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CBA Students "Shake It Up" in National Honda Marketing Competition
Associate Professor Bob Gilbert and the 23 CBA students enrolled in his Projects in Marketing class won a national marketing competition sponsored by American Honda Motor Co., Inc. and organized by EdVenture Partners. The competition, “The Accord Coupe Marketing Challenge: New Car, New Generation,” allowed students at 17 colleges across the country to compete against each other in raising awareness and purchase consideration for the 2008 Honda Accord Coupe on their respective campuses.
Throughout the fall semester, members of the Projects in Marketing class, organized within their student-run marketing agency called Pros In Motion, worked hard to devise and implement their “Shake It Up” campaign, which included a variety of outside-the-box marketing tactics. In addition to posting life-size paper replicas of the Accord Coupe in various lecture halls across campus, the students found ways to transform grassroots street marketing into a highly effective campaign.The Pitt Crew, a four-member street team wearing white Honda racing suits, roamed the streets of Oakland in search of students who were willing to shake it up.The group also produced a short video, highlighting the fresh style and new features of the Accord Coupe. The video received more than 2,500 hits on the Web site You Tube. Pros in Motion also made use of the social networking Web site Facebook and an interactive on-campus event called CAR-nival—with television game show-style entertainment, free food, and prizes—to build awareness and purchase consideration.
In early December, Pitt was notified that it was one of three schools selected to present its campaign to Honda executives at the company’s Torrance, California headquarters. The Pitt team received the challenge’s first place award, as well as a check for $5,000.
According to Gilbert, there were several factors involved in his team’s win. “Our students put together a great presentation and delivered it in a polished, professional manner. We also had a completely integrated campaign, with all of our promotional efforts supporting the “Shake It Up” theme,” he explained. “Finally, the campaign theme, the video, and the Pitt Crew concept were things that, in my opinion, distinguished the Pitt team from the others and contributed to us winning the competition.”
BUSMKT 1485 Projects in Marketing is a senior-level marketing elective that provides students with the opportunity to gain valuable hands-on marketing experience. In the past, members of the class have worked with a number of world class organizations, including Citibank, Chevrolet, the Central Intelligence Agency, Goal Financial, the Recording Industry Association of America, and American Century Investments. In a previous partnership with Honda in spring 2006, then class members marketed the Honda Fit crossover vehicle on Pitt’s Oakland campus and also took home Honda’s first place prize in yet another national marketing competition.
This spring, for the first time, the Projects in Marketing class will have two clients at the same time. They are the U.S. Department of the Navy and the American Public Transportation Association.