Indiana University Students develop Marketing Plans

Students help CWMA develop marketing plan, logo, and work together on communication plan for public.

The Southern Indiana Cooperative Weed Management Area (CWMA) needed a logo, they also needed a slogan and a marketing plan and were short on volunteers and time to develop basic educational messages. So one of our partners, Indiana University, stepped up and found a marketing class to help.

Steve Cotter with Bloomington Parks and Recreation contacted marketing professor Benjamin Schultz and asked if he had a class who would be interested in the project. Schultz was happy to oblige. Schultz, who teaches a marketing class for upper classman in the Kelly School of Business, treated the assignment as a business arrangement for his students. They divided into five teams to work together on proposals.

Steve Cotter was invited to one of Schultz's classes to explain what the Southern Indiana CWMA was and what it did. Once the group had a concept of the scope of the organization they were told to develop a marketing plan, timeline, budget, logo, slogan, ads, at least one event, an educational component, and make a presentation to their client. They were also required to use various software in their presentation such as InDesign, Photoshop, and Adobe Illustrator to demonstrate their skills in each of these software applications.

The student's presentation spanned two days of class time. Members of the board of the Southern Indiana CWMA came and represented the client that the students presented their marketing plans to. The sharply dressed students and the presentations were professional and on target. The CWMA would have had to pay a great deal of money to get such high quality advice, but with the students got 5 versions of logos, slogans, marketing plans, sample ads, etc. all for free. The professor packaged up all the products and sent them to Teena Ligman for whatever uses the CWMA deemed appropriate. The panel of CWMA officers were asked to critique each presentation, ask questions of the students and treat them just as they would if they had been paid contractors.

Each team gave the panel a slick professional written report with their marketing information. They also gave the team many incredibly good ideas that the CWMA can use in the future. One team set up a Facebook page for the CWMA so "all the CWMA fans can keep in touch". That amused us that we had fans and since no one on the panel knew how to use Facebook we weren't sure what to do with that information, but we now have a Facebook page!

The students too, learned from the exercise. They all said they had little or no knowledge of invasive species before they worked on this effort and now have a real appreciation for this issue. Almost every group suggested that Indiana University initiate a student organization dedicated to working with the CWMA on invasive species control that would sponsor regular events on campus. The groups sincerely believed this would help bring more attention to the issue and get students involved. They pointed out the need for more student organizations and the opportunity for students to take leadership roles in events and organizations for their resumes.

One amusing item, as one group described an educational initiative in the school system, they suggested the CWMA hand out seedlings to every elementary-aged child to encourage the planting of native trees. The group actually presented the panel with a little leafing out "tree" wrapped in a bundle. It had a promotional tag with their logo and slogan as a visual aid. After they gave it to us we asked if they knew what kind of tree it was. They did not; they said it was just growing near one of their dorms so they'd dug it up. We told them though the idea was good, this example was privet - a very invasive shrub - and not something we'd want to hand out and that in fact, almost anything leafing out at that time (early March) was likely an invasive species. It was a good lesson in the pervasiveness of invasives.

The Indiana University marketing class jump-started our communications committee for the Southern Indiana CWMA and was a tremendous asset. The students benefited as well so this valuable cooperative effort was a win-win for both parties.