The Loyalist College Advertising program has invited local high school students to participate in the first annual AdSTARS competition sponsored by the program and advertising industry professionals. The competition is designed for grade 11 students in communications, marketing, media, business, English or arts courses. It is an opportunity for them to combine their creativity and imagination as they address a communications challenge that deals with a social concern.
Each team of five students will be charged with developing an advertising campaign that involves several media channels such as radio, newspaper, posters or television. Campaign submissions will be judged and the top teams will be invited to present their campaign to a panel of industry professional judges at the AdSTARS final pitch event in May. Each of the five members of the first place team will win $1,000 to put toward their tuition at Loyalist College.
Advertising program professor Rob Kranendonk has visited many high school classes in the Quinte region. “Students are very enthusiastic about communication, and the level of talent I see is tremendous. When I’ve opened up the idea of an advertising competition, they’ve been very excited about the prospect. So it’s great to see it all coming together with the AdSTARS competition this year.”
“Our firm is thrilled to be the industry partner of this innovative College initiative,” said Shawn Patriquin, founder and President of They Integrated Inc. “I believe that this introduction of the exciting business of advertising and its processes to students at the high school level will prove to be an invaluable learning experience for them. At the same time it is beneficial to the advertising industry as it fosters an awareness of and interest in the industry among the next generation.”
Jane Harrison, Acting Dean of Media Studies, spoke of how this competition is an excellent way of introducing students to the world of advertising. “A project such as AdSTARS is opportunity knocking for high school students. The participants will discover the excitement of working with a creative team to develop something that is imaginative and effective, followed by the chance to present their campaign and gain feedback from people who work in this industry every day. Selecting a career path can be challenging. Experiences like this provide a window, one that allows students to try, see and explore a career option which might be a perfect choice for them.”
Teachers interested in finding out more about this competition can contact Charlotte Conard at (613) 969-1913, ext. 2468 or e-mail Cconard@loyalistc.on.ca.
Media Contact: Marilyn Warren, Communications, Loyalist College, (613) 969-1913, ext. 2332; e-mail: mwarren@loyalistc.on.ca or Professor Charlotte Conard, ext. 2468.