The Bateman Case Study competition is PRSSA’s most prestigious and leading national case study competition that gives students firsthand experience with executing a public relations campaign.
First established as the National Case Study in 1973 and later renamed to honor the late J. Carroll Bateman, APR, the Bateman Case Study Competition allows students to work for an actual client to research, plan, implement, and evaluate a campaign.
Over 75 teams apply from across the country, and after an extensive judging process, three finalists are selected to present their campaign to the client.
This year’s sponsor and client is ACCESS Newswire, a leading global press release distribution service. Jennifer Hammers, the executive vice president of sales and marketing, spoke about the benefits of being involved in the Bateman Case Study Competition.
“Being a part of the Bateman Project isn’t just about supporting students and giving them real life experience. It’s about supporting PRSA and PRSSA who we love to partner with” says Hammers.
“When we initially spoke about being the Batmen client, we wondered if we were going to be the right fit, because this competition is very student focused so realistically you want your audience to fit into that student category”, Hammers explained.
“Then it dawned on me, we’ve been waiting to launch our university program since last year, what a great opportunity to get student’s perspective and for them to create a campaign catered to their peers and professors”
“This is such a great opportunity for us. It’s the exact demographic we want to reach, so it's the perfect way for us to launch our program.”
Hammers expressed a lot of excitement surrounding the fresh and innovative ideas that every team was bringing to the table, she applauded every team involved in the competition as they all bring a unique perspective and different campaign approaches.
“This is the next generation. Their insights are so diverse from the different things they’ve experienced. Hearing their opinions makes us think, what can we improve on? It helps our innovation, and it challenges us!”
Hammers’ last comments were to other organizations thinking about becoming the Bateman client, “What a great experience to give these students, we’re providing them the opportunity to walk into their first job with the knowledge of these tools! Plus, we get to use their ideas, concepts and campaigns, so we gain more than we give”.
“I can think of a million reasons why a company should be involved and none of why they shouldn’t be. Even the cost, it’s an investment into the future, not only for the organization, but for the future of public relations.”
The Bateman Case Study Competition runs all through the academic year, with the winning team being announced in May 2026.