GlobalPittsburgh Picked as Featured Organization for One-Day College Student Advertising Pitch Competition

GlobalPittsburgh was selected as the featured organization in a one-day competition among college students in advertising-related disciplines sponsored by the Pittsburgh Advertising Federation. Titled The Pitch: An Advertising Education Challenge, the competition took place on Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2011.

Five teams of students got hands-on experience by working at a Pittsburgh advertising agency on a real-world project through the annual one-day competition, named for the advertising term describing the presentation made by an agency to win a new client or introduce a new product.

The college junior and seniors in advertising specialties including creative, consumer research, brand strategy, media planning and account management were assigned to one of five local agencies including Brunner, Chemistry, MARC USA, Mullen and Smith Brothers, where they spent the day gaining exposure to the field and professional experience responding to a challenge with the selected non-profit organization.

Participating students represented the University of Pittsburgh, Duquesne University, Point Park University, Geneva College, Grove City College, Penn State University and St. Vincent College.

The students studied GlobalPittsburgh's existing promotional activities and developed packages of recommendations to expand the organization's visibility and increase participation in its programs.

"These presentations and the great ideas that were developed in a short period of time will be very valuable for us," said Thomas Buell, Jr., GlobalPittsburgh's Director of Marketing. "For a non-profit on a limited budget, this information is worth its weight in gold."

GlobalPittsburgh is a 52-year-old organization formerly known as the Pittsburgh Council for International Visitors. It has spent the past two years expanding its core mission of working with the U.S. Department of State to create itineraries for delegations of world leaders visiting the region to include programs to attract and engage international students and professionals and connect local companies with global leaders and talent. For more information, go to www.globalpittsburgh.org.

The Pittsburgh Advertising Federation, comprising over 250 local advertising and marketing professionals, is dedicated to meeting members’ needs through networking and educational opportunities, while celebrating the talent of Pittsburgh’s advertising achievements with extraordinary energy and passion.

“We are committed to advancing professional advertising education for college and university students,” said Pittsburgh Ad Federation President John Gatesman. “An important part of the Ad Fed’s mission is to help prepare students to enter the marketplace and to do our part in preparing the next generation of leaders in the field of advertising.”

For information about the Pittsburgh Ad Federation, go to www.pghadfed.org.