BU AdLab honors Capital One, student projects

Capital One, the bank well known for advertising that asks “what’s in your wallet?” was honored for its partnership with AdLab, COM’s student-run ad agency, as part of its semi-annual awards ceremony.

In accepting the Outstanding Client Partnership Award, Capital One’s Nick Koutris said the quality of the student contributions convinced the Capital One Brand team to find ways to incorporate AdLab’s work into future marketing strategies.

Now in its 50th year, AdLab helps cross-functional student teams solve real-world business problems with clients ranging from local start-ups and non-profits to large brands like Capital One.

Separately, among the students receiving recognition that evening for their work were Emily Parham, Bryan Liao, Stephanie Lu, Leanna Chun, Manon Riviore, Penelope Paxon, Salem Gebru, Ziqi Lin, Brielle Flavin and Yan Blokhin, all members of the team behind a campaign for MassDOT and winner for the top award, a Grandlabbie.

“I have been deeply impressed by the exceptional quality of work from our AdLabbies, as well as the passion and energy that fuel both our students and faculty,” said Sung-Un Yang, Harold Burson Professor in Public Relations and chair of the Department of Mass Communication, Advertising, and Public Relations at Boston University. “AdLab stands as a shining example of student success at COM—distinctive, innovative, and built to leave a lasting impact unlike any other university program.”

The Adlabbies present awards for excellence among the 165 AdLab students across strategy, creative, production, brand and management areas. The Spring 2025 winners are:

ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT AWARDS

Best Client Relationship: Britney Kirwan, for The Schwartz Center 
Greatest Problem Solver: Emma MacKenzie, for Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts

PROJECT MANAGEMENT AWARDS

Most Efficient: Ananya Chakravarthy, for United States Tennis Association
Best Team Building: Ruizhi (Sunny) Xu, for Boston University School of Hospitality Administration

STRATEGY AWARDS

Best Campaign Strategy: Aria Bitan and Stella Louie, for ShowUp
Best Research Learning: Sanyu Liu and Rani Abiola, for Geena Davis Institute

SPECIAL AWARDS

Brand Impact: Emma Almaraz, for Brand Team
Above and Beyond: Xuechen Zhao, for Wareham Media 
Above and Beyond: Pablo Gonzalez, for Streetlight Ventures x Anna’s Taqueria
Above and Beyond: James Chiang, for Fiore
Above and Beyond: Safiyah Young, for Video Production
Above and Beyond: Philip Eviston, for The Schwartz Center
Above and Beyond: Rana Okan, for Capital One
Above and Beyond: Gennadii Lazarev, for Capital One
Above and Beyond: Andrés Safa, for ShowUp
Above and Beyond: Noah Kim, for Saxbys
Above and Beyond: Paromita Das, for Fork on a Road
Outstanding Client Partnership: Capital One

CREATIVE AWARDS

Best Art Direction: Justina So & Alicia Chiang, for Geena Davis Institute
Best Copywriting: Kira Chick & Charlie Tuttle, for United States Tennis Association
Best of Show: Ayla Truong, Max Elliot, Kira Chick and Charlie Tuttle, for United States Tennis Association

VIDEO PRODUCTION AWARDS

Outstanding Video Craftsmanship: Kathryn Bernard
Best Video Team Player: Amaya Yu

TEAM AWARDS

Rising to the Occasion: Vivienne Lee, Inhoo Na, Yingqun Xu, Raaeya Desai, Anibal Crespo III, James Williams, Kenna LLoyd, Charlotte Weeks, Brielle Flavin, Brennan Ju, Brianna Anderson, Zixin (Christine) Wang, Kathryn Bernard and Yan Blokhin, for Doughnuttery

Grandlabbie — Emily Parham, Bryan Liao, Stephanie Lu, Leanna Chun, Manon Riviore, Penelope Paxon, Salem Gebru, Ziqi Lin, Brielle Flavin and Yan Blokhin, for MassDOT