GVSU students take top prizes at advertising competition

About 40 students from local colleges got a strong lead on their advertising careers during the fourth annual Yardsticks advertising and public relations competition.

The Top 10 finalists in this year’s event, held on October 30 at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, included students from Grand Valley State University and Central Michigan University.

Grand Valley students Joseph Buckenmeyer, Richard Iseppi, Andrew Woycik, Kyle Norton, as well as Central Michigan students Andrea Shaw and Stephanie Butcher made up three of the four winning teams.

Yardsticks allows entrants to work as individuals or in groups to develop a marketing campaign for a local business. Participants work from the same strategy brief and target audience profile provided by the selected client. This year, students developed campaigns for The Hotel Kitchen, which produces and sells various sauces under the direction of Josef Huber, chef for the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel in Grand Rapids.

Those selected for the top 10 finalists, eight of whom were Grand Valley students, pitched their concepts to an audience of about 120 professionals, educators, students and the judges. From there, the final four winners were chosen and awarded their yardstick-shaped trophies.

Winners will now intern for The Hotel Kitchen and turn their concepts into an actual campaign for the client.

The competition, previously known as The Creative Smackdown, is now in its 14th year. Sponsored by The Polishing Center, Yardsticks aims to provide students with constructive feedback from area professionals, an opportunity to build their portfolios, and to network with others who are passionate about the field of advertising.

“[Yardsticks] provides something beyond the classroom: a chance to make something, get noticed, get nervous and present in front of peers and professionals,” said Frank Blossom, coordinator of Yardsticks and affiliate professor of advertising and public relations at Grand Valley. “It’s something I and the other advertising professionals wish they had when they were in school and it’s a launching pad for careers in advertising.”