Spring 2019 Acura Winners

Acura ILX Marketing Challenge Spring 2019 Winners Announced in Torrance, CA

Over the last 4 months, college students all around the country have been competing in the Acura ILX Marketing Challenge.  Participating universities were responsible for researching generation Z and the millennial market to understand their current perceptions and level of awareness of the Acura brand. The students were then tasked with developing and executing an integrated marketing communications plan to increase brand awareness, consideration and aspirational nature of Acura through the promotion of the newly redesigned 2019 Acura ILX.

On Wednesday, May 29, 2019, finalist teams presented their campaigns to a panel of esteemed judges in Torrance, CA. The final ranking determined by the judges are as follows:

1st Place - University of New Mexico

1st Place - University of New Mexico (Albuquerque, NM) — Made You Look 

The “Made You Look” campaign highlights the redesigned 2019 ILX and invites the millennial car consumer to take a second, deeper look at Acura’s premium compact sedan.  The campaign highlighted the many attractive features of the Acura ILX from its bold styling to precision crafted performance that say “notice me.” 

2nd Place - Johns Hopkins University

Second Place - Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD) — Your Ambition. Your Adventure.

The “Your Ambition. Your Adventure.” campaign focused on raising awareness of the Acura brand and position the 2019 ILX model as the car for young professional dreamers. The team leveraged the slogan and message of the campaign to embody the self-starter spirit of the millennial target market.  

3rd Place - University of Rhode Island

3rd Place - University of Rhode Island (Kingston, RI) — Level UP

The “Level UP” campaign focused on creating a direct call to action for the target audience, asking them to Level Up with the new 2019 Acura ILX as they enter a new chapter in life. To generate interest and relate to the audience, the campaign connected Ciara’s “Level Up Challenge” to position the Acura ILX as the vehicle to portray their change in status and new chapter in life, whether graduating or starting a new career.

Acura executives presented the teams with scholarship awards of $5,000, $3,000, and $1,000 respectively.