This content was published: March 9, 2012. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
Sylvania’s Market Day a chance for students to show their stuff
Photos and story by Kate Chester
When “Market Day” takes place on Tuesday, March 13, it’s “show time” for Sylvania marketing students: The event they’ve been working toward all term, to sell products they’ve come up with for their capstone project as part of the BA223 “Principles of Marketing” course.
“Market Day” will be held in the lower mall area of the College Center Building, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and will feature such items as energy drinks, granola bars, homemade candles and reusable water bottles for purchase.
Energy drinks and granola bars will be among the items for sale at "Market Day" on March 13.
“It’s been a very fun experience to implement marketing techniques to determine what kinds of products the PCC community would be interested in if they were widely accessible,” said student Monique Rogers. “The project has been a great example of how to put the knowledge we’re learning in class to real, practical use.”
At the beginning of the term, teams of four to five students were given the capstone assignment to develop and market a product or to re-sell an existing product – products or brands that aren’t sold at the college. Students conducted primary research to gather preliminary data that would help them select an item to market and sell. Then they developed a marketing plan that incorporated target audiences, a budget and a pricing strategy; they also created at least one piece of collateral material to market the product, like a brochure or flyer.
Rogers’ team conducted “man-on-the-street” market research surveys and determined that offering more variety in the way of energy drinks and granola bars – with lower price tags – would be a hit with both students and staff. They considered selling a locally distributed energy drink but instead went with a less expensive alternative from Costco; the granola bar chosen came from WinCo Foods.
Another team distributed candy as a means to get students and staff to complete an online market research survey.
“I enjoy seeing the creativity that comes forth from students with this project,” said Phil Seder, who teaches Principles of Marketing.
“You provide them with an outline of requirements and the tools, but you give them the freedom to create their own strategic plan and research methodology. They develop confidence – and then they take the ball and run with it,” he said.
The final grade considers each of the required elements and the overall work the students have put into the capstone project. Additionally, bonus points will be given on “Market Day” to the teams achieving the highest profit, whose sales most closely match anticipated projections, and whose project makes best use of the societal marketing concept.
“We’re graded on what we put into the project throughout the term,” said Rogers, “but the day-of competition will potentially help our final grade, as well as add to the excitement and the fun.
“This has been a wonderful opportunity to see how market research works with other marketing efforts – like collateral materials and public relations – to affect business decisions and sales, and to understand how each step of the process is invaluable to the final result,” Rogers said.