Montclair State University School of Communication and Media Students Earn Honorable Mention in PRSSA’s National Bateman Case Study Competition

Competition Challenged Students to Educate Adolescents and Young Adults about Lymphoma

The Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA), the foremost organization for students interested in the public relations and communications fields, announced that a team of Montclair State University (MSU) School of Communication and Media students received an honorable mention in the prestigious 2022 Bateman Case Study Competition.

This year’s Bateman Case Study Competition was hosted in partnership with the Lymphoma Research Foundation (LRF), the nation’s largest nonprofit devoted exclusively to funding innovative lymphoma research and serving the lymphoma community through education programs, outreach initiatives and patient services. The competition challenged student teams to research, plan, implement and evaluate a public relations campaign centered on raising awareness and educating adolescents and young adults (AYA) about lymphoma and LRF, while revamping the foundation’s campaign efforts toward eradicating lymphoma.

PRSSA Headquarters received 51 entries for the competition. Of these submissions, 11 universities, including Montclair State, received an honorable mention and three were chosen as finalists to present their campaigns to a panel of judges on May 12.

“We are so proud our campaign was recognized by PRSSA among those of the top 14 universities in the country,” said Mary Scott, faculty adviser at MSU’s School of Communication and Media. “Our students developed a dynamic campaign grounded in insights that shined a light on such an important health issue affecting young adults, with their efforts ultimately making a difference on our campus and in our community.”

MSU’s month-long campaign – “Let’s Talk Lymphoma” – set out to put Lymphoma on the map by creating a social media movement designed to engage the AYA public in a fun yet informative manner. The team – in concert with the Montclair Dance Company – created a viral TikTok-focused #Dance4Lymphoma challenge which spotlighted a major symptom of Lymphoma, swollen lymph nodes, with the intention to aid early detection.

With high survival rates, low awareness of lymphoma and challenges in communicating public health information during the time of Covid, the team chose to make the campaign positive, hopeful, and approachable. This led to the development of MSU Lymphomie, a campaign mascot, who was featured in all communications and materials.

The “Let’s Talk Lymphoma” campaign was developed and implemented by four MSU students: Ana C. Populim-Boykin, Maria Menendez, Madison Lopez and Dimitrios Rodriguez. Industry advisors included communications leader Erin Weinberg and Bombas Senior Director, Brand Strategy Tess Guttières.

“Congratulations to our amazing students for being nationally recognized for their fun and creative campaign,” said Dr. Keith Strudler, Director of the School of Communication and Media. “Under the direction of innovative faculty like Mary Scott, our Social Media and PR majors are learning from the best in the industry.”

Currently, more than 1 million people in the United States are living with, or in remission from, a form of lymphoma — the most common type of blood cancer. More than 111,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with the disease each year. Lymphoma is the most common blood cancer representing one out of five cancer diagnoses in young people.

2022 Bateman Results:

Finalists

Brigham Young University-Provo Team

University of Florida

University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Honorable Mentions

California State University, Long Beach

Central Michigan University

High Point University

Kent State University-Blue

Kent State University-Gold

Louisiana State University

Montclair State University

Temple University

University of Georgia

University of Oregon

West Texas A&M University

About the Bateman Case Study Competition

The Bateman Case Study Competition originated in 1973 as a national case study allowing PRSSA members to exercise the analytical skills required for public relations problem-solving. In 1983, the name of the competition was changed to honor the memory of the late J. Carroll Bateman, APR. Bateman was a past president of PRSA and was instrumental in the founding of PRSSA.

About the Public Relations Student Society of America
The Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) is the foremost organization for students interested in public relations and communications. Founded in 1968 by its parent organization, the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), PRSSA includes nearly 9,000 student members and advisers, and is active on nearly 375 colleges and university campuses, including in Argentina, Colombia, Peru and Puerto Rico. For more information, please visit www.prssa.org.

About the School of Communication and Media: Founded in 2012, the School of Communication and Media offers a range of dynamic programs in communication and media to a talented and diverse student population of over 1,300. Offering degrees in film and television, social media and public relations, advertising, journalism and digital media, sports communication, communication and media studies, and an MA in public and organizational relations, the School prepares the next generation of communication and media practitioners and leaders. The School houses award-winning student programs that include WMSC 90.3 FM, The Montclarion, Hawk Communications, Red Hawk Sports Network, News Lab, and Hawk+, as well as the Center for Cooperative Media, which serves the public by working to grow and strengthen local journalism. In addition to this PRSSA award, recent national School recognition includes an Edward R. Murrow Award, several Marconi Award nominations, and a College Television Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

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