Samford University students Cameron Cross, Bailey Fuqua, Corry Mulligan, Taylor Pigman and Cassady Weldon are competing in the Public Relations Student Society of America’s (PRSSA) 2015 Bateman Case Study Competition.  This is the first time for Samford students to participate in the Bateman competition.

The students will be competing against college and university students across America to create a custom public relations campaign for Home Matters to raise awareness of market-rate housing throughout the nation.  The campaign will take place during February and all supporting documents, research and findings will be submitted to PRSSA national headquarters in New York City.

The 2015 Bateman Case Study Competition focuses specifically on Home Matters, a non-profit, affordable housing service that offers funding and home placement for all families.  Samford University’s PRSSA Bateman Case Study Competition team, in partnership with the local Home Matters chapter, Neighborhood Housing Services of Birmingham (NHSB), will launch the “Unlock Birmingham” campaign during February.  The campaign will raise awareness of market-rate housing opportunities in Birmingham provided by NHSB.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for our students to be able to showcase their work,” said Betsy Emmons, assistant professor of journalism and mass communication and a PRSSA faculty advisor.  “The Bateman Case Study Competition is an integral part of PRSSA and I am looking forward to the great campaign our students create.”

Samford team members include journalism and mass communication majors Cross, a junior from Buford, Georgia; Fuqua, a senior from Franklin, Tennessee; Mulligan, a junior from Roswell, Georgia; Pigman, a senior from Orlando, Florida; and Weldon, a senior from Snoqualmie, Washington.

PRSSA is the student affiliate of Public Relations Society of America, the largest public relations professional organization in the U.S.

Taylor Pigman is a senior journalism and mass communication major.