Grady AdPR Students & Faculty Win Annual Collegiate ECHO Challenge

Grady AdPR students and faculty swept this year's international collegiate ECHO competition held by the Direct Marketing Educational Foundation, claiming the top three prizes for building campaigns for the client SkyMall. There were approximately 120 entries in this year's worldwide competition, and among the judges were experienced direct/interactive marketing professionals. 

A team led by senior lecturer Dr. Jennifer Griffith's campaigns course won "Gold" for its campaign "Spirit in the Sky"; part-time faculty member (and Grady MA alumna) Cindy Reynold's team took home "Silver" for its campaign "Free Your Inner Child"; and associate professor Dr. Jooyoung Kim led a team to "Bronze" for a campaign entitled "Expectations Propelled." 

The DMEF, founded in 1966, is the educational foundation established by the Direct Marketing Association. Grady College student teams have won several awards from the ECHO competition in the past, including "Gold" and "Silver" in 2009, "Bronze" in 2005, and several Honorable Mention awards. 

Congrats to the following student members for all their hard work in this competition. 

First Place Gold Winner

Team Name: jsquaredcsquared

Team Members: Jessica Berresse, Clayton Cousens, Caroline McConnell, Jessilyn Stoks

Campaign Name: Spirit in the Sky

Faculty Advisor: Jennifer Griffith

Second Place Silver Winner

Team Name: Neau: Corporate Branding and Advertising

Team Members: Baily Davis, Caroline Eddleman, Morgan Masey, Julianna Simonini

Campaign Name: Free Your Inner Child

Faculty Advisor:  Cindy Reynolds

Third Place Bronze Winner

Team Name: Aero

Team Members:  Nicole Brabender, Ariel Fenster, Melissa Jackson, Thuong Le

Campaign Name: Expectations Propelled

Faculty Advisor: Jooyoung Kim

AdPR Faculty Profile: Advertising Professor, Dr. JooYoung Kim

Dr. Kim is an Associate Professor of Advertising at University of Georgia in the Grady College of Journalism & Mass Communication.

What classes do you teach?

Advertising Campaigns (Undergrad/Grad), Global and Multicultural Advertising (Undergrad/Grad), Advertising Research (Grad), Quantitative Research Methods in Mass Communication (Grad), Advertising Management (Undergrad)

What is the focus of your research?

Advertising integration effectiveness, brand extension, brand loyalty, and consumer emotion

What is your relationship with your students (undergrad and grad)?

I am connected with many undergraduate students through social networking sites such as LinkedIn and Facebook. My relationship with graduate students is not only for research but also about making long-term friendships in academic life. Sometimes it feels that we are like a family.

What do you do in your spare time?

Golf! Still struggling but an avid golfer. My goal this year is to break 90 consistently.

How do your experiences in advertising in South Korea effect or translate to your work here?

My experience in advertising in Korea is a unique one that can contribute to my research and teaching. I have used many Korean ads in my Global and Multicultural Advertising class. Persuasion styles between Korea and the U.S. are often very different. Students can really take on new perspectives in terms of creative and message strategy from watching Korean ads.

This past semester, what account did your Advertising Campaigns class work on?

My campaigns class participated in Direct Marketing Education Foundation's (DMEF) Collegiate ECHO Challenge. Each year, the sponsoring client is different and this past year it was charity:water, a non-profit organization bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations. Five teams in my class submitted their projects to DMEF and we should know the results of the competition in July. I am excited to see how charity:water evaluates the ideas from my student teams.

Find out more about Dr. Kim here.