Fueling the College Market
FAU Fuel students run successful marketing program
by Melanie De Jesus

Florida Atlantic University’s marketing class has no textbooks, no homework, and no droning lecturers lulling pupils to sleep, yet its students are receiving high praise and the chance to win a scholarship. Students in FAU Fuel, FAU’s innovative “General Motors Marketing Internship” class, developed “Stars and Cars,” an interactive promotional event for Pontiac that drew more than 250 participants.

EdVenture Partners developed the program, continuing the company mission managing education-industry partnerships. EdVenture provides invaluable real-life experience to students, while helping companies promote their products to an increasingly consumer-savvy college-age population.

The GMMI class brought together 22 students with little or no real-world experience in marketing and turned them into a competent, productive marketing agency. Students learned to apply crucial business skills such as delegating responsibilities, creating strategies, keeping a budget, conducting market research and managing conflicts.

Sherwood Pontiac in Delray Beach hired FAU Fuel, providing them with a budget of $2,500 to research, implement, and evaluate a promotional campaign to enhance awareness of the Pontiac brand and its new line of products. Based on qualifications and inclination, two students became class coordinators, taking on the titles of Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer of the team. Other students were divided into five distinct departments: advertising, budget, public relations, special events, and research.

While a professor is assigned to the class, he acts only as an advisor. It’s up to the students to create strategies and manage their agency, and the professor then grades them on their success as a marketing team.

“In this course, the instructor takes a significantly different role compared to traditional academic programs,” says Robert Ciraldo, GMMI’s professor. “Basically, you identify general goals, establish a rough schedule, and then stand back and let the class develop and implement specific solutions and activities.”

Teamwork and communication are crucial to success in the GMMI class. As in any company, each department elected a leader responsible for the department’s progress and submitting weekly reports to the CEO outlining progress, priorities, and future goals. The team CEO heads the hour and twenty minute meetings scheduled twice a week, monitoring progress and resolving any conflicts that might arise.

“If the class doesn’t work as a team and communicate with each other, we won’t get anything accomplished and face getting an “F” in the class,” says Brandee Shadis, a member of the research team.

Faced with the challenge of presenting their client with a viable marketing strategy, FAU Fuel had to come up with an interesting and novel idea to pitch to Pontiac for approval. Students agreed on “Stars and Cars” as the most effective marketing strategy they could offer.

“The class decided an interactive event on campus would be the best way to improve the perception of the Pontiac brand as well as raise awareness of our client,” says Stephen Long, a participating student.

The Sherwood Pontiac service manager agreed, praising the team for their research and insight and giving them leave to activate the project.

Having undergone a thorough research process and given the freedom to design their own strategies, students developed creative ways to promote Pontiac. “Stars and Cars” emphasized Pontiacs as cool and youthful vehicles by showcasing films that Pontiacs have appeared in, such as Triple X and Smokey and the Bandit. The team displayed both old and new models and offered participants free food and drink as well as the opportunity to win door prizes.

If FAU Fuel’s marketing strategy places among the top two in the Southeast, General Motors will give the class a $1,500 scholarship and fly them to the Southeast Regional Office in Atlanta, Ga. to present the idea to Pontiac executives.

This isn’t the sort of class students take and wonder, “When am I ever going to use this?” The class provides students with the opportunity to obtain valuable hands-on, résumé-building experience while working for a large and respected business.

“It’s a lot of fun and a true learning experience,” Ciraldo says. “The course gives students a taste of real-world business issues and exposes them to the dynamics of working in teams to accomplish a variety of objectives.”

Contact Long at stephenlong@yahoo.com.

Copyright © 2006 Oxendine Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved