Student-Run Ad Agency Poised for National Competition

UMAdLab, a student-run advertising agency and extension of Isenberg's Marketing Club, is vying against teams from 19 other schools in the Credit Karma Campus Challenge. The national competition, sponsored by the credit-management education firm, Credit Karma, and hosted by EdVenture Partners, challenges teams to develop a multimedia marketing campaign to help consumers manage their credit ratings using free tools on Credit Karma's website. The teams will foster consumer awareness about Credit Karma's other financial management resources and attempt to increase consumer membership on the website. The competition's first- and second-place will be notified when judging concludes on November 24.

"The competition is a great opportunity for students to be involved in all aspects of an ad campaign, including research, idea generation, execution, and presentation to the client," observes Isenberg marketing professor Elizabeth Miller, who is faculty advisor to the UMAdLab group. Formed last year by Isenberg junior Davies DeCesare-Fousek, the group enters the competition with a budget of $1,500, seeded by Credit Karma.  

Students should begin monitoring their credit scores while still in school, notes UMAdLab team members. Your score, they emphasize, can affect whether you qualify for an apartment or car after graduation. Credit Karma, they continue, offers students a wealth of free services, including credit score monitoring and advice on raising one's score. The web site, also accessible through iOS and Android devices, allows consumers to conveniently personalize and track their financial information.