For all of the schools who have competed virtually over the past two years–thank you for your wonderful work!

Each year, a corporate sponsor provides an assignment or case study outlining the history of its product and current advertising situation. The case study is always candid and reflects a real world situation. Students must research the product and its competition, identify potential problem areas and devise a completely integrated communications campaign for the client. Each student team then “pitches” its campaign to a panel of judges.

Regional NSAC competitions are held each spring in 15 districts throughout the U.S. The winning team in each district then advances to compete on the national level at the AAF National Conference in June. Districts having 12 or more teams are granted a Wild Card Team.

The Structure of the NSAC Competition

The AAF is divided into 15 districts, each containing one to five states. Each district holds a competition in April. The winning team in each district and one wild card team then advances to compete on the national level at the AAF National Conference in June.

Professionals in the communications industry conduct judging for the district competition and judges at the national level are selected from the client and their advertising agencies. Year after year, some districts have as many as 22 teams competing. More than 150 colleges and universities take on the NSAC challenge each year on a national level.

The AAF Education Services department and the AAF Academic Division, comprised of a group of advertising educators and practitioners from across the country that oversees the policies and procedures of the competitions, govern the competition. These members ensure that there is a level playing field and that the competition demonstrates the highest academic and professional standards.