Winner
Natasha Ratliff, University of Southern California

Natasha Ratliff put her campaign head and shoulders above the other Student of the Year candidates with a plan that was heavy on research. Judges were greatly impressed that Ratliff did real field studies, interviewing actual USC student-athletes, and surveying college and high school students. This gave her some great, real-world baselines, such as 64% of consumers surveyed were “not attuned to adidas' relationship with the NBA” and that strong brand attributes for adidas were “sporty” and “quality,” but not “basketball” or “leader.” She broke down the audience into four psychographic groups.
 
To place adidas top of mind for consumers attending NBA All-Star weekend, Ratliff presented a multifaceted campaign that started months before the game, with a back-to-school sweepstakes. Other elements included a basketball-themed event for fans called the adidas experience, where professional athletes and brand representatives would help young athletes develop and hone their skills; a concert featuring bands and artists popular with the target audience; a youth skills competition held before the weekend in 12 cities; and the establishment of multiple blogs and other social media tools to reach the audience beyond those in attendance.
 
The judges really enjoyed Ratliff's suggestion that adidas create a Making the Band spoof called “Making the Team,” whereby basketball-enthused celebrities like Will Ferrell and Jackie Chan tried to make a fictional team. Adidas-sponsored athletes would also make an appearance, while a famous coach would serve as a judge.
 
Ratliff also drew high marks for her crisis communications plan. Students were asked to react to news that a fictional spokesperson for adidas – who was to serve as the linchpin of an All-Star Weekend campaign – was caught in a cell-phone video disparaging the company and lauding a competitive brand. Ratliff suggested that while the brand was determining the veracity of the video, it should create strategies for either scenario – where the video was real or it was fake. Her suggestion, should the video be legitimate, would be to downplay that star's involvement and place higher prominence on another adidas spokesperson.
 
The journalist serving as a judge felt Ratliff had a solid pitch for his business magazine, and she wisely asked what sort of prominence the story would get if she went to his publication, instead of a competitor. She was also very prepared and able to answer most questions about the adidas brand that the reporter posed.

With a combination of research, poise, and smarts, Ratliff was an easy choice for the 2009 Student of the Year Award.

Honorable Mention
Meagan Wheeler, Oklahoma State University



Judges were impressed with Meagan Wheeler's ideas for building buzz in the ramp-up to All-Star Weekend, especially her “Sea to Shining Sea” slam-dunk competition that would begin two weeks prior to the festivities. She also received plaudits for separating the target audience (those ages 14 to 24) into two sectors: 14 to 17 and 18 to 24. She did this to reach out to those unique groups in different ways. Knowing the interests of the demographic, she also wisely worked in a video-game component, trying to partner with EA Sports and have adidas' gear showcased in NBA Live 2009. Judges found her presentation to be very focused, and noted her ability to speak very well extemporaneously. Her crisis communications plan also drew high marks, as she took immediate action in terminating the relationship with the athlete – based on the severity of the offense – and tailored all communications to that fact. The journalist judge commended Wheeler on a good pitch and having compelling facts and figures, both making the story an easier sell to his editor. 

Finalists 

• Hannah Higerd: California State University, Fullerton
• Emily Motley: University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill
• Natasha Ratliff: University of Southern California
• Douglas Rusinek: SUNY-Oswego
• Meagan Wheeler: Oklahoma State University

The Award

Open to all students enrolled in a US college or university between December 14, 2007, and December 14, 2008. Category entrants were presented with a true test of their PR acumen, devising a plan to create a PR campaign for sports apparel company adidas to increase its exposure to the target demographic – 14- to 24-year-olds – through the leveraging of its sponsorship of NBA All-Star Weekend. The five finalists presented their ideas to a panel of judges in New York on February 3. The students were also asked to pitch an adidas-based story to Matthew Boyle, an editor at BusinessWeek, and respond to a crisis situation, whereby the most prominent adidas spokesperson was recorded on cell-phone video disparaging the brand and lauding a competitor on the eve of All-Star Weekend.

The shortlisted students for this award was selected by a separate judging panel in late January.

Sponsor: Hill & Knowlton is a leading, global, multi-specialist communications consultancy. We combine experience from all sectors and services to face the toughest communications challenges head on and to bring world-class counsel to local opportunities. We work with ease and impact at the intersection of business, policy, and communications.