The Purdue University North Central undergraduate marketing students are partnering with the local community to learn effective marketing strategies.
Throughout the fall semester, students in the Principles of Marketing class are learning about marketing techniques including advertising, public relations, social media marketing and strategies. This learning experience has included presentations by organizations and businesses in the Valparaiso area.
Rex Richards, president of the Valparaiso Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development presented the chamber’s successful marketing campaigns and explained how market research fueled these programs. "I found the students extremely engaged,” said Richards. “The questions the class members asked were quite advanced. I was very impressed with their technical knowledge of the subject matter. "
John Seibert and Barbie Johnson, of the Valparaiso Parks and Recreation Department, met the class at the Urschel Pavilion to explain how the department’s strategies and relationship-building create strong partnerships with the Valparaiso community.
“It was a privilege to meet with the class to discuss Valpo Park’s marketing strategies,” said John Seibert, director of Parks and Recreation. “We shared our team’s efforts to best serve our unique and diverse customers, and in turn, learned student insights, questions and comments.”
The class also visited with Joe Battistoni, digital advertising director and Jim Pellegrini, marketing manager at The Times Media Company, to talk about advertising and integrated marketing communications.
“At The Times, we see the tremendous benefits of collaborating together and we look forward to expanding on this type of opportunity in the future,” said Debbie Anselm, general manager and vice president of sales and marketing.
“This hands-on learning matters,” said PNC student Adrian Aguirre. “The best way for us to learn marketing is to network with marketers.”
The group also met with the marketing team at Family Express and Chris Mahlmann from Ideas in Motion, who presented real-world lessons to complement the marketing lessons learned in the traditional classroom.
The knowledge that the students gather in class and from these community leaders will ultimately be put to work as the students build a marketing plan for the Boys and Girls Club of Michigan City.
“These PNC students are a conduit for transferring effective marketing strategies from these successful organizations to aiding a nonprofit agency that is building its brand presence,” says Marie Foster, PNC director of Advancement, who teaches the class. “By creating marketing plans from information learned in the classroom, in the community and through market research, these students will be able to make a positive change in Northwest Indiana.”
Student Mark Jozaitis echoed that sentiment. “We have been given a unique experience to meet with some of the best business minds in our area. They gave us guidance for creating a marketing strategy for the Boys and Girls Club of Michigan City. It has been a phenomenal experience to enhance our marketing skills and create positive change for the club, I am grateful for the opportunity.”
Brandi Lewis, executive director of the Boys and Girls Club of Michigan City expressed her appreciation. “We are fortunate to work with a Purdue North Central marketing class to develop the perfect marketing plan for Boys & Girls Club of Michigan City. As the new executive director, I am constantly looking for innovative ways to tell our club’s story and make sure everyone knows who we are, what we do and just why it’s important to our community. Working with a well-respected educational institution and with students who are knowledgeable about marketing strategies and our community, makes this collaboration even more exciting. I’m confident the students will develop strategies we can implement for years to come. I’m looking forward to seeing their vision for taking Boys & Girls Club of Michigan City into the future.”