StudentAward

Hispanic Marketing Council + Ad Council Student Award

WHAT IS IT?

The second annual award for multicultural marketing and advertising excellence among university students. An opportunity for the next generation of advertising and marketing leaders to work on a real-world social impact brief.

The winning campaign should incorporate a sound strategic approach and innovative multicultural idea. Potential to become part of capstone classes and/or student run ad agencies at renowned universities.

Submissions will open in April 2026. Winners will be announced in May 2026 by the Hispanic Marketing Council.

VALUE FOR STUDENTS

Hands-on experience working on a real-world brief
Potential to win an award
Opportunity to share winning brief with campaign leadership

REQUIREMENTS

Open to all undergraduate students in the U.S.
One submission per university (may work individually or as a team.).
No entry fees.
Submissions must follow specifications outlined in the brief.

VIDEO BRIEF

The project brief was unveiled in a live virtual presentation on January 23, 2026. Watch it here!

If you have any questions for the Ad Council about the brief, assignment, etc. please send them to info@hispanicmarketingcouncil.org by January 30, 2026 by 11:59pm ET.

DEADLINE

The deadline for submission of entries is until April 17, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time. Submissions drive opens on April 2, 2026 to upload your project and materials.

CAMPAIGN DETAILS AND CRITERIA

Each university will be allowed to submit only one entry to the award from an undergraduate student or student team. No entry fees; one submission per university.

Submissions should include the names of all students responding to the brief.

- Name of student team lead
- Full names and contact information for all team members
- Name of faculty sponsor, including contact information (email and phone number)

Submissions should follow the structure established by HMC Award specifications and be submitted on the HMC portal by 11:59pm ET on April 17, 2026. Submissions received after the deadline will not be considered.
The winning submission will be notified by May 2026 via email. Participating teams will receive additional feedback to their submission, as possible.

CAMPAIGN BRIEF
THE FINISH YOUR DIPLOMA COMMUNICATIONS CAMPAIGN

Issue Background

More than 30 million adults ages 18+ do not have a high school diploma. Data shows that students who drop out of high school tend to earn less and have a lower quality of life. Nearly 30% of adults with household incomes at or below the federal poverty line do not have a high school credential.

Objective

Encourage adults to take the first step toward a better future by earning their high school equivalency.

Target

Adults 25-45 without a high school diploma.

Call to Action

Find free adult education classes near you at FinishYourDiploma.org

Target Audience – Common Barriers

Contentment
Time
Upsetting the balance at home
Procrastination
Fear of failure
Fear of change
Not knowing where or how to start
Transportation or other logistics

Target Audience – Common Motivators

Better job and more money
More secure future for themselves and their families
Making your loved ones proud
Increased sense of self-worth and feeling of accomplishment
More respect from others
Achieving dream goals (e.g. college or owning a business)

Campaign Approach

Get Adults 25-45 without a high school diploma to take the first step toward a better future by encouraging them with the message that finishing their high school diploma not only impacts their life, but also the lives of their family members and the communities around them.

You can learn more about the campaign here (press release). Watch the latest creative here (video).

To view/download the brief assignment presentation deck click here.

THE ASSIGNMENT

Objective

Develop a communications campaign based on the Ripple Effect strategy to educate multi-cultural adults 25-45 without a high school diploma to take the first step towards a better future by finishing their high school equivalency. The new campaign should have a fresh creative idea and tagline (e.g. When You Graduate, They Graduate).

Budget

$500K

Timing

Key time periods to consider: Back-To-School (late July – early September) and New Year’s Resolution timing (January 1).

Messaging Considerations & Watchouts

Do use a supportive, positive, impactful, optimistic, and an encouraging tone.
Do help the audience feel like they can finish their HSE and there will be a positive outcome as we want to motivate and empower people to go to FinishYourDiploma.org and search their zip code for free classes.
Do highlight the positive ripple effect finishing one’s HSE can have for both the graduate and their loved ones and community.
Do include the disclaimer: Brought to you by The Dollar General Literacy Foundation and The Ad Council.

DON’T

Don’t focus on barriers faced as we don’t want to make people feel overwhelmed and that it’s not possible for them.
Don’t joke or make someone feel bad about not having their HSE as we don’t want to imply that those without an HSE will not succeed.
Don’t be indifferent about the importance of getting an HSE and the positive impact it can have on the person and their loved ones/community.

Additional Considerations

The use of generative AI is permissible, as currently allowed by your college or university, in the process of developing your submission, and if used, assets should be explicitly labeled as AI generated.

Work and creative concepts submitted to the Hispanic Marketing Council Student Excellence Award are for educational purposes only, and will not be developed by the Ad Council for use in market.

THE SUBMISSION OVERVIEW

The submission must be a PDF document and should not exceed 20 pages/slides, including the cover page, and incorporate the following elements:

Cover Page: should include the name of the university, contributing students, and faculty sponsor
Brief overview (1 page): outlining the creative challenge and the response to the brief. Please summarize the overall strategic underpinning of your case and lay out the core case components of challenge, insight, and creative ideas and executions.
Situation analysis: What are the key obstacles to success? Explain the problem you are solving OR the key questions that need answers. Share any assumptions you made and/or previous learning your work was building on through an extensive situation analysis. This analysis should include both secondary and primary (at least one qualitative or quantitative study) research. Upon completing this analysis, explain what the team learned about the challenge through secondary and primary research. Share the methodology, hypothesis that informed your specific research objectives and outcomes that shaped your response to the brief.
Target audience understanding: Define and describe your core target audience. Specifically, you should answer the following questions in this section: What key insights have you uncovered about this target audience? What did you learn about the target audience and problem perception that helped inform your answer to the brief?
The challenge: Articulate what your proposal is solving by stating and outlining the communication challenge your campaign is addressing.
Communication strategy: Outline the key tenets of your strategy. Briefly explain the rationale for your communication key insight, and the proposed communication strategy.
Multicultural Campaign idea & creative strategy: What is the big idea/creative concept that leverages the key insight and solves the communication challenge.
Campaign idea – proof of concept: Demonstrate through 2-3 execution examples (rough mock-ups) how your big idea comes to life. Please note that no finalized or finished creative executions will be evaluated by the judges – we only ask for rough mock-ups (i.e., layouts, storyboards, etc.). Provide a rationale for the selection of these creative tactics. Provide your execution examples as concepts with visual support and a rationale.
Measurement and optimization: Outline the overall impact you expect your response to the brief to have and that of the specific tactics proposed if they were executed and disseminated. Include measurable objectives and propose a methodology to measure them.

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL MAY BE SUPPPLIED AS FOLLOWS:

An up to (10) ten-minute video presentation summarizing your entry and showcasing your solution, key insight, multicultural big idea, and key creative elements is encouraged in MP4 format.