edcom’s Graduation Competition Winners Announced!

Brussels, 1 March 2022: The winners of 2021/2022 Graduation Competition have been chosen! The Competition rewards the best Bachelor and Master Graduation work in advertising or commercial communications among students from edcom member schools.

edcom institute strives to promote excellence in education in commercial communication and research and to further exchanges between the European commercial communications sector and academic partners; and was founded by the European Association of Communications Agencies (EACA) together with the founding academic partners in 2007.

Following 2 rounds of rigorous judging, the jurors have decided that the following two papers stood out the most:

• In the Bachelor category, Jonathan Shaw, a student from Bournemouth University won with his thesis ‘Exploring Millennials’ asymmetric brand attitudes held towards brands who practise brand activism.’
• In the Master category Rosie Slayter from Breda University of Applied Sciences won with her work ‘Augmented reality marketing: A quasi-experimental study evaluating the influence that interactivity has on brand attitude.’

The Competition rewards the best Bachelor and Master theses on advertising or commercial communications among edcom member schools with a €400 cash prize.

Jonathan Shaw, said: “As we see more and more brands getting involved in social issues, there was a need to understand how Millennials reacted to such activism. The amalgamation of Millennials’ willingness to voice their opinions and their awareness of social issues has been overlooked in previous studies. This study looked at their opinions towards brand activism to understand what factors catalyse asymmetry in their attitudes, with the aim of assisting brands in mitigating any negative effects. To be awarded by edcom and the EACA for this paper is a great honour, and something I’ll take with me throughout my career. I’d encourage any student to get involved with the competition.”

Besides the winning paper, the jurors awarded the second & third place. Andreea Tudor, University of Bucharest with her thesis on ‘The hedonistic perspective on Romanian consumer behaviour’ won the second place. Marta Tudela from University of Navarra scooped a third place with her paper on ‘Communication in Open Innovation Processes: The X Factor. Understanding The Role of the Communication Function.’

Rosie Slayter, said: “Writing my Master thesis is a period of time that I look back on very fondly. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to further explore the research field of Augmented Reality Marketing with my supervisor, Milena, supporting me every step of the way. This field one that I am so incredibly passionate about, and researching it changed my career goals, and refined what I am passionate about. To have my work not only recognized, but also appreciated on a European level is something that I did not expect, and I could not be more thrilled about. This competition is a phenomenal initiative that shines a bright light on and rewards students who put all of their thought, time and energy into their research.”

In the master category, the jurors also awarded the second & third place. Melanie Karlinger, from FH Wien with her thesis on ‘External and internal factors influencing impulse buying in online grocery retailing’ won the second place. Niamh Marshall from TU Dublin scooped a third place with her paper entitled ‘An exploratory investigation into Irish consumers understanding and response to the marketing and consumption of gender-neutral children’s clothing.’

Winners, alongside with all finalists will be invited to present their research to edcom members. Here you can access the winning papers’ summaries and posters. For more information, please visit the competition’s website.

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For further information, please contact Kasia Gluszak, Project Manager at kasia.gluszak@eaca.eu.

Notes to Editors

About edcom

edcom (The European Institute for Commercial Communications Education) strives to promote excellence in commercial communications education and research. Its aim is to establish co-operation between academia and industry professionals, as well as facilitating cross-border education and exchange of students. edcom is comprised of 43 university members across 14 countries, that meet bi-annually to share the best practices during members’ meetings and networking dinners. edcom also organizes competitions for students, such as Ad Venture and Graduation Competition. Find us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

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