ABOUT US

imagiCal, established in 1980, is the Berkeley chapter of the American Advertising Federation Our organization functions as a fully student-run advertising agency and creative consultancy comprised of 25-30 undergraduates with a diverse array of interests, academic fields, and backgrounds. We are researchers, athletes, businesspeople, artists, and more. Many of our alumni graduate to top firms in consulting, banking, and tech industries, as well as to academia, science and advertising. Learn more about our current members here [link to meet the team]

WHAT WE DO

Fall Consulting Projects

These are 6-week long management consulting projects for clients of varying backgrounds, from local non-profits to billion dollar corporations. In the past year, we helped an ed-tech startup with their alumni engagement model, rebranded one of China’s largest social media platforms engage with the US audience, and helped a local non-profit craft a business model to best support food insecure students.

Timeline

October - Mid November

Key deliverables

Midterm & final presentation

Who

Diverse selection of members

2 Project Managers, 5-6 Consultants

The National Student Advertising Competition

imagiCal is the only student organization at Berkeley that competes in the National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC) every year, which is the main reason why we only recruit members once a year in the fall. NSAC is the premier college advertising competition that provides more than 2,000 college students the real-world experience of creating a strategic advertising/marketing campaign for a corporate client. Students develop a marketing plan and then pitch their work to advertising professionals at the district, semi-final and national levels. Learn more about the AAF by visiting their website!

Timeline

Mid November - Mid April (extends to early June if we make it to Nationals!)

Key Deliverables

Plansbook, Regionals presentation, Semifinals phone call, National presentation

Who

All 30 students working together to closely resemble a real-world advertising agency with 5 core teams: Strategy, Creative, PR, Media & Production.

HOW WE DO IT

Strategy

Gathers and analyzes the primary and secondary market research that is used to determine the campaign’s target market. This department is in charge of creating a single, unified theme and strategy that is applied to all aspects of the marketing campaign.

Apply

Key Deliverables

Gathers and analyzes the primary and secondary market research that is used to determine the campaign’s target market. This department is in charge of creating a single, unified theme and strategy that is applied to all aspects of the marketing campaign.

  • Secondary research
  • Primary Research
  • Observational research
  • Research analysis & Summary
  • The Creative Brief
  • Concept-testing of executions

    • Creative

    Crafts, communicates, and guides execution of the campaign’s main idea. Tackles the challenge of articulating the brand or product’s unique value propositions in a way that is relevant, meaningful, and memorable to the consumer.

    Apply

    Key Deliverables

    Crafts, communicates, and guides execution of the campaign’s main idea. Tackles the challenge of articulating the brand or product’s unique value propositions in a way that is relevant, meaningful, and memorable to the consumer.

  • Campaign slogan
  • Traditional ads (TV, Radio & Print)
  • Point of sale ads
  • Static out of home ads
  • Digital Ads
  • Social Ads

    • Public Relations

    Designs a cohesive public relations initiative that complements and extends the creative campaign by developing community programs, identifying strategic partnerships, and generating campaign awareness through organic media value.

    Apply

    Key Deliverables

    Designs a cohesive public relations initiative that complements and extends the creative campaign by developing community programs, identifying strategic partnerships, and generating campaign awareness through organic media value.

  • Interactive out of home ads
  • Experiential ads
  • Strategic partnerships
  • Amplification recommendations

    • Media Planning

    Develops a multi-million dollar purchasing plan by evaluating and researching the profitability of different media vehicles (i.e. TV, internet, social, etc.). This department creates the most effective strategy of placing ads through competitive benchmarking, consumer trend evaluations, and quantitative market analysis.

    Apply

    Key Deliverables

    Develops a multi-million dollar purchasing plan by evaluating and researching the profitability of different media vehicles (i.e. TV, internet, social, etc.). This department creates the most effective strategy of placing ads through competitive benchmarking, consumer trend evaluations, and quantitative market analysis.

  • Media consideration set
  • Tailored media funnel
  • Media strategy per execution
  • Media flighting table
  • Budget allocation per execution
  • Optimization recommendations

    • Production

    Develops a multi-million dollar purchasing plan by evaluating and researching the profitability of different media vehicles (i.e. TV, internet, social, etc.). This department creates the most effective strategy of placing ads through competitive benchmarking, consumer trend evaluations, and quantitative market analysis.

    Apply

    Key Deliverables

    Develops a multi-million dollar purchasing plan by evaluating and researching the profitability of different media vehicles (i.e. TV, internet, social, etc.). This department creates the most effective strategy of placing ads through competitive benchmarking, consumer trend evaluations, and quantitative market analysis.

  • The plansbook
  • Presentation deck
  • Recorded and edited video ads
  • Digital & Social execution mockups
  • Printed physical execution props
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