SOJC Team Places in Top 12 in National PR Student Competition

A six-member SOJC public relations student team created a campaign to highlight the importance of the Eugene Library to the community.

six SOJC public relations students read books while sitting in a row of chairs
Public relations students Rebecca Chiang, Jillian Gray, Emma McFarland, Erynn Pasamba, Josh Celio Espinoza and Talia James take a reading break while preparing for the Bateman Case Study Competition. The SOJC team finished in the top 12 in the nation. Photo by Autumn Shafer. 

by McKenzie Leary, Class of ’26

During a time of widespread book bans and financial cuts to libraries, six UO School of Journalism and Communication (SOJC) public relations students created a campaign to unite the Eugene community around public access to stories.

Every year, SOJC students can apply to participate in the Public Relations Student Society of America’s (PRSSA) Bateman Case Study Competition. Participation in the Bateman Competition not only allows students to gain real-world PR experience but also fulfills their required Campaigns course credit.

two members of the SOJC PR student competition team sit at a table displaying banned books
Josh Celio Espinoza and Erynn Pasamba, two members of the SOJC Bateman PR team, staff a table at the Allan Price Science Commons and Research Library. The team raffled off banned books as part of their library advocacy campaign. Photo courtesy of the SOJC Bateman team.

The Bateman competition partners with universities nationwide to create campaigns for real clients. This year’s organization was EveryLibrary, a national nonprofit that supports library advocacy and fights book bans.

In January, the students got together with their faculty advisor, Associate Professor Autumn Shafer, and professional advisor and SOJC alum Catherine Oswalt ’22 to brainstorm a campaign. With a budget of $300 and only a few weeks to plan, implement and evaluate a real-world campaign, the team got to work creating Books & Beyond.

“The mission of the Books & Beyond campaign was to highlight the importance of library advocacy and inform the Eugene community about issues facing local libraries today, including funding, book censorship and accessibility to library resources,” said team member Talia James, a fourth-year public relations major.

Bateman Competition team worked with Eugene Library

The SOJC’s Bateman team created a campaign full of creative and interactive events.

In collaboration with the Eugene Public Library, the team hosted a week-long event to engage families in the library’s mission. They created a superhero named Elle, who was the figurehead of the campaign. Designed by Emma McFarland, a third-year PR major, and Erynn Pasamba, a fourth-year PR major, Elle appeared in promotional materials and coloring book pages to engage audiences of all ages.

two members of the SOJC PR student competition team hold up a colorful scavenger hunt list
Talia James and Rebecca Chiang hold up a scavenger hunt card, one of several activities the SOJC PR team included in its Bateman Case Study Competition. Photo courtesy of the SOJC Bateman team. 

Another component of the campaign was a banned book personality quiz. Inspired by Buzzfeed quizzes, fourth-year PR major Jillian Gray created a quiz that matched participants’ personalities to a famously banned book.

“The quiz speaks to how important and impactful this literature is and what lessons we’re losing from banning them,” Gray said.

Four participants won a copy of their matched book: “Fahrenheit 451,” “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” “The Handmaid's Tale” or “The Hunger Games.”

At the end of the campaign, the team also created a duet blog. Each team member and one of their parents wrote about a personal memory connected to a library to emphasize the importance of libraries throughout people’s lives.

The SOJC team’s innovative ideas paid off. They received an honorable mention, placing in the top 12 teams out of 45 entries nationwide.

Bateman Competition judges were effusive in their feedback about the SOJC team.

“The level of thought and consideration for the EveryLibrary brand is exquisite,” the judges wrote. “(This was) an excellent and well-planned campaign. This demonstrates a professional level of understanding and connection between research and strategy.”

Josh Celio Espinoza, a fourth-year PR student, was thrilled to be part of the team. “Being able to spread a worthwhile message at the scale we did is something I am very proud of,” Espinoza said. “I think the field of PR gets a bad rap for ‘spinning’ or dishonesty, but things like this show the power of public relations to advocate for real, positive change.”

coloring pages and signs created by the SOJC PR student competition team
These coloring pages created by the SOJC Bateman Case Study Competition team feature Elle, a reading superhero who is the campaign mascot. Photo courtesy of the SOJC Bateman team. 

Bateman Competition gives students glimpse of nonprofit world

The competition provided more value than just an entry on their resumes. Bateman shaped the team’s perspective on the industries they want to go into, team members said.

For McFarland, the experience solidified her passion for working for a nonprofit, while James said the competition exposed her to an area of PR she had never considered.

“Working for Bateman really allowed me to see the other opportunities that exist within PR,” James said. “If you’re looking for a personal growth and development class in the SOJC, this is a good course to explore your interests in a real-world PR setting.”

Any SOJC student interested in joining the next Bateman team can apply when applications open in the fall. Students can contact an SOJC Undergraduate Student Success Center advisor or reach out to a member of the public relations faculty for more information.

McKenzie Leary is a third-year public relations major in the UO School of Journalism and Communication, minoring in global studies. She is passionate about creating multimedia narratives, traveling and advocacy. McKenzie loves having the opportunity to share people’s stories and is also working on her novel.