"Mr. DEBUNKIFY" Brings Home Award

 Ohio University's STAND/DEBUNKIFY account traveled to Northlich, Inc. on May 9 to

participate in the Project U marketing challenge. The competition was sponsored by the Ohio Tobacco Prevention Foundation and the Cincinnati based advertising agency, Northlich, Inc. Ohio University competed against seven other colleges which included The Ohio State University, the University of Cincinnati, Bowling Green State University, Miami University, Wright State University, Capital University, and Otterbein College.

The goal of the entire campaign was to "debunk" the common tobacco myths that are misinterpreted across the campus. The three main myths that Ohio University's account targeted were: "the majority of college students smoke", "I will quit smoking after college", and "smoking does not affect my dating status".

The account started researching myths in the fall and then worked on implementing their strategy in the winter. The evaluation phase started in the spring and ended with the state-wide competition.

Jenny Miltner, Lauren Sorrows and Hallie Wilson presented the campaign to the board in Cincinnati. They presented all the steps they took throughout the campaign including research strategies and the events that took place. They also discussed the ways in which they managed their $5,000 budget and the ways in which they accomplished their primary goal of increasing brand awareness.

Ohio University's account proudly brought the award for "Most Unique Tactic" back to Athens. They won this award for the use of their campaign figurehead "Mr. DUBUNKIFY."

The campaign was very well received by the committee and impressed them greatly. "We poured our hearts and souls into this campaign for seven months straight, and it was apparent. Everyone was approaching us telling us what a great job we had done and how well we presented the campaign. Project U has been the most fun learning opportunity I have ever been afforded. Not only did I learn so much about the entire public relations process and all that it entails, but I had fun doing it," stated junior account executive Hallie Wilson.

The team is already looking forward to next year's project. The returning members expect even more success next year.

The video the team showed to the board can be seen at www.youtube.com. Search keywords "stand out presentation" or "stand out Ohio University".