M-School Sweeps National Effie Collegiate Brand Challenge

For the fourth time in five years, M-School students have earned top honors in the Effie Collegiate Brand Challenge, one of the nation's premier marketing and advertising competitions. This year, LMU achieved a remarkable sweep of the competition, capturing both first- and second-place honors against teams from universities across the country.

This year's challenge, presented in partnership with the United Nations Association of the United States (UNA-USA), tasked students with developing a campaign to strengthen the United Nations' relevance and engagement among Gen Z audiences in the United States.

LMU's success was evident from the outset. M-School teams secured four of the competition's six semifinalist positions. Just one week later, two LMU teams were selected as finalists and traveled to New York City to present their campaigns to a panel of industry leaders and members of the UNA-USA marketing leadership team.

The first-place team, The Human Race, included Cooper Bosland, Elias Herrera, Michael O'Grady, and Gianna Szyrko. Second-place honors went to Team UNCover, comprised of Gavin Bell, Maggie Brady, Isabelle Gonzalez, and Christian Sosa. The students were advised by Matt Stefl, Andy Rohm, Bernice Chao, and a team of industry mentors.

"This was a special assignment for us," said M-School co-directors Matt Stefl and Andy Rohm. "Not only is the Effie Collegiate Competition the perfect opportunity for our students to connect the dots from their two years of M-School coursework, but we've been integrating the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals into our curriculum, research, and community engagement efforts for nearly a decade."

Sponsored by the Effie LIONS Foundation, the Effie Collegiate program challenges top marketing students from universities across the country to research, develop, and pitch integrated marketing campaigns that address real-world business and brand challenges. LMU's continued success in the competition underscores the creativity, strategic thinking, and industry-ready talent cultivated within the M-School. Previous LMU victories include campaigns for Pernod Ricard (2022), Ally Bank (2023), and Amazon Prime (2025).

"We're thrilled to celebrate this year's winners and the innovative solutions they brought to the challenge," said Caitlin Moses Bowser, Head of Programs & Partnerships at the Effie LIONS Foundation. "Effie Collegiate bridges strategy and creativity through a practical, effectiveness-focused framework, giving students the opportunity to apply their skills to a real-world challenge. Supported by industry judges, participants gain hands-on experience that helps them become more effective marketers and stronger collaborators throughout their careers."

For the students, the competition offered an opportunity to apply classroom learning to a real-world challenge with global significance.

"Securing first place feels incredibly rewarding because this challenge pushed me to use my full strategic and creative skill set in a way no other project has," said Gianna Szyrko. "As a team of four building a large-scale marketing campaign, we all wore many hats throughout the process and had to think creatively, analytically, and adapt quickly when plans shifted."

Beyond the competition itself, Szyrko and teammate Cooper Bosland said the opportunity to learn from faculty and industry mentors throughout the semester was among the most valuable aspects of the experience.

"Working on this project was one of my favorite experiences at LMU and felt like the perfect way to cap off my time in college," said Bosland. "I learned so much throughout the past 15 weeks from my professors, mentors, and teammates."

For Maggie Brady, presenting to industry executives in New York City - the capital of the global advertising industry - was both exhilarating and affirming.

"It's an incredible honor to be recognized alongside so many talented, creative, and strategic minds from across the country," said Brady. "I'm grateful for the opportunity to represent my team, learn from industry leaders, and compete on one of the biggest stages in marketing and advertising."

By sweeping the top two spots in this year's competition, LMU M-School students demonstrated that the next generation of marketing leaders can create campaigns that not only resonate with audiences but also advance meaningful social impact.