Two teams of BYU public relations students recently submitted entries for the PRSSA 2017 Bateman Case Study Competition. Both of those teams received honorable mention awards for their submissions, a recognition only received by a total of 15 teams from around the US.
Nearly 70 teams submitted entries this year for the annual competition. Assistant Professor Chris Wilson said he was honored to be recognized alongside some of the best PR programs in the nation.
“BYU was in very good company this year. Among the honorable mention winners are programs that have had top three Bateman finishes in the past, as well as some that are recognized as top programs by both the PR industry and academia,” Wilson said.
This year’s competition required teams to develop campaigns on behalf of Campaign to Change Direction in an effort to help change the culture of mental health in America. Students were asked to achieve this goal by educating others on the five signs of mental suffering.
The two BYU teams were made up of public relations students Brooke Adams, Ashley Frost, Jacob Gibb, Katelyn Rhoton, Alec Sears (Team 1), and Jordan Comstock, Kristi Hargiss, Emily Sorensen, McKann Thomas, and Michael White (Team 2).
Kristi Hargiss from Team 2 said the experience of preparing for the competition was one for which she will always be grateful.
“Doing the Bateman competition has been the highlight of my college career,” said Hargiss. “It has taught me what I am capable of, helped me become a better strategic creator, and showed me that public relations can truly be used to empower people to create positive change.”
Hargiss also said that the time invested was worth every bit of the effort.
“We spent almost seven months working to help change the culture of mental health among high school students in Utah County. Receiving an honorable mention meant a lot to us as a team. We put in so many hours to make this campaign a success and have really bonded together like a family.”
The Bateman Case Study Competition challenges teams of students to research, plan, implement, and evaluate a public relations campaign for an actual client. After an extensive judging process, three finalists are chose to present their campaigns to the sponsor, who receives the right to the ideas presented. It is PRSSA’s premier national case study competition for students, giving them the opportunity to apply classroom education and internship experiences to a real-world PR campaign.