Two Charles Sturt University (CSU) student advertising teams have made it to the finals of the 2013 International Advertising Association’s (IAA) annual university student marketing communications competition for the fourth consecutive year.

 

The presentations to determine the national champions will be delivered in Sydney on Monday 11 November.

 

Ms Anne Llewellynn, lecturer in advertising at the CSU School of Communication and Creative Industries in Bathurst, said the CSU Kajulu Blue and Kajulu Red teams overcame high-calibre competition from 13 other teams from eight universities to make the finals.

 

“Not only have we made it to the IAA finals again, but Charles Sturt University is the only university to ever have had two teams in the finals (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013), and we have now won the IAA national event seven times out of 10. I’m so proud of our students and congratulate them all,” Ms Llewellynn said.

 

Each Kajulu team consists of five final-year advertising students from CSU in Bathurst and one final-year graphic design student from CSU in Wagga Wagga. The Kajulu Blue team members are Ms Liz Stephens (Team Leader), Mr Aidan Arentz, Ms Mattie Mould, Ms Kate Scrutton, Mr Campbell Walker and graphic design student Mr Luke Wilson. The Kajulu Red team members are Ms Kristie Bennett (Team Leader), Mr Tom Barbour, Ms Olivia Brechney, Mr Eric Franken, Mr Tannah Gravelis and graphic design student Mr Jacob Forrest.

 

The annual IAA ‘Big Idea’ competition selects a charity for the various teams to develop campaigns for, and the students pitch their presentations to a judging panel of marketing executives and a representative of the charity. The 2013 charity is ‘Kids Helpline’, and the CEO, Ms Tracy Adams, said, “The campaign material submitted was of an extremely high standard. Those teams who have taken time to understand who we are, how we operate, donor behaviour, research and surveys have presented concepts that are engaging, fun, and innovative.”

 

When announcing the finalists, the IAA Australia Chapter President and Chair, Ms Heather Leembruggen, observed, “This year’s record number of 15 team submissions from around 100 students all demonstrate thoughtful insights, energy, enthusiasm and a range of fine ideas. All who participated in IAA ‘Big Idea’ 2013 can be proud of their work”.

 

Chairman of the judging panel, Mr Jaimes Leggett, CEO of M&C Saatchi, said, "Judging this year's entries has been nothing short of humbling. The quality of thinking and the obvious effort that has gone into its manifestation is extraordinary. I wish I had been half as good as they are when I graduated. Their talent bodes well for the future of the industry as a whole."

 

Mr Geoffrey Nevill, manager of Optus Community Partnerships, the sponsor of the IAA ‘Big Idea’, said, “I was really impressed with the 2013 submissions. Some of them were beyond their years in concept development through to implementation.”