The
Idea
I was chosen as one of the twenty students to represent The Modern College of Design at the National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC 2020). We took first place in AAF District Five and competed nationally! I was the marketing director leading the team in research and ensuring all creative assets matched the initial research. I worked with the creative director, art director, and other team members to advertise Adobe's Marketing Suite.
The Initial Research
Research
Adobe challenged the NSAC teams to help raise brand awareness of Adobe's marketing and ad analytics program through a B2B marketing campaign. We were given a 36-page creative brief, hours of webinars, and hundred-page target audience research; I was tasked to understand and educate the entire team to be on one page. As a marketing director, it was my job to organize and delegate additional research for the team and for the project.
Strategy and Marketing
After industry professional interviews, surveys, focus groups, and secondary research, we were able to identify the main problem; Adobe's perception as an industry leader in creative programs has not yet extended to the brand and advertising awareness. Our job was now to find ways to advertise to industry leaders in the B2B world and make them all aware of Adobe Experience Cloud for Advertising. Our solution to this problem was the Adobe The Experience: Build it. Own it.
The Process
From Research to Design
We, as a team, broke the marketing plan into four phases. These phases were completed using research and KPIs to ensure all decisions would work best for Adobe. This campaign started with accumulating brand awareness with the personas and ended with the Adobe Summit. As we were preparing creative assets, we were given an additional challenge. We now had to navigate how to finish the entire project at the very beginning of the pandemic.
Design to Plansbook
After overcoming the hurdles of the school closing down and learning the new normal, we were able to work from home for the first time and finish all of our creative ideas. Many nights were spent over Zoom completing the plansbook and presenting online. Marketing teams were paired up with designers to write content with creative and ensure everything was consistent. Despite all of the challenges thrown our way, we still placed first regionally.
