Work of Strategic Communication Students Celebrated at Awards Ceremony

The Honors Recognize High Quality Work for Real-World Clients and Service to MU Campus

Columbia, Mo. (May 18, 2015) — It was a night of celebration as the Missouri School of Journalism recognized the work of students at the Strategic Communication Awards program.

AdZou team Advocate gather for a photograph after winning first place in strategy and third in design. From left: Zoe Ellis, Alexandra Kurtyka, Erin Ratican, Maggie Hall, Kahlee Andresen and Samantha Dulle.

The ceremony highlighted honors from the 2014-15 academic year, including those received from international advertising and public relations agencies, companies and other organizations, scholarship recipients and recognitions on the University of Missouri campus.

The strategic communication emphasis area includes advertising, public relations and related areas. All students complete a capstone course in which they complete a comprehensive fee-based campaign for real clients. Past clients have included Hallmark, Walmart, Redbox and numerous nonprofit organizations through student-staffed agencies MOJO Ad and AdZou.

Along with seven judged categories, the Strategic Communication Awards ceremony also honored teams from the MOJO Ad capstone as well as those who were part of the National Student Advertising Competition and Mizzou 39. Recent strategic communication graduates and experts in their fields served as judges for the event. Many of them were recipients of awards at the inaugural 2014 Strategic Communication Awards program.

The judged categories were:

The third-place winner of the Best AdZou Plan Book was team Atomic. From left: Katie Miller, Sarah Rosselet, Ali Colwell and Shannon Yokley. Not pictured: Dara Williams.

Best AdZou Book Design

Teams submitted the plan book they worked on during the spring AdZou class. This category analyzed all design elements of the submission from the layout to the typography.

First Place: rAdZou. Team members were Maggie Gallagher, Stephanie Hiquiana, Jordan Huss, Melina Loggia and Tucker Moore.
Second Place: The Super Intendents. Team members were Katie Jost, Kelsey Boes, Grace Borhart, Rachel Koehn, Cassie Naes and Charles O’Neill.
Third Place: Advocate. Team members were Kahlee Andresen, Samantha Dulle, Zoe Ellis, Maggie Hallam, Alexandra Kurtyka and Erin Ratican.

Best AdZou Plan Book

This category awards the best overall AdZou plan book produced during the spring. Every element of the plan book – from the research to the creative brief to the budget – was considered in the judging.

First Place: ADVenture. Team members were Kelsey Arends, Lauren Haden, Lauren Kliethermes, Anthony Tovar, Andrea Westhoff and Jaimee Zupan.
Second Place: Verve. Team members were Caroline Federer, Amy Sayers, Valirie Morgan, Nicole Miller, Emily Dias and Savannah Kannberg.
Third Place: Atomic. Team members were Ali Colwell, Katie Miller, Sarah Rosselet, Dara Williams and Shannon Yokley.

From left, Jordan Huss, Tucker Moore and Melina Loggia of the rAdZou team pose after a first-place win in the AdZou Plan Book Design category.

Best AdZou Strategy

Teams submitted the plan book they worked on during the spring AdZou class. This category analyzed the book in the area of campaign research and strategy.

First Place: Advocate. Team members were Kahlee Andresen, Samantha Dulle, Zoe Ellis, Maggie Hallam, Alexandra Kurtyka and Erin Ratican.
Second Place: Verve. Team members were Caroline Federer, Amy Sayers, Valirie Morgan, Nicole Miller, Emily Dias and Savannah Kannberg.
Third Place: The Super Intendents. Team members were Katie Jost, Kelsey Boes, Grace Borhart, Rachel Koehn, Cassie Naes and Charles O’Neill.

Best Creative Portfolio

Finalists submitted their portfolio of work for judging. Each element was evaluated as a whole.

First Place: Sarah Campbell
Second Place: Catalina Costa
Third Place: Brooke Burge

Best Design and Copy Advertisement

Finalists submitted one original advertisement that included both design and copywriting elements. Each element was judged individually and as a whole.

First Place: Mitch Renfrew
Second Place: Brooke Burge, Paige Smart, Claire Lenzen
Third Place: Kyle Winker and Catalina Costa

Those who helped plan the Strategic Communication Awards program celebrate a successful event. From left: Devin Wadley, Melina Loggia, Adjunct Professor Tanya Heath, Brittany Robinson, Liza Poskin, Olivia King, Ann Wade and Hannah Wilson.

Best Promotional Video

Finalists submitted promotional videos created during the last year. They were evaluated for style, creativity and work.

First Place: GL Richardson
Second Place: Jordan Santo
Third Place: Liza Poskin

Best Public Relations Feature

Submissions were judged on an original feature story that was written for the Public Relations Writing class. Submissions were judged on the organization, angle and flow of the story as well as the style.

First Place: Ally Straussner
Second Place: Grace Borhart
Third Place: Colleen Barry

Other recognitions received by Missouri School of Journalism strategic communication students during the year include the following:

Honor Societies

LSV: Sequoyah Moore
Omicron Delta Kappa: Jayne Andrews, Kyle Gunby, Kiersten Kuc, Lizzie Nussbaum, Alexis Schaefer, Liz Skretkowicz, Connor Voss and Audrey Wilcox

Mizzou 39

The annual award, sponsored by the Mizzou Alumni Association, recognizes achievement in the classroom and the community.

Recipients: Alexis Johnson, Lauren Rundquist and Liz Skretkowicz [More]

2015 Most Promising Multicultural Students Program, Sponsored by the American Advertising Federation

Recipients: Ebony Francis and Anthony Tovar [More]

National Student Advertising Campaign Presentation Team

Best Presenter Award for the District 9 NSAC: Taylor Christmas
- Team Members: Brooke Burge, designer; Taylor Christmas, senior copywriter; Drew Grier, creative; Brad Spudich, junior copywriter; and Lani Tuitasi, production manager.

National 3% Competition Award

Recipients: Jenny Sanchez and Anna Vierneisel [More]

Rewriting Realities

The art and writing contest is hosted by the University of Missouri Multicultural Certificate office. [More]

First Place, Art Category: Sequoyah Moore
Second Place, Writing: Savannah Miller
Exemplary Entry, Art: Natalie Kirst

Updated: September 8, 2020