The WMU team members pictured from left are River Karaba, Adam Parz, John Hebert, Kristina Kelly and Kara Hensley.
A team of five Western Michigan University students placed fourth overall in a national marketing competition.
Team members Kara Hensley of Woodhaven, Mich; John Hebert of Portage, Mich; River Karaba of Dewitt, Mich.; Kristina Kelly of Portage, Mich.; and Adam Parz of Lakeside, Mich., competed against 26 student teams from universities across the nation in the EdVenture Partners American Petroleum Institute National Case Study Competition in late April.
As part of the competition, the teams were 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. The team achieved 91 out of a possible 100 points, placing higher than teams from Wayne State University, Northwood University, University of Illinois at Chicago, University of Texas at Arlington and San Diego State University.
WMU has participated in the EdVenture Partners National Case Study Competitions for the past eight years, placing in the top 10 nationally each year. The team, “Radio Adtive,” developed an integrated marketing communication campaign for the American Petroleum Institute with the goal of educating 18-25 year olds about national energy issues. The team developed a campaign using a variety of non-traditional consumer touch points and carried the tagline “It’s o.k. to be crude.”
Dr. JoAnn Atkin, associate professor of marketing and advisor to the team, uses the competition as the capstone project in the MKTG 4810 Integrated Marketing Communications Campaigns class for students majoring in advertising and promotion. The students won the “right” to represent WMU in the competition by beating out five other student teams in the class.
“This year, the competition was much more challenging than in previous years due to the nature of the client,” says Atkin. “I’m very proud of what the students accomplished. The team’s hard work was rewarded with another WMU top five placement.”
For more information on EdVenture Parters, visit edventurepartners.com .
Photo Caption
The WMU team members from left are River Karaba, Adam Parz, John Hebert, Kristina Kelly and Kara Hensley.
