KALAMAZOO--A team of Western Michigan University advertising students came in first among Michigan universities and 11th overall in an important recent national competition.
The team of four students, all majoring in advertising and promotion, competed against teams representing 49 universities from across the nation in the recent EdVenture Partners GM & U Marketing Challenge. The team, dubbed Echo, received 90 out of 100 possible points, beating out teams from Michigan State University, Wayne State University, Eastern Michigan University, Northwood University and University of Michigan-Dearborn.
2009 EdVenture competition team
- Cory (Alva) Oslin of Ann Arbor, Mich.
- Stefanie Weiss of Royal Oak, Mich.
- Abby Knapp of St. Joseph, Mich.
- Chauncia Van Lowe of Oak Park, Mich.
In an EdVenture Partners National Case Study Competition, small teams of students within a class are challenged to consider and answer a number of analytical questions regarding a client's brand positioning, a communication strategy or any other current strategic situation as identified by the sponsoring client.
WMU has participated in EdVenture competitions the past five years, consistently placing among the nation's best. This year's team developed an integrated marketing communication campaign for General Motors' College Discount Program (GM & U) using a variety of consumer touch points and carried the tagline "Drive Your Life."
The team's advisor was Dr. JoAnn Atkin, WMU associate professor of marketing. Atkin uses the competition as the advertising and promotion major student's capstone project in Marketing 4810: Integrated Marketing Communications Campaigns. The students won the right to represent WMU by beating out another student team in the class.
"This competition has always brought out the best in our students, and this year was no exception," Atkin says. "The task was daunting, considering the automotive market conditions and limited financial resources, but the students were able to rise to the challenge. I'm very proud of what they accomplished."
For more information on EdVenture Partners, visit edventurepartners.com.
