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Student Contest Open for Submissions!

Contest Instructions
Contest Rubric
About ACN
ACN Brand Guide

ACN-ACT Student Contest

Earn money to attend the Ag Media Summit!

The Agricultural Communicators Network (ACN) is offering this student contest to National ACT members to support attendance at the Agricultural Media Summit. AMS is the largest annual conference of agricultural communicators in the United States and provides opportunities for networking and professional development through workshops and speakers from industry professionals. You’ll be able to attend events alongside ag comm professionals as well as participate in the annual National ACT meetings and student workshops. AMS is a foundational opportunity for students preparing to launch their careers.

To enter, follow the prompt and instructions below.

Submissions are due by email to Courtney Girgis, ACN Future Ag Communicators Committee chair, cllgirgis@gmail.com by 11:59 p.m. April 15, 2024.

This prompt is fictional, but you never know when your ideas might inspire a real-life campaign!

The Prompt

The Agricultural Communicators Network (ACN) wants to recruit recent college graduates as new members. You’ve been hired to put together a marketing plan for ACN. Get ready to put your creativity and marketing know-how together to develop a research-based marketing plan that includes a minimum of three creative assets. Your budget is $5,000, but feel free to think outside the box to keep costs low.

What to Submit

  1. A completed entry form, one per entry (see below). You may submit as an individual or a team of up to four people (schools may have more than one team/entry).
  2. A document outlining your strategic plan with research and reasonings. Your document should include the following elements:
    • Overview/Introduction
    • Research
    • Target audience
    • Objective
    • Project outline
    • Timeline
    • Budget outline
    • Metrics for determining ROI
    • Conclusion

    You also have the option to earn bonus points by completing and including a member profile, SWOT analysis, and original research results (such as a survey).      

    1. Three assets. Your strategic plan should make clear how you will use these creative elements. Each asset will be judged on skill and creativity.
      1. Examples might include: draft social media posts, blog posts, press releases, collateral materials, advertisements, etc.
      2. You are not limited by what you can create – we want to see innovative ideas! However, you are required to provide three separate asset types. (I.e., no more than one social post.)

    Resources

    You can learn more about ACN at:

    See the “About ACN” PDF, which includes member demographics and other information about the organization, as well as the ACN Brand Guide.

    How Entries Will Be Judged

    Your entry will be judged based on clarity, reasoning, creativity, and level of professionalism. Please see the rubric for details.

    Do not include your or your school’s name on your plan document or the assets. Each entry will receive an identifying number that judges will use when reviewing entries.

    Deadline

    Submit your completed entry (which should include your entry form, strategic plan, and assets) to Courtney Girgis, ACN Future Ag Communicators Committee chair, at cllgirgis@gmail.com no later than 11:59 p.m. Monday, April 15, 2024.

    Please combine strategic plan and asset files into one PDF as much as possible. Keep your entry form separate. You may upload files that are too large to email here: https://bit.ly/47ZgfDq. However, please also email Courtney (cllgirgis@gmail.com) to confirm receipt of all materials.