AAF Nebraska’s Community Outreach team of volunteers has created fun programming for college, high school and elementary school students.
80 students and professors from five colleges attended AdVenture+! on September 28 at the UNL Experience Lab located on the third floor of Lincoln’s Children’s Museum.
Adam Baumgartner, Vice President of Integrated Business Communications with 
Wells Enterprises was the keynote speaker. He shared how data is used in creative and media placement decisions. Joining Adam were advertising professionals leading a panel discussion and roundtable activities.
Greg Ahrens, Executive Vice President, Co-Creative Director from Smith Kroeger, Yesenia Torres Marketing Consultant with iHeartMedia Omaha, Erin Clark, Senior Art Director with KidGlov and Adam Turner, Producer/Editor Eleven Twenty-Three shared their experiences with students. The panel discussion was moderated by Shana Boyd, Partner at Eleven Twenty-Three.
Brand partner and event sponsor Runza provided lunch. This event was free to college students and was hosted by the UNL College of Journalism and Mass Communications. Wells Enterprises held an ice cream social.
The committee appreciates Basis Technologies, WoodmenLife and Envoy for being AAF Nebraska’s Elite Sponsors.
Following AdVenture+! AdConnect, a networking event was held at Yia Yia’s in Lincoln, where industry professionals met the students.
Extending the reach and knowledge of AAF Nebraska to 300 high school students, we partnered with DECA Nebraska for an AdVenture on October 11. During their DECA Fall Conference, future ad professionals learned about the pathway they might enter as college students.
Runza once again came through as our featured brand. They developed an interactive activity to create a student-led campaign for Runza in 45 minutes.
In the afternoon AAF Nebraska hosted panel discussions led by moderator Shana Boyd, Partner at Eleven Twenty-Three, Becky Perrett, Director of Marketing Runza National, Cahner Olson, Founder of Omaha Places + 402 Social and Adam Turner, Producer/Editor Eleven Twenty-Three. The panelist shared about their careers in advertising.
DECA’s mission is to “prepare emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in marketing, finance, hospitality and management.” www.nedeca.org
150 eighth grade students and their parents heard from Ken Peoples, Senior Media Buyer & Data Visualization Manager from RCG Advertising & Media, and Teri Hamburger, Executive Director of the American Advertising Federation Nebraska at Iowa Western Community College’s 8th grade Career Forum on October 16. Ken and Teri shared with attendees the exciting career opportunities in the fields of advertising and marketing.
The Community Outreach team offers thanks to all those who participated in the AdVentures+! and AdVenture events. For more information on joining this team, please contact Co-Chairs Yesenia Torres yeseniatorres@iheartmedia.com or Shana Boy shana@11twentythree.com.
