After a day of applying their best advertising skills, two students from Texas A&M University’s Mays Business School showed their marketing talents as members of the top placing teams at this year’s Houston Advertising Federation’s annual student advertising competition. Mays students Kenya Madyun ’09 and J.T. Steinert ’09, both marketing majors, served as consultants for their respective teams, developing creative business strategies for one of today’s top corporate firms, Hewlett Packard. Madyun’s group took first in the contest and Steinert’s took second.

Sponsored by HP, the event challenged student participants from around the region to develop and prepare a comprehensive multi-media campaign for the company’s small business market. The five Aggie participants dispersed into twenty competing teams, made up of students from Oklahoma State University, the University of Texas at Austin, Louisiana State University, Sam Houston State University, Stephen F. Austin State University, and other Houston area schools.

“The opportunity to work for a real client, in a high-pressure environment, with members from other schools and other disciplines is something we just cannot recreate in the classroom,” said Lisa Troy, AAF faculty advisor.

The student American Advertising Federation is a multi-disciplinary organization open to any Texas A&M University student interested in advertising or related fields. AAF helps its student members to better understand the ins and outs of the advertising profession, while emphasizing the importance of professionalism and creative problem solving. Throughout the year, AAF members participate in competitions like the one held in Houston, tours of advertising agencies, meetings with guest speakers from advertising and related industries, in addition to taking on advertising plans for various student organizations.

“The Houston American Advertising Federation conference was an amazing experience. I had so much fun working with a group in a real life situation to reach a common goal. It’s reassuring to know that advertising is definitely what I would like to pursue after college and that I’m good at it,” said Mays’ winner Kenya Madyun.