Marketing Students Make Mail Meaningful in Innovation Competition

A team of Dominican University marketing students recently took the runner-up spot in the 2026 Direct Effect Innovation Competition.

Students Andrew Nunez, Litzy Calderon, Emily Hernandez, Luis Garcia-Gonzalez and Julia Klusek were tasked with creating a direct mail campaign that effectively sparked interest among a Gen Z audience to open piece of mail—and then kept their interest so they moved to an online site for further interaction. 

Hosted by the Direct Effect initiative, Innovation Challenges are experiential learning events for college students to design and develop integrated marketing campaigns that address real-world marketing challenges. Students learn how integrating physical pieces of mail with digital channels can increase engagement. They also explore new technologies and platforms for connecting mail with digital channels, and they learn how to use marketing best practices for positive results, according to the initiative.

“This 24-hour case competition is something the students are unlikely to ever forget,” said Dr. Brooke Reavey, professor of marketing at Dominican University. “It was great to see all their business and marketing skills applied in one concept.”

The Direct Effect initiative is a collaborative effort among academic institutions, the printing and mailing industry and the U.S. Postal Service.