Did you know that for the past ten years, the UO's New Venture Championship (NVC) has provided a way for the Lundquist College of Business to collaborate with the School of Journalism and Communication (SOJC)? Allen Hall Advertising (AHA), the student-run advertising agency in the journalism school, creates and implements the campaign and materials for the competition every year.

The collaboration is the result of a gift from Tim Boyle, president and CEO of Columbia Sportswear. His gift provides AHA with the budget to create and place advertisements that can be seen all over Portland and helps the NVC winner have the monetary start they need to build a business. Boyle studied both journalism and business at the University of Oregon. Through his investment, NVC is the prestigious competition it is today, and students across multiple fields get real-world experience that helps them hone and develop their talents.

“It benefits the journalism school because it's a good training ground," explained Dave Koranda, the AHA students' faculty advisor and SOJC senior instructor of advertising. “It benefits the business school because students who are trained in advertising, planning, and communication are creating all the communication and promotional materials."

This year the AHA team comprised nine journalism students who did the communication and advertising for the international business competition. This involved placing ads, developing creative marketing techniques, preparing all event materials and programs, and generating hype around Portland. A particularly eye-catching effort was a clever riff on the concept of the elevator pitch. Students invited Portlanders into a mock elevator set up in Pioneer Courthouse Square, the center of downtown Portland, on March 19. When the doors shut, participants had just one minute—the length of the classic elevator pitch—to share their aspirations and dreams.

We thank Tim and Mary Boyle for making this collaboration possible. We are also very grateful for Jim and Elizabeth Bramsen's ongoing support of NVC. And thank you to this year's sponsors, including Columbia Sportswear, Tektronix, Blue Star Gas, Oregon Entrepreneurs Network, Palo Alto Software, Rogue Venture Partners, and Viewpoint Construction Software. Your support of NVC makes it one of the preeminent graduate investment plan competitions in the world and elevates the renown of the Northwest entrepreneurial community.

View photos from the elevator pitch day in Pioneer Courthouse Square.