Driven by creativity

Israel Perez, also an advertising major, served as his team's project manager and quickly learned that having such a title meant juggling a lot of responsibilities but also delegating tasks to his teammates.

"I've learned that delegating gets you a lot closer to your goal than it takes you away from it," he said. "When you're able to share a passion with seven other people, it just makes the work so much more fun!"

Perez's group took a deep dive into Lincoln's history and found that many American icons, including Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, Snoop Dogg and others drove Lincoln vehicles. He said they felt this was something the brand could brag about.

"What do these people have in common besides being influential in their own field? Not much," Perez said. "But what we came up with was that no two Lincolns are the same because no two people are the same. I think Gen Z and millennials have really come to love the authenticity of these types of brands."

During their final presentations, the teams displayed their hard work to UT alumna, Megan McKenzie, director of marketing for the Lincoln Motor Company. If the students were nervous, it wasn't obvious, each group displaying confidence and preparedness.

"Everyone in all three groups were fully engaged," Dalthorp said. "I hope the students feel like they got a real behind-the-scenes glimpse at what it's like to work on a real project with real deadlines. I hope that eventually this may give them an opportunity to work in a category like automotive advertising that's hard to get into."