By Jai’Michael Anderson
The Bird’s Nest (TBN), UofL’s student-run ad agency, recently received two awards from the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Bluegrass Chapter at their annual Landmarks of Excellence awards. The awards honor work in Kentucky and Southern Indiana for various areas of marketing — ranging from overall communication program to individual areas like websites, and social media campaigns.
TBN competed with professionals from various industry leaders such as UofL Health and Kroger to win two second-place awards. They were recognized in the Social Media Campaigns and Branding Assets categories for their Kentucky Derby x Unwell Influencer Activation project and digital media work for Fresco Tea Bar respectively.
Students honored for their work on the Fresco Tea Bar brand kit include Julie Keehn, Aiko Jones, Carolyn Grap, Kelechi Ragland, lauren Cassidy, and Raegan Meguiar.
Jacey Wells, Director of Strategey, and her team—Lauren Cassady, Jasmine Fondrisi, Aiko Jones, Dorian Brown, Raegan Meguiar, and Nina Sims—were tasked by Churchill Downs to attract a larger Gen Z audience to the Kentucky Derby, increase ticket sales, and bring more people to the infield on race day.
“We thought of what kind of people would get Gen Z more interested in the Derby and how we could use influencer marketing that way, and then through that, it kind of turned into a passion project of mine,” said Wells.
To this effort, Wells and her team provided a branding proposal that included possible sponsors, a marketing mood board, and ideas to bring influencers to the Derby’s center stage. This proposal eventually manifested into Churchill Downs’ 2024 collaboration with The Unwell Network, a Gen Z media platform founded by Alex Cooper.
Cooper is the co-creator and host of Call Her Daddy, which is one of the most successful podcasts to date. She is currently the highest-paid female podcaster on Spotify with a salary of $20 million, according to a People article posted in April.
Churchill Downs Vice President of Marketing and Partnerships, Casey Ramage, reflected on the value of such a partnership in a press release last Spring, “Since the Kentucky Derby is one of the only American sporting events that captures majority female viewership and attendance, it is incredibly fitting to partner with the most trailblazing women in modern media today to celebrate the historic 150th Kentucky Derby.”
Wells, who has worked with Churchill Downs on other projects the past three years, mentioned that the project was, at times, overwhelming due to it being her first experience with influencer marketing. Despite this she says that it has been the best experience she has had in college.
She emphasized that TBN students are not just recognized locally, the project has been recently featured on the national scale by The Hollywood Reporter.
“Seeing the impact it’s had on me and my career and how much praise The Bird’s Nest is getting for it has been amazing because we’re still a somewhat newer student marketing agency,” she said. “It was amazing to just see my work come to life and get offered the opportunity to work on it.”
Wells has been a part of TBN since the agency began in 2021. Students interested in joining the agency can apply via their website beginning Nov. 1, they have team positions ranging from content and strategy to human resources and research.
Photo courtesy // Dr. Karen Freberg, The Bird’s Nest
