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Full circle: Marketing alumnus returns to WWU to write and judge the competition his team won

Justin Casper and his team won the 2024 WWU Marketing Case Competition. He returns this year to inspire marketing undergrads, as other alumni have before him

by Jennifer Nerad

University Communications

WWU alumnus Justin Casper stands outside the New Engen office in Seattle.

Case competitions are sometimes the first chance undergraduates in the College of Business and Economics get to apply their classroom learning to a real-world problem in a high-pressure, but low-risk setting.

Two years ago, Justin Casper was a senior marketing student at Western. He’d done case competitions before, but the WWU Student Marketing Association (SMA) Case Competition was different. Intimidating, but exciting.

“This case comp was the first time I’d been in an environment where I was presenting my ideas to like 100 people (okay, maybe it was closer to 50, but it felt like 100!). It’s kind of an intense situation,” he said.

Casper’s team entered and won, a victory that set him on a path he wasn’t expecting.

The WWU SMA Case Competition, sponsored by the Seattle digital marketing agency New Engen, is an immersive, hands-on experience in which marketing students work in teams of three to solve a real-world marketing challenge. The teams receive their case problem, spend a week doing research and developing a solution, and return for a full day of high-intensity matchups.

“When I was participating in the case comp, I remember looking at the judges and New Engen employees and thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, they’re the cool alumni. They get to write this case and get paid to go and help the school. That’s what I want to do,’” said Casper. 

Little did he know that he’d be back two years later, as a New Engen employee himself, to write this year’s case and judge this year’s competition. 

Now he’s one of the cool alumni. 

Casper graduated from WWU’s College of Business and Economics with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a Marketing concentration in March 2024 and was hired by New Engen in July. 

“For more than a decade, New Engen has been one of WWU Marketing’s most valued and engaged industry partners,” said Ed Love, professor of Marketing and Marketing Department chair. 

“Beyond sponsoring our case competition, they have hosted Seattle networking events, provided guest speakers, and served as active members of our Marketing Advisory Board. Just as importantly, they have hired and developed many of our brightest graduates,” Love said. 

One of the benefits of winning the 2024 SMA Case Competition was an informational interview with a handful of New Engen executives. That turned out to be the boost Casper needed. 

“Having that opportunity kind of skips the preliminary hurdle of trying to get your resume read by a human being,” said Casper. “After I got hired and came into the office for the first time, the three executives that I’d met months before all remembered my name. I was like, wow, this is a cool company.” 

At New Engen, Casper works with two main clients on their marketing strategy — working through challenges, problem-solving alongside them, and watching their businesses improve. 

“There’s something especially rewarding about helping a brand hit their goals and seeing the numbers go up,” he said. 

The case Casper created for this year’s competition is based on a real problem one of his clients is facing: improving their messaging. 

“I would say case competitions are the best way for a student to get hands-on experience with a real-world marketing problem,” said Casper. 

From left: Professors of Marketing Ed Love and Cat Armstrong Soule, teammates Kaitlin Simpson, Gavin Bohling, and Justin Casper, and Senior Instructor of Marketing Dan Purdy at the 2024 SMA Case Competition.

On the day of the case competition, the top team from each of four “heats” moves on to the final round, where they present to all 22 judges. There are prizes, but the real takeaway is the opportunity to network, practice problem-solving and presentation skills, collaborate with a team, and gain experience and confidence. 

The case that Casper and his teammates won in 2024 involved 1-800-Flowers, an online retailer that specializes in flower and gift delivery. The goal was to increase their sales leading up to Valentine’s Day. 

“Presenting in the finals was my favorite part, but not because of public speaking. After the presentation, when we were asked a follow-up question, each member of my team had something intellectual to add,” said Casper. “It was like, bam, one point, bam, one point, bam, one point! It was just so smooth; everyone was building on each other. We had such great team chemistry.”

Casper is excited to bring his experience full circle this year, returning to WWU to help inspire current undergraduates. 

“The main thing I’m getting out of this is that I get to give back to my school. I’m fresh out of college, I can give a few bucks here and there,” he said, “but I feel like the best way for me to help right now is to give my time with the case comp or give advice to students on how they can get a job.” 

Learn more about the 2026 WWU SMA Case Competition, which takes place on Friday, Feb. 20, and WWU’s Marketing Program in the College of Business and Economics.

Jennifer Nerad covers Western's College of Business and Economics and College of the Environment for the Office of University Communications. Have a great story idea? Reach out to her at neradj@wwu.edu.