FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla., Dec. 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Students in the Zimmerman Advertising Program (ZAP) at the University of South Florida are taking a bite out of their final exams this semester, and the competition will be fire-hot.  They're going head to head creating campaigns for Firehouse Subs as part of the university's unique Brandtailing™ class, in which students develop real-life advertising campaigns for real life clients – and this year, there's more than grades on the line.  They could take home $5,000.

On Friday, December 7^th, the students will make their case in front of a panel of judges on USF's Tampa campus including the Founder and Chairman of Zimmerman Advertising and Founder of ZAP Jordan Zimmerman.  He created the program as the only one in the country to offer separate business and mass communication tracks for students pursuing an advertising degree.  It's a curriculum that uniquely prepares students for life outside the classroom.

"We are putting students on the fast track for success," said Zimmerman.  "We're going beyond simply the theory taught in schools to give them hands-on experience in the industry."

The panel of judges will also include three other Zimmerman execs as well as a team from Firehouse Subs, including Co-founder Chris Sorensen and VP of Marketing Doug Reifschneider.

Students spent the semester figuring out how to increase awareness and donations for the Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation.  Split up into teams, they developed every aspect of the Foundation's campaign and worked directly with Firehouse Sub CEO Don Fox, who taught a class in October.

About Zimmerman Advertising

Zimmerman is the 14^th largest, full-service agency in the U.S. and Omnicom Group's retail powerhouse. Zimmerman created the science of Brandtailing™, elevating brand equity while driving immediate growth. Holistic by design, their brand-activation business model includes strategic planning, business analytics, brand design, advertising, interactive, social engagement, media, public relations, mobile, CRM/Loyalty and in-house production. For more information, visit www.zadv.com, join us at facebook.com/ZimmermanAdv and follow us on Twitter @ZimmermanAdv.

SOURCE Zimmerman Advertising