UFCJC Public Relations Students Receive Honorable Mention in PRSSA’s National 2025 Bateman Case Study Competition

The University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications (UFCJC) Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) Bateman Case Study Competition team has received an honorable mention and a score of 97.8 in the 2025 national contest.

The team, led by Public Relations Lecturer Christine Bucan, included public relations students Addison Welch, Cecilia Edelberg, Drew Okun, Eden Wright, Jessica Adan and Kelia Harrold.

This year, PRSSA partnered with EveryLibrary, a non-partisan organization dedicated to supporting libraries and book access. Students were tasked with creating a campaign to expand the organization’s supporter base and finding innovative ways to reach and identify library supporters.

CommuniGATORS, the UFCJC team, created “Support is Overdue,” a horror-inspired campaign that attracted support from national influencers like Amanda Gorman and Carl Hiaasen. It garnered more than 1.5 million impressions on social media, reached over 64,000 Gainesville residents and inspired 1,500 people to sign a pledge committing to fight for libraries – all in one month. From industry blogs to Gen Z magazine and local outlets, the campaign earned 17 media hits, showing the power of combining traditional media and new media channels.

Additionally, the team brought this campaign to life through spooky campus activations such as a banned book graveyard, murder-board-style interactive activations and “blind dates with a banned book” tabling. They hosted panels at Lynx Books, Banned Book trivia at First Magnitude Brewing, as well as “Brews and Brains,” a TED-talk inspired speaker series featuring UF professors and Gainesville Mayor Harvey Ward.

Previously, UFCJC received first place in 2024, 2023, 2011 and 2014 and second place in 2012, 2015, 2020 and 2022.

PRSSA received 45 entries for the 2025 competition. Nine entries received honorable mentions and three were chosen as finalists to present their campaigns to a panel of judges on May 8.

Category: College News, Student News
Tagged: 2025 Bateman Case Study Competition Christine Bucan PRSSA Public Relations
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