Four teams representing the ISU Public Relations Students Society of America chapter are putting together public relations campaigns to submit to the Bateman Case Study Competition for the first time.

Groups at Iowa State have competed in the National Organ Donor Awareness Competition for years, but decided to also take part in the Bateman competition this semester.

“Bateman is the cream of the crop for PRSSA competitions. We had a lot of success with NODAC and I think it was a good stepping stone,” said Veronica Burnham, senior in journalism and mass communication.

This year, Ford Motor Credit Company will sponsor the Bateman competition. Teams of four or five members are assigned to create an education campaign about credit on a set budget for young adults ages 17 to 23.

“They want us to develop an interactive educational program and then develop a public relations plan to promote that program on your campus.

“One of the tricks is that we’re not allowed to use the Ford name,” said Erin Wilgenbusch, lecturer in journalism and communication and PRSSA faculty adviser.

Groups prepare a 10-page summary including research, situation analysis, program and plan evaluations and send them to the Public Relations Students Society of America headquarters in New York by March 26. Groups can also send samples of posters, fliers, games, buttons or other components of the project that were used.

The top three teams get to give their final presentations to a group of Ford Motor Credit Company representatives and Public Relations Society of America judges in Detroit from May 6-9.

Wilgenbusch said each year there are about 70 entries in the competition.

“I hope we place in the top three, but whether we do or don’t, I’m glad we took the opportunity and I think we’ll continue to

try with Bateman,” Wilgenbusch said.

She said she felt that it was time to break the cycle of participating in the National Organ Donor Awareness Competition since Iowa State’s chapter took first place in the competition two years ago. She said the group needed a new challenge.

“It’s a really good opportunity for our students to compete against other students and see how they stack up on a national scale,” Wilgenbusch said.

ISU students participating in the competition are part of a 3-credit course designed to help students gain hands-on experience in public relations.

“It’s a really good real-world experience,” Burnham said. “It’s a little more realistic than the classroom.”