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Printer-Friendly ModeMarketing students advertise for real client
October 19, 2009 —
Students in Marketing 335: Advertising Strategies don’t just write papers or take exams. Instead, they must compose a comprehensive advertising campaign for an actual client.
“It’s fun to do work for the real world, we have experience for a job and have proof of our abilities,” said Eric Richardson, an accounting senior.
The class, taught by Dr. Gary Clark, must create an advertising campaign for Michigan Aqua-Tech, Inc. The class is split into two groups, each working on their own advertising campaign for the same product, the Water Master.
Eric Davis, president and CEO of Michigan Aqua-Tech, contacted Clark about having the class compose an advertising campaign for his new product.
The Water Master is designed to detect small leaks in the water pipes of your home or business. If it detects a leak, it will shut off all of the water in the building to prevent the leak from turning into a disaster.
The students work on a small budget to create the campaign. “It’s intimidating at first, but once you look at the details it’s not nearly as bad,” said Daniel Porta, a communications senior. “You see that it’s going to be hard work, but you walk away with a portfolio.”
Students in the class have to conduct research and compose extensive documentation on the Water Master and its competitors.
Some of the major sections include a literary review of media relevant to the product, a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunity and threats), primary research, advertising analysis of competitors, and recommendations for Michigan Aqua-Tech, Inc.
To put the length of this campaign in perspective, Clark said table of contents for projects in the past have reached 17 pages.
Creating such an advertising campaign forces students to cooperate.
The class has even set up a wiki online to reduce their meeting and travel times. Unlike other group projects, this class agreed it had worked well together.
“I have done many group projects, and this one has gone much more smoothly than others,” said Cathleen Louisignau, marketing senior and a group president.
All agreed that the absence of any S.L.U.G.s also helped the project’s progress. It is an acronym created by Clark to describe those students who are sloppy, lazy, under-achieving and goof-offs.
During class, each group presents its progress and shares justifications for decisions. Clark will then critique or compliment the work in front of both advertising groups.
This emphasis on hard work, continued revision and effective communication is an attempt by Clark to prepare his students for the workplace.
“Why hire someone with an error on the first page when there are 50 people without one?” said Clark.