Judging PRSSA

I had the privilege this weekend to be a judge in the Public Relations Society of America’s Bateman Case Study Competition, which is a annual contest judging programs developed by undergraduate public relations students from around the country.  Each participating university team is given a PR “problem” (usual a public service issue) and asked to develop and implement a campaign to address it.

I’ve got to say that while program quality varied, overall, the caliber of the student programs was super.  Many resembled professional social marketing campaigns such as Chicago’s 5,4,3,2,1 obesity campaign but several teams took really unique approaches.  One team identified the problem as physicians’ reluctance to talk to kids about their weight (a really great insight) and focused solely on physician education, including direct detailing of doctors.   Another team, from LSU not surprisingly, created a program steeped in the argot of Cajun culture that knocked my  socks off.   It was really great to see the energy, analytical skills and creativity of undergraduate public relations students.  They could hold their own in graduate classes any day!

Winners won’t be announced for a few months.

Michael