NSAC
The Premier Student Competition
The National Student Advertising Competition is the premier college advertising competition that provides more than 2,000 college students the real-world experience of creating a strategic advertising, marketing, and media campaign for a corporate client.
An annual corporate sponsor provides a case study outlining the history of its product and current advertising situation. The case study reflects a real world situation to challenge students' critical thinking abilities and creativity. Students must research the product and its competition, identify potential problems and develop an integrated communications campaign for the client. Each student team then pitches its campaign to a panel of judges at the district, semi-final and national levels.
Competition Days
Competition Location: Century Center in South Bend, Indiana.
Hotel Reservations: Booking remains open at our reserved group rate through March 18. Rooms are available on a first-come, first-served basis, so we strongly encourage you to secure your accommodations as soon as possible. The booking link defaults to a three-night stay; however, you may adjust within that time block your arrival and departure dates based on your team’s needs:
Available Rooms - DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel South Bend
Event Schedule: Coming soon.
2026 Corporate Sponsor: National Football League
2026 District 6 NSAC Event Sponsors: Coming soon.
2025 Winners
First Place
Michigan State University
Advisor: Dave Regan
Second Place
University of Illinois
Advisor: Steve Hall
Third Place
Southern Illinois University
Advisor: Bridget Lescelius
Other competing schools:
Augustana College
DePaul University
Grand Valley State University
Indiana University – Bloomington
Northwood University
University of Michigan
University of Southern Indiana
Western Michigan University
2026 Schedule
ENTRY FEE: (Four student presenters + one advisor) $600
2026 NSAC CHAIR: Amy Dion
LINK TO RESOURCES: 2026 National NSAC Resources
JANUARY 17, 2026: Intent to Participate Deadline.
Letters are due to AAF National by 5 PM EST
FEBRUARY 1, 2026: Student Membership deadline and “Code of Conduct” form due to AAF National.
All students must complete the Code of Conduct form prior to accessing the NSAC Case Study, but in no instance later than this date in order to be eligible for the competition. The Code of Conduct is now included in the membership registration process.
MARCH 27, 2026: Materials Deadline.
Plans book including strategy and two media pages, a maximum of five non-video creative pieces, and any original video content that will be shown in the presentation) due to AAF National by 3 PM EST.
APRIL 9-10, 2026: District Competition, Century Center in
South Bend, Indiana.
MAY 2025: Virtual Semi-Finals.
JUNE 5-8, 2026: Finals at ADMERICA in Austin, Texas.
