StudentAward - Hispanic Marketing Council

The assignment brief with the Ad Council was recorded. If you missed it, you can click below to watch the recording.

Hispanic Marketing Council + Ad Council Student Award

WHAT IS IT?

The first edition of an award for multicultural marketing and advertising excellence among university students starting in 2025.

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.

Winners will be announced in August 2025 by the Hispanic Marketing Council.

REQUIREMENTS

Open to all undergraduate students in the U.S. May work individually or as a team. One submission per university.

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 30, 2025. Submissions received after the deadline will not be considered.
The winning submission will be notified by August 2025 via webinar. Participating teams will receive additional feedback to their submission, as possible.

The submission document must contain:

The submission 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 response overview: outlining the creative challenge and the response to the brief (one slide). 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 supplied 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.

JUDGING CRITERIA

Background/Research – 25%
Insights – 35%
POV/Creative Idea – 30%
Measurement criteria – 10%

ASSIGNMENT BRIEF

HMC x Ad Council Student Strategic Excellence Award

Youth Fentanyl Awareness & Naloxone Education Campaign Briefing

Issue Background

Fentanyl is a powerful opioid that is often created illegally—it’s mixed into illicit drugs and used to create counterfeit versions of prescription pills:

In 2023, 76% of adolescent drug fatalities involved fentanyl.
The latest DEA laboratory testing indicates 5 out of 10 counterfeit pills tested in 2024 contain a potentially deadly dose of fentanyl.

In light of this changing drug landscape, it is critical that teens and young adults are aware of the dangers of fentanyl and understand the benefits of carrying naloxone to reverse an opioid overdose.

Naloxone is a medication that can reverse an opioid overdose. Safe, effective and legal in all 50 states, naloxone is available over the counter as an easy-to-use nasal spray.
Carrying naloxone and knowing how to use it means young people can be prepared to save a life in the event of an overdose, even if they don’t personally use drugs.
While carrying naloxone and knowing how to use it could save a life, research published in April 2024 found that only 30% of college students understood what naloxone is used for, and fewer than 15% of students knew how to use it.

Ad Council Campaign Background

To educate young adults about the dangers of fentanyl and the importance of carrying naloxone, the Ad Council launched our Real Deal on Fentanyl campaign in 2022. See campaign examples below.

All creative drives to RealDealonFentanyl.com (RealidadSobreElFentanilo.com)

Current Campaign Results

As of October 2024, 24% of youth respondents in the campaign’s target were extremely confident they knew how to administer naloxone in the event they were present for an overdose, a campaign high. This grew from an initial awareness of 19% in May 2023. (Ad Council campaign tracking study.)
55% of ad-aware respondents in our target have visited a website or social media page to learn about the dangers of fentanyl, compared to 12% of those who are not ad aware (Q4 2024).
39% of respondents in our campaign’s target have talked to a family member in the last 30 days about the dangers of fentanyl, compared to 19% of those who are not ad aware (Q4 2024).

Assignment

Develop a communications campaign to educate teens and young adults (16-24) about the importance of carrying naloxone. Campaigns may exist under the Real Deal on Fentanyl campaign umbrella or be net-new campaign ideas.

Please provide your campaign strategy, creative concept & execution examples, and proposed objectives and measurement plan (as detailed in the judging criteria).

Audience

Teens and young adults 16-24. This crisis is impacting all youth and addressing it will require a multicultural communications approach. All young adults should learn about the risks of fentanyl and the importance of carrying naloxone, to be prepared to save a life in the event of an overdose.

In 2022, white adolescents accounted for 49% of total adolescent drug overdose deaths.
In 2022, the drug overdose death rate of both Hispanic and Black adolescents (3.3 and 2.8 per 100,000) surpassed the overdose death rate of white adolescents (2.7 per 100,000).
Further, these drug overdose death rates increased more than fourfold among Hispanic and Black adolescents compared to prior to the pandemic. (Source)

Objective

Educate about the dangers of fentanyl and the importance of carrying naloxone to reverse an opioid overdose, to drive an increase in the percentage of youth who say they carry naloxone and know how to use it.

Creative Deliverables

Develop a campaign idea that can stretch across mediums. Demonstrate how this big idea can come to life through 2-3 execution examples.
You are free to select executions in any creative medium you wish in order to demonstrate your idea but should provide context for your selected mediums as part of your communications strategy.
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.)

Campaign Duration

12 months maximum
- Key time periods to consider: Back-to-school, Summer vacation

Budget

$500,000

Creative Considerations and Watchouts

Consider the limits of abstinence only messaging: Our Real Deal on Fentanyl campaign idea is intended to provide information so young people can make safer decisions and navigate an increasingly dangerous drug landscape.
Avoid glamourizing drug use. Communications should not make light of, normalize, or glamourize drug use. The focus of the messaging should be on awareness of the risks and empowering young adults to be prepared to save a life by carrying naloxone.
Avoid stigmatizing individuals who may be living with a substance use disorder or blaming individuals who have overdosed.
- Communications should avoid stigmatizing individuals who are living with a substance use disorder. This community should not be used to demonstrate negative consequences of drug use.
- Communications should not direct blame towards individuals who have experienced an overdose. These individuals should not be used as examples.
Remember that family and friends who have lost loved ones to overdose may see your work.

To download a pdf version of the assigment brief click here!

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

You can find questions answered by the AD Council below.

Should the branding and design of the campaign align with The Real Deal on Fentanyl?

Your are welcome to leverage our Real Deal on Fentanyl branding and design if desired, but we also welcome their own creative take and approaches outside of the existing campaign branding.

What are the most effective ways to reach and engage at-risk populations with fentanyl awareness messaging while ensuring it remains non-judgmental and supportive?

The current iteration of the campaign strives to give young people the life-saving information they need in a way that doesn’t stigmatize people who use drugs or people who might be living with a substance use disorder or reduce itself to a “just say no” message. Also, remember the drug landscape has changed due to fentanyl – it is found in both illicit drugs and counterfeit prescription pills. This means that many young people who encounter fentanyl are not intentionally seeking it but are exposed to it unintentionally. We try to meet young people where they are, acknowledging the realities of their experience and not preaching to them or condescending to them. That’s how our campaign tries to remain non-judgmental and supportive, but each student team will likely have to gut check for themselves how to find the right balance as part of the assignment.

How can we ensure that the campaign effectively raises awareness about the dangers of fentanyl while maintaining a tone that is educational and empathetic, rather than fear-inducing or stigmatizing?

In our campaign, giving the facts or the “Real Deal” is how we strive to educate young people and meet them where they are, in a way that doesn’t create fear or stigma. We also try to empower young people to understand how carrying naloxone can save lives, which should make them feel confident and prepared rather than scared. But again, this is just how our campaign has approached this question, and the student groups will have to think critically about what will be well received by the audience for this assignment. Students should explore this stigma & addiction language guide as a resource to avoid stigmatizing language or themes: https://www.shatterproof.org/sites/default/files/2021-02/Stigma-AddictionLanguageGuide-v3.pdf

How can we balance factual, data-driven messaging with emotionally compelling storytelling to create a campaign that resonates with the public and drives meaningful awareness about the dangers of fentanyl?

Challenge the team to reflect on our Youth Fentanyl Awareness campaign, other public health campaigns they’ve seen, and how they’d want to be messaged as young people to find the right balance.

We are curious about the client’s recommendations on content and messaging, especially regarding avoiding euphoria or blaming victims. What other themes or messaging should advertisers avoid or be mindful of in this campaign?

It’s vital that we don’t celebrate or highlight drug use. We avoid depictions of over-the-top party scenes or depictions of drug use. Advertisers should also avoid making light of an overdose. While naloxone is a critically important resource and young people should know that it can save a life, an overdose is still a serious event that should not be joked about. We also don’t want to victim blame those who were exposed to fentanyl and tragically passed away, or risk in any way offending the families of young people who’ve lived through these heartbreaking experiences. We’d recommend staying away from these messaging routes specifically.

For questions about the assigment brief or the submission criteria email us at info@hispanicmarketingcouncil.org with subject line: Student award inquiry. Submit your questions by February 2, 2025 at 11:59 PM ET.