HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (April 23, 2013) - This Thursday evening, from 5:30 to 8:00 pm at the College of Business Building at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), student teams will present their marketing plans to four area businesses.
It's a project they have been working on over the course of the entire semester, as part of a collaboration between Dr. Yeqing Bao's Marketing Management class and Dr. Tim Landry's Buyer Behavior class.
The objective was for the students to work together in small teams of four to six to conduct research and develop a marketing plan for several organizations in the community, including Montessori School of Huntsville, Westminster Christian Academy, Huntsville Swim Association, and the UAH College of Business Administration.
After the teams were assigned an organization and received initial guidelines, said Dr. Bao, the project was further divided into smaller themes with milestones that were met throughout the semester.
"In Dr. Landry's class, for example, students conducted a demographic analysis using US census data, developed a perceptual map, and conducted a focus group study," said Dr. Bao.
"And in my class, students conducted a market situation analysis, ran a market audit and competitive analysis, and then integrated the research results from Dr. Landry's class to develop marketing strategies for their organization."
The best performing teams were then selected to present directly to the organizations this Thursday.
"This type of project exemplifies how our university works with and serves the community," said Dr. Bao. "And both Dr. Landry and I appreciate the opportunity these organizations have provided for our students to work on real-world problems. We are really proud of the great ideas our students have developed to help improve these organizations."
The evening's schedule is as follows:
Session 1A
Montessori School of Huntsville
5:30-6:30 pm
Room 220
Moderated by Dr. Tim Landry
Session 1B
Huntsville Swim Association
5:30-6:30 pm
Room 121
Moderated by Dr. Yeqing Bao
Session 2A
Westminster Christian Academy
7:00-8:00 pm
Room 220
Moderated by Dr. Tim Landry
Session 2B
UAH College of Business Administration
7:00-8:00 pm
Room 121
Moderated by Dr. Yeqing Bao
The event is free and open to the public, and light refreshments will be served from 6:30 to 7:00 pm.