Students From More Than 100 Colleges and Universities Will Tackle A Real World Marketing Challenge As Part of the Premier College Advertising Competition

WASHINGTON, Aug. 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Advertising Federation (AAF), the "Unifying Voice for Advertising," announced today that Rocket Mortgage will be the presenting sponsor for this year's National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC). 

For more than 50 years, AAF has staged NSAC as a way to provide college students with the real world experience of creating a strategic advertising and marketing media campaign for a corporate client. Previous client partners have included AT&T, Coca-Cola, NFL, Pizza Hut, Tide and Toyota. It is expected that more than 100 colleges and universities will participate in this year's three-tier competition, with eight finalists advancing to the national championship which will take place at the association's ADMERICA annual conference in Anaheim, CA, June 3-6, 2027. 

Dawn Reeves, Executive Vice President, Member Services and Programs at AAF, who oversees this event, commented, "There is no better way to learn how to pitch for new advertising business than by developing a campaign for a real-world, real-client consideration. Through NSAC, student teams receive a brief. From there, all ideation, research, strategy and creative assets necessary to build a fully integrated campaign become the responsibility of the student teams." She added, "Students must pitch their ideas to a panel of judges comprised of industry professionals, the client, and their agency representatives. We are elated that Rocket Mortgage has partnered with the AAF for this year's competition as their company seeks to build an opportunity that doesn't currently exist. Therein lies the greatest challenge."

Each of AAF's college chapters are eligible to form a team for the National Student Advertising Competition on its campus. All students participating on the NSAC team must be dues-paying AAF College Chapter members. The AAF is divided into 15 geographical regions, and based on their school location, student teams first compete at the district level, either in-person or virtually. The winning team(s) from each district then advances to the semi-finals, where NSAC teams compete for one of eight spots at the finals. Last year's winner was the University of Oregon, which presented work on behalf of the NFL. Texas State University won in 2025 and California Berkley in 2024.

"Supporting NSAC isn't charity. It is an investment in the future of the industry and our businesses," said Jonathan Mildenhall, CMO of Rocket Companies. "This competition develops the next generation of marketing leaders and our support connects them with Rocket and Redfin's integrated marketing and communications team. The depth of student talent across America is extraordinary, and we intend to attract a disproportionate share to build their careers at Rocket Companies."

For further information regarding AAF's National Student Advertising Competition, go to aaf.org/nsac.

ABOUT ROCKET MORTGAGE

Detroit-based Rocket Mortgage (NMLS #3030) is the nation's largest mortgage lender and a part of Rocket Companies (NYSE: RKT).

The lender enables the American Dream of homeownership and financial freedom through its obsession with an industry-leading, digital-driven client experience. In late 2015, it introduced the first fully digital, completely online mortgage experience. Since its founding in 1985, Rocket Mortgage has closed more than $2 trillion of mortgage volume across all 50 states.

J.D. Power has ranked Rocket Mortgage #1 in client satisfaction for both primary mortgage origination and servicing 23 times – the most of any mortgage lender. Rocket Companies, Rocket Mortgage's parent company, has placed in the top third of Fortune's list of the "100 Best Companies to Work For" for 23 consecutive years.

For more information and company news visit RocketCompanies.com.

ABOUT AAF (AMERICAN ADVERTISING FEDERATION)

The AAF's Board of Directors guides and oversees the Federation's signature events and initiatives, including the Advertising Hall of Fame, Advertising Hall of Achievement, American Advertising Awards, ADMERICA, Advertising Day on the Hill, Most Promising Students Program, and HBCUs for Advertising – all serving the Federation's 35,000+ professional members nationwide, 5,000+ students and educators, and more than 60+ corporate members spanning media and tech companies, advertisers and agencies. Established in 1905, the American Advertising Federation (AAF), acts as the "Unifying Voice for Advertising." Visit https://aaf.org.

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SOURCE American Advertising Federation