Bateman Case Study Competition

Enhance Your Education

The Bateman Case Study Competition is PRSSA’s premier national case study competition for public relations students and gives you an opportunity to apply your classroom education and internship experiences to create and implement a full public relations campaign.

2020 Competition

For the 2020 Bateman Competition, PRSSA partnered with the U.S. Census Bureau, the federal government’s largest statistical agency. The Census Bureau tracks statistical information about the nation’s population and economy.

Participants in the Competition are challenged to develop and implement a comprehensive communications campaign that complements the current communications goals of the 2020 Census and the Integrated Communications Plan. Campaigns should reach audiences using the ways they prefer to receive information, whether from digital or traditional media, community leaders and trusted individuals, organizations and groups they belong to, or friends and neighbors.

Judging Results

PRSSA Headquarters received 66 entries for the PRSSA 2019 Bateman Case Study Competition. Of these submissions, 18 entries received honorable mention and three were chosen as finalists to present their campaigns to a panel of judges on May 17 in New York. For more information on the winners please review the release. The results are below:

Winners

  • California State University, Long Beach — First Place (Campaign Summary)
  • University of South Carolina — Second Place
  • Brigham Young University, Team Blue — Third Place

Honorable Mentions

  • Brigham Young University — Tan Team
  • DePaul University — Vision of Us
  • High Point University
  • Kent State University — KSU Blue
  • Kent State University — KSU Gold
  • Lee University
  • Loyola University New Orleans
  • North Dakota State University — Diverse Communications
  • Ohio University
  • Samford University
  • Temple University
  • The University of Alabama
  • University of Florida
  • University of Nebraska at Omaha
  • University of Nebraska-Lincoln
  • University of Nevada Reno
  • West Texas A&M University
  • Western Kentucky University — Team 1

Thank you to all teams for participating. Although this is a Competition, the main purpose is to provide a learning opportunity. PRSSA Headquarters hopes all teams gained valuable experience from their hard work.

Judges
PRSA/PRSSA would like to thank the judges of the Competition for their time and expertise.

  • Jill Alexander, APR, Fellow PRSA
  • Arshia Anwer, Ph.D.
  • Mary Deming Barber, APR, Fellow PRSA
  • Don Bates, APR, Fellow PRSA
  • Rick Batyko, APR, Fellow PRSA
  • David W. Brown
  • Alberto Canal
  • Sandy Charet
  • Joseph E. Cohen, APR
  • Gerald Corbett, APR, Fellow PRSA
  • Debbie Davis, APR, Fellow PRSA
  • Dawn M. Doty, APR
  • Michael M. Durand
  • Mark Dvorak, APR, Fellow PRSA
  • Michelle Egan, APR, Fellow PRSA
  • Geri Evans, APR, Fellow PRSA
  • Henry Feintuch
  • Donald Ferguson, APR, Fellow PRSA
  • Suzanne Fitzgerald, APR, Fellow PRSA
  • Amiso George, APR, Fellow PRSA
  • Hatti L. Hamlin, APR, Fellow PRSA
  • Judith A. Harrison
  • Ellen Hartman, APR, Fellow PRSA
  • Sherry Kast, APR, Fellow PRSA
  • Wilma Ruth King
  • Sandra Knoesel, APR, Fellow PRSA
  • Dean Kruckeberg, APR, Fellow PRSA
  • Gina Pesko Laughlin
  • Chris Lukach, APR
  • Jeri Matheney, APR, Fellow PRSA
  • Mark McClennan, APR, Fellow PRSA
  • Gary McCormick, APR, Fellow PRSA
  • Debra A. Miller, Ed.D, APR Fellow PRSA
  • Alison Novak, Ph.D.
  • Judy Parker, APR, Fellow PRSA
  • Chad Perry, APR, Fellow PRSA
  • Judy Phair, APR, Fellow PRSA
  • Cheryl Procter-Rogers, APR, Fellow PRSA
  • Heather L. Radi-Bermudez
  • Josette Robinson
  • James M. Shackelford, APR
  • Robert Sheldon, APR, Fellow PRSA
  • Christina Tso Metz
  • Cristin Urban
  • Jody Weiss Venturoni
  • Larry Weiner, APR, Fellow PRSA

2019 Updates

Diverse Voices Book Sale and Fundraising
If your team has decided to sell the Diverse Voices: Profiles in Leadership book* as part of your campaign, please share the link below with people interested in buying the book. Similarly, if your team has decided to fundraise on behalf of the PRSA Foundation please share the link below with interested people. In order for your team to receive the credit for books sold or for fundraising the link below must be used, and your school/team name must be entered in checkout page.

https://tinyurl.com/DiverseVoicesBateman

* Approximately 70% of every book sale goes towards advancing the Foundation’s efforts to improve diversity and inclusion within the profession through scholarships, grants, supporting research, etc.

Past Competitions

Whether you are new to the competition or have participated before, review these past campaigns to see the creativity, thoroughness and strategic thinking that go into winning campaigns each year.

  • 2018 With Purpose
  • 2017 Campaign to Change Direction
  • 2016 Student Veterans of America (SVA)
  • 2015 Home Matters
  • 2014 Fiserv
  • 2013 Raising Awareness of the Consequences of Youth Bullying
  • 2012 United Way Worldwide
  • 2011 Ally Financial
  • 2010 U.S. Census Bureau

About the Competition

First established as the National Case Study in 1973 and later renamed to honor the late Carroll J. Bateman, APR, it challenges teams of students to research, plan, implement and evaluate a public relations campaign for an actual client. More than 75 teams enter the competition each year, giving students real-world experience that can translate to resume additions, portfolio pieces and even jobs. After an extensive judging process, three finalists are chosen to present their campaigns to the sponsor, who receives the right to ideas presented. If your company is interested in enhancing the educational experience of public relations students while also benefitting from their hard work, knowledge and resources, find out more about becoming a Competition sponsor.