Students from Salisbury University, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Maryland gathered on April 22 for the Spring 2016 Collegiate MAXI Oral Case Competition.
Judges included Dr. Marilyn Liebrenz-Himes, George Washington University; Kelsey Sloss, CCAH; Lynn Waller, CCAH; and Jonah Gitlitz, retired.
Working in teams, students selected an integrated direct marketing challenge from among three options presented by sponsor CCAH.
Salisbury University — Gold MAXI
Faculty Advisor Paula Morris worked with the winning Salisbury team comprised of Genevieve Kurtz, Sierra Little, and Destiny Jones.
Choosing to tackle a challenge from the Environmental Defense Fund [EDF], the Salisbury team proposed a nationwide contest to raise awareness and funds.
Based on the hashtag #PlantPostPrize, the effort sought to gain national interest in EDF’s activities using integrated social media, direct mail, telemarketing and email channels. The team’s recommendations featured a detailed timeline outlining a multi-channel approach to program execution. Efforts also incorporated such social media as linkedIn and Instagram.
Johns Hopkins University – Silver MAXI
Second-place winners from Johns Hopkins also elected to build a marketing plan for the Environmental Defense Fund.
Working with Professor Sylvia Long-Tolbert, team members Tammy Lai and Caroline Bleggi devised a comprehensive marketing scheme based on development of microsites.
Acknowledging EDF’s strong reputation in the scientific community, the team suggested initiatives based on the theme “Head To Heart.” Lai and Bleggi recommended developing visually-rich microsites to guide EDF supporters to their niche communities. Each microsite focused on a specific issue that research showed was popular with EDF supporters, for example, water.
The University of Maryland – Bronze MAXI
The University of Maryland team took up the challenge of marketing to the AARP Foundation’s diverse membership. Jessica Ting and Angelina Bingei emphasized the need to help current and prospective donors differentiate between AARP and the AARP Foundation. The team proposed a multi-channel communications initiative incorporating telemarketing, opinion polls, direct mail, and social media. They recommended adding live chat to the website, both to enrich the user experience and to gather data. For social media engagement, the team recommended TEDx program and Buzzfeed.
Plan TODAY to participate in the FALL Collegiate MAXIs.
Friday, November 4, 2016.
Thank you to Quad/Graphics for hosting our event.
Thank you to Spring Collegiate MAXI sponsor.
