Student marketers showcase new Honda Accord Coupe
by anna rzewnicki
December 3, 2007
Brickyard event culminates semester-long project
More than 900 people stopped by the Honda Accord Coupe Event presented at NC State’s Brickyard on Nov. 13 by ‘Run with the Pack,’ the 43-member student marketing team in the integrated marketing and communication class at NC State’s College of Management.
Similar events were being held at 18 universities across the country as part of the Accord Coupe Marketing Challenge: New Care, New Generation through an industry-education partnership managed by EdVenture Partners.
In preparation for their Nov. 13 event, the Run with the Pack team applied their marketing skills to this real-world challenge, conducting research and developing a marketing campaign for the new vehicle. As part of their planning, the team surveyed NC State students to document their knowledge of the Honda Accord Coupe and other coupes and their plans to purchase a new car, and to gain other market information.
To help draw participants to their event, where they were showcasing the new car, the student team arranged for prizes from Starbucks, NC State Bookstores, and Bonefish, as well as barbecue sandwiches and hot dogs.
Games and attractions, such as remote-control car racing, football toss, a prize wheel, and a raffle also helped to draw students to the event.
“I think our event went even better than we all expected,” said Katie Spillman, one of the campaign’s two co-chairs. “Every member of our team was working together to make sure the event went smoothly,” she said.
“Everyone came prepared to work hard but have fun doing it,” said Jordan Freeman, also a co-chair. “I think that was reflected in the response we got from the students on campus.”
EdVentures conducted pre-campaign and follow-up research to help determine the impact of the student team’s marketing efforts as part of the Accord Coupe Marketing Challenge. Honda provided the student team with a $2,500 budget for their marketing efforts.
The students are presenting their results of their marketing campaign to their sponsor at the end of the semester. Honda will select the top three teams from among all the colleges participating to present their campaign ideas and results to Honda executives later this month. The teams will be competing for Scholastic Achievement Award scholarship prizes.
The Integrated Marketing and Communications class is part of the undergraduate marketing curriculum at NC State's College of Management, and is taught by Claudia Kimbrough, a permanent lecturer in the college.
Such project-based learning experiences help students gain valuable skills by applying classroom instruction while working on real-world projects for real companies, Kimbrough said.