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 were challenged to develop and implement a comprehensive communications campaign that complements the current communications goals of the 2020 Census and the Integrated Communications Plan.

• Project Brief
• Timeline
• Rules & Guidelines
• Intent-to-Enter Form
• Additional Census Materials
  • 2020 Census Student Journalist Toolkit
  • Half-Page Handout for College Students (Option 1)
  • Half-Page Handout for College Students (Option 2)
  • Handout for College Students
  • Fact sheet for Renters
  • Brochure about Residence Criteria
  • Handout for College Students
  • America Counts Story: College Students Count in 2020 Census
• PRSSA Bateman Competition Client Presentation
  • November 14, 2 p.m. ET (Recording)
• The Census Bureau is hiring for temporary jobs across the country, students can apply online on the jobs page. Please note, you must disclose if you work for the Census Bureau in your entry.

Judging Results

PRSSA Headquarters received 57 entries for the PRSSA 2020 Bateman Case Study Competition. Of these submissions, 14 entries received honorable mention and three presented their campaigns to a panel of judges on May 15. The results are below:

Winner

• First Place: DePaul University — The “A” Team (summary)
• Second Place: University of Florida (summary)
• Third Place: High Point University (summary)

Honorable Mentions

• Ashland University
• Belmont University
• DePaul University — A Sense of Us
• Eastern Illinois University — Eastern Elite
• Kent State — Bateman Gold
• Loyola University New Orleans
• Miami University
• Ohio University
• Syracuse University
• University of Nebraska-Lincoln
• University of Nevada Reno — Battle Born Bateman
• University of Oregon
• University of Wisconsin Oshkosh
• Washington State University

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. Score sheets were sent to all teams on Friday, May 8. If you have any questions, please contact Executive Director Jeneen Garcia at jeneen.garcia@prsa.org.

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
• Rick Batyko, APR, Fellow PRSA
• Chris Bonelli
• David W. Brown
• Sandy Charet
• Debbie Davis, APR, Fellow PRSA
• Dawn M. Doty, APR
• Sarah Grace Dougherty
• Michael M. Durand
• Mark Dvorak, APR, Fellow PRSA
• Geri Evans, APR, Fellow PRSA
• Henry Feintuch
• Karen Garnik, APR
• Amiso George, APR, Fellow PRSA
• Hatti L. Hamlin, APR, Fellow PRSA
• Jewel Jordan
• Wilma Ruth King
• Sandra Knoesel, APR, Fellow PRSA
• Dean Kruckeberg, Ph.D., APR, Fellow PRSA
• Gina Pesko Laughlin
• Shani Lewis
• Chris Lukach, APR
• Mark McClennan, APR, Fellow PRSA
• Gary McCormick, APR, Fellow PRSA
• Terry Neal
• Alison Novak, Ph.D.
• Hugo Ottolenghi
• Danielle Paleafico
• Judy Parker, APR, Fellow PRSA
• Chad Perry, APR, Fellow PRSA
• Cheryl Procter-Rogers, APR, Fellow PRSA
• Burton Reist
• Laarni Rosca Dacanay
• James M. Shackelford, APR
• Jody Weiss Venturoni
• Larry Weiner, MA, APR, Fellow PRSA

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.

• 2019 The PRSA Foundation
• 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.