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TheBuzz
Erika Engle
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State nurtures future creative community
Neighbor island students rocked in a statewide student advertising, marketing and business competition last week.
Kapaa High School took Best of Show honors while Hilo High School won first and second place in marketing. Moanalua High School won first and second place in the business competition. Kapolei and Waipahu high schools also won awards.
It was the sixth annual High School Marketing Plan and Business Plan competition, but the advertising element was new this year. The May 5-6 event was coordinated by the state Department of Education, the University of Hawaii Shidler College of Business and the Hawaii Food Industry Association. There were additional sponsors.
The 54 teams from 13 schools had been told the competition would center around the general topic of recycling and were allowed to compile research and footage in advance, "but they didn't know what the assignment would be," until the event, said Keala Monaco, of UH.
At 8:30 a.m. Monday at the Sheraton Waikiki, the communications and digital media students learned they had to write an article, design a poster and produce a 30-second public service announcement on recycling and reusing that also had to mention plastic shopping bags, she said.
Advertising and marketing agencies usually have weeks or months to work on projects that wind up winning.
The students had 14 hours and had to turn in their work by 10:30 p.m. The next day was for presentations and judging.
"The kids were extremely exhausted," said Brandon Teshima, arts and communication state resource teacher for the DOE.
Each member of the Kapaa team got an iPod Nano from the HFIA, but "nobody left empty-handed," Teshima said. Even the teachers got goodie bags.
The Harris Agency, a Honolulu-based advertising, marketing and public relations company, provided real-world judging.
"What I thought was really remarkable was that the students are very sophisticated in their use of technology and their ability to think conceptually," said Lisa Burgin, Harris' director of client services.
Burgin praised the Kapaa team for its integration of the message across its entries.
She also commended the DOE's recognition that kids have to be prepared earlier to make career decisions "and be armed with a lot more knowledge ... than they have in the past."
Students were encouraged to showcase their grasp of the Hawaii Content and Performance Standards and Career Pathway Standards, but in the "real world," advertising is judged on whether it is "on-strategy" in delivering the message. "I think that's one of the things that (the DOE is) looking at how to implement more next year," Burgin said.
Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin. Call 529-4747, fax 529-4750 or write to Erika Engle, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210, Honolulu, HI 96813. She can also be reached at:
eengle@starbulletin.com