In today’s rapidly evolving job market, true career readiness comes from experience. A marketing class at NAU provides students with the opportunity to collaborate directly with entrepreneurs and organizations in need of innovative marketing strategies, equipping them with the skills necessary for success after graduation.
McKenzie Cassens, assistant professor of practice at the W. A. Franke College of Business, believes in bridging the gap between theory and practice by giving students in her marketing and communication strategies class the opportunity to work with local businesses where they can apply the concepts they have learned in meaningful ways.
“We work on four projects throughout the semester,” Cassens said. “Students are divided into groups and assigned a client. During the first project, students work on a pitch based on their clients’ needs using integrated marketing communications. They meet their clients during that second pitch and after that, they come up with a budget and act as investors to study the feasibility of the project.”
The final pitch is the culmination of everything they have learned and how they have adjusted their plan through the semester. This is where their ideas and work come to life.
Getting technical
Cornelia Steen is a senior majoring in business administration and marketing. She represented Beta Bouldering Gym, a local rock-climbing gym in Flagstaff. Her group focused on building a loyalty and membership retention program, which they hoped would help the gym reach its retention goals.
“I think we actually inspired them to be a little bit more technological,” Steen said. “We came up with the idea of using an app to inspire their current members to come back and do more. They have a lot of members, but they were not coming back. We wanted to provide more awareness and inspire them that way.”
For Steen, coordinating meetings with busy schedules was one of the many learnings she took from the class; however, she said public speaking was probably the most important one. “It was amazing because it wasn’t just one project, but four of them. My first time presenting, I was very nervous, but by the fourth pitch, I knew I got it,” she said.
Telling a story
Her classmate, senior Hailey Preus, agreed with Steen and said that learning how to tell a story during a presentation will be key to career success.
“The class was one of the most real-life projects I have experienced in college,” said Preus. “The kind of collaboration was a lot more in-depth. Being prepared to present, not just with a script, but in a conversational style, is a skill that you can take with you when you start working outside of the school arena. You are not repeating a script or reading off a board but capturing your audience. It is something that will take me pretty far wherever I choose to take my marketing degree.”
Preus and her team worked with a local luxury tour company. One of their project’s ideas included partnering with Airbnb to list their tours on their website.
“I think one of the most important aspects that I have seen while teaching the class is that when students have the chance to practice in a safe environment, they can apply the things they’re learning in other classes,” Cassens said. “Forget all the definitions, the theory, the research, just letting them get to play with it has been really helpful. Making sure that they retain the content that they’re learning and also think bigger and more critically about what’s going on. Making sure that they have the opportunity to practice and for it to feel high stakes without it being high stakes is important.”
Crafting an image
Some of her students have taken this practice opportunity to another level by continuing their project outside of class. Such is the case of Alycia Stewart, an advertising senior who plans to continue working with Michael Greenwalt, a local author who launched his book in December with the help of Alycia and her team.
“Mike was working as a financial advisor and wanted to pursue more of a life coaching space, connecting with people on a larger scale,” Stewart said. “The challenge for the group was how to promote his book when he had no real establishment. It was fun because, in comparison to the other groups, we had to start from scratch by establishing his brand. The project for the class culminated with the launching of his book.”
Stewart plans to continue working with Greenwalt by supporting his advertising efforts, hoping to get more work experience under her belt before graduation.
“I feel like this was the first time the work I was doing in a class had a real purpose and impact outside of just a classroom assignment,” Stewart said. “It was a great way to solidify what I wanted to do, kind of getting a taste of what I would be doing after I graduate. The skills I have learned and the work I am doing can transfer into different areas and I can use this experience on my resume when I graduate.”
Painting the future
This kind of work experience is exactly what Amaya Lee, a former student of Cassens who is majoring in marketing, was looking for when she contacted the faculty member in hopes of being connected with a local business for an internship.
“I met with McKenzie to get some guidance and see what I could do to get more marketing experience because I am so passionate about it,” Lee said. “I had taken two classes with her where I gained confidence in my abilities and wanted to gain experience in brand strategy. She put me in contact with Christine Snyder Studios, a local artist in Flagstaff.”
After conducting a marketing assessment, Lee started working on ways to increase attendance at Snyder’s workshops by implementing the theory she had learned in class, reviewing the studio’s social media activity and designing a website.
“Being able to work with Christine has instilled the confidence in myself that I feel I have been preparing for in college,” Lee said. “Being able to use the tools I have learned has built up so much confidence in my professional and personal life. Having practical experience by doing the work and building networks and connections, just having the ability to reach out to people and get my name out there. I would not have accomplished this before graduation without this opportunity.”
Lee said the project has reinvigorated her passion for her chosen career and is thankful for the guidance Cassens has provided.
“I hope that the class pushes students into a professional sphere, stepping outside of just being a student and more into a consultant role,” Cassens said. “In marketing and communications, there is no right answer; it is not black and white, so they need to be able to own their work and piece together everything while being pushed in different directions. A student once told me projects changed too much, and they do. This gives them something practical where they can see their ideas in action.”
Mariana Laas | NAU Communications
(928) 523-5050 | mariana.laas@nau.edu