in the national finals. The team is currently fundraising to cover costs for the upcoming trip to Austin. To contribute, contact [email protected]. For more information, see CalAAF.com.