During a fast-paced three-day weekend, PSU junior and senior advertising students sharpened their ability to think quickly, research effectively and develop strong communication strategies for real clients. Students at the winter portfolio workshop received faculty mentorship, gained hands-on experience with industry professionals and walked away with valuable insights and portfolio pieces.
The portfolio workshop for Winter 2025 advertising minors included four student teams. Leola Ristau, Senior Creative Production Manager for Chipotle was the client for the weekend, and briefed the teams on a mock social media campaign. Each team spent the weekend developing a campaign pitch and presented their work to Ristau and a panel of industry professionals. The tight turnarounds mirrored the intensity and fast pace of agency life — and taught students how to deliver strategic ideas under pressure.
The panel of industry professionals included:
Andy Miguel, Head of Growth, InGoodTaste
Will Patton, Senior Planning Dir, Tillamook County Creamery Association
Lisa Prince, Founder, School of Ideas
Dr. Qing Hu, Dean, PSU The School of Business
Avery Harrison, Creative Director, Mutiny
Danielle Hoodhood, Recruiter, Google Brand Studio
Brian Unflat, Managing Creative Director, CMD
Inside Portland State was there to capture how the weekend unfolded.
Day 1: Client brief – Make them care. Make it matter.
The challenge was clear: raise awareness of Chipotle’s Food with Integrity Standards through a multi-platform social media campaign that went beyond traditional TV advertising. The goal? To develop a campaign that not only highlights Chipotle’s commitment to quality but also resonates authentically with the target audience — individuals between the ages of 18 to 26.
Teams were assigned, and the students dove straight into research, with an open brief and a challenge to make it work. Questioning everything, by the end of day one, teams had piles of insights on consumer behavior, digital trends and what truly sets Chipotle apart. In the end, teams realized that this wasn’t just about promoting Food with Integrity. It was about proving it. Because if their campaign was going to work, it had to matter.
Day 2: Strategy – Break it. Fix it. Make it better.
Good strategy doesn’t happen in a straight line. It’s messy, loud and full of pivots. Today, teams ripped their briefs apart and rebuilt them, then did it all over again. Strategy professionals Karl Keating, Matt Kelley, Chris Fedorczak and Lisa Prince stepped in to challenge their thinking and push teams to dig deeper. Revisions piled up. Whiteboards filled. Concepts got stronger. Today was about pushing every idea to make it sharper and impossible to ignore.
By the end of the night, each team fought to get their brief approved. Whether they locked their concept in at 5 p.m. or 10 p.m., tomorrow, creative begins.
Day 3: Creative – Build the deck. Sell the idea.
Today, teams brought their concepts to life. The teams took everything they built in the strategy phase and began creating their presentation decks. From designing and copywriting to media planning and refining, each team needed to make sure every slide sold the work. Creative professionals Avery Harrison, Steve Diamond, Brian Unflat, Steve Settle and Guy Ragnetti stepped in to poke holes in every idea and pushed for stronger storytelling, bolder visuals and out-of-the-box executions. By the end of day three, mentors reviewed pitches, gave real feedback and made sure teams knew exactly what they needed to do next. After an intense, fast-paced workshop weekend, students had just one week to refine their ideas, rehearse their presentation and make their pitch stick.
Presentation Day: From concept to pitch.
This was it. The final pitch. No do-overs. Teams showed up early, tightened their transitions and prepped to hear the kind of feedback you can’t prepare for. With the room packed with industry professionals and the eager client, the stakes were higher than ever.
Team 1: Naomi Lang, Habib Gouhar, Celeaya Hirst, Aaron Lindstedt, Kevin Schoelen
Problem: Chipotle’s social media is successful. But it doesn’t show who they are.
Insight: Chipotle nurtures their customers by nurturing their ingredients. Don’t change the voice, change the message.
Creative: Nourish your scroll — keep the fun, add the nutrition. The “Nourish Your Scroll” campaign leverages Chipotle’s current social media strategy to highlight their high food integrity standards. Chipotle has great engagement, but they need to communicate their values.
Team 2: Carolina Barrios, Maddee Garcia, Madisyn Lane, Maya Lishka, Luke Rinella
Problem: Gen Z loves you, but they don’t know you. They already have the same values as you. Imagine if they knew you were on the same page.
Insight: You have their love, but you need their loyalty.
Creative: Fresh perspective. The “Fresh Perspective” campaign takes Chipotle’s values and creates consumer truths. Companies tend to say good things and fall short of meaningful action. You’ve taken meaningful action and now it’s time to say the good things.
Team 3: Zoe Kimmel, Michael Koach, Marisol Perez-Doney, Nai Torres, Brianna Vasquez
Problem: You’re creating content that is fun and engaging, but doesn’t showcase what Gen Z should love about you.
Insight: Gen Z needs evidence to believe in Chipotle’s integrity standards. Gen Z needs to see the receipts.
Creative: It’s OK to be natural. This will be a docuseries of 15 to 60 second videos, offering a raw, unfiltered look at the individuals behind the brand. The content is intentionally imperfect, earnest rather than idealized, true-to-life rather than scripted and quirky without losing sincerity.
Team 4: Leslye Gonzalez, Mariah (MJ) Johnson, Milo Loza, Yasmine Matar, Ashley Pirrung
Problem: Chipotle’s most influential ads are on TV, but their tone in commercials vs. social media is inconsistent. Chipotle needs to spread awareness of its exemplary practices.
Insight: Gen Z already loves Chipotle and cares about environmental sustainability. They just don’t know how close the two are…there’s more to Chipotle than you think.
Creative: More than meets the bowl. Showing Gen Z about Chipotle’s adopted composting processes, and organic ingredients. These practices will be presented through items such as a sustainability zine, eco-friendly tote bag, satisfying videos that represent the food prep process and an online game called “Burrito Dash”.
Presentations landed, the feedback got real and for a moment, we weren’t just students, we were future professionals getting a taste of the careers we’re building here at PSU.
Winter 2025 winning team: Chipotle
Luke Rinella, Maddee Garcia, Maya Lishka, Carolina Barrios, Madisyn Lane
Spring 2024 winning team: Dress For Success
Leo Ambard, Vanessa Negrete Carvente, Evan Perez, Brianna Vasquez, Courtney Jeffs
Winter 2024 winning team: 988 Hotline
Dennis Reynolds, Brenna Breman, Gerardo Flores Castro
Written by: Brianna Vasquez
The process was intense, but the results? Worth it. Want to create a campaign in 72 hours? To learn more about the Portfolio Workshop (MKTG 449) course, email Marc Moran at marcm@pdx.edu or talk to your advisor. Huge thanks to PSU, our faculty, alumni and the industry mentors who made this re