Marketing

Department Updates

Fourteen Student Ad Agencies Pitch Their Integrated Marketing Communications Campaigns To Community Clients 

Professor Ken Graham's Integrated Marketing Communications classes presented their completed IMC plans to their clients this past week. In total, 77 students comprising 14 student "ad agencies" pitched their IMC solutions to three different community clients, including Wolfgang Rittgers, the Director of Driftless Region Youth Flight in La Crosse, Tommie Jo Hannah, owner of Driftless Aesthetics in La Crosse, and Brian Wroble, owner of Hotel Fortney in Viroqua. Over the semester, the student ad agencies conducted primary and secondary market research, developed a comprehensive media plan and budget, and designed a creative advertising campaign for their clients. Their work culminated in a printed and bound plan book and agency presentation, which the students gave to their clients during the last week of classes.  

This is the second semester that Driftless Aesthetics and Hotel Fortney have participated as clients for this class, having found their initial experience working with students very rewarding, especially for the many creative solutions the student agencies developed. While students find the project challenging at times, they also find it rewarding, as illustrated by these select quotes:  

"The importance of providing Brian Wrobel with some valuable insights into how Hotel Fortney could improve on their marketing actions and communications made this project a lot more engaging than some of the other ones I've participated in throughout college." 

"I felt this project was a taste of the real world and a glimpse into an aspect of a career in marketing. With that being said, the project was extremely beneficial in providing some experience in formulating a marketing campaign for a real business." 

“The IMC project was a great opportunity to showcase the skills and knowledge we’ve learned from other courses and experiences. I liked how each member of the group had a job so that each member knew they had specific responsibilities for the project to be successful.” 

Wolfgang Rittgers poses with students following their IMC Plan presentation. Pictured from left: Beatrice Laufer, Kerik Stubbe, Wolfgang Rittgers, Taylor Tews, Grace Crothers, Keagan Hunter

Tommie Jo Hannah, Driftless Aesthetics

Brian Wroble of Hotel Fortney (center) poses with students following their IMC Plan presentation

"Google it." Digital Marketing Expert Demystifies Google Search Campaigns for Digital Marketing Students 

Professor Ken Graham welcomed Sarah Arendt-Beyer to campus to teach his Digital Marketing and Analytics class about Google Search Campaigns. Sarah walked students through the various tools, processes, and skills needed to develop effective search campaigns that ensure clients' products or services rank highly in search engine results when interested people search online.  

Sarah, a 2007 UWL alum with a long history of marketing leadership in La Crosse, is the Marketing Communications Manager for Nortek Air Solutions. She is also active on campus, coaching Small Business Development Center (SBDC) student interns in the SBDC's digital marketing lab and providing her expertise as a subject matter expert for developing a graduate-level digital marketing certificate program. The Digital Marketing Graduate Certificate Program, a collaborative certificate program offered in partnership with UW Parkside and UW Extended Campus, will launch in Spring 2024.  

Sarah Arendt-Beyer speaks to digital marketing students.

Vendi Advertising Digital Media Specialists talk about all things social with marketing students 

Erin Meiners and Maggie Nesbit from Vendi Advertising shared their expertise on managing social media campaigns with professor Ken Graham’s Digital Marketing and Analytics class. The pair shared with students Vendi’s process for developing a comprehensive social media campaign – from an initial client consultation, through strategy formulation, to the final campaign implementation. They also discussed many of the latest trends in digital marketing, including the increasing importance of influencer marketing, diversity, equity and inclusion, and artificial intelligence.  

Erin, a 2020 UWL alum, and Maggie, a graduate of U of M, work with many of Vendi’s prestigious clients, including Mayo Clinic Health System, Encompass Health, University of Wisconsin Madison, and Winona State University. Vendi, founded in 2004, is a full-service advertising agency located in La Crosse.

Vendi Advertising Digital Media Specialists Erin Meiners and Maggie Nesbit  

Congratulations UW-La Crosse College of Business Administration Professional Selling students on completing their final live role plays!

Thanks to our industry partners for playing the buyers for our students: Tad Asp, Alex Wasieleski, Shawna Dale, Michael Norum, Brian Larrabee, Erin Wencl, Jeff Lachman, Marvinn Wint, Dave Meyer, Ashley Hamby, Matthew Eldridge, and Emma Studer. 

UWL Sales Team Competes at International Collegiate Sales Competition

On November 1-4, the UWL Competitive Sales Team competed at Florida State’s International Collegiate Sales Competition. Four UWL students competed against 160 students representing 60 universities from around the country.

Hank English and Logan Griesbach competed in the role-play competition, and Kiara Lyons and Amanda Marshall competed in the sales management case competition. Kiara and Amanda were in the final 12 for the sales management case competition.

The role-play event was a four-round, tournament-style competition where, for rounds one and two, the top two competitors from each room (flight) moved on to the next round, and in round three, the top competitor from each room moved to the final round. The role-play scenario is similar to a real, complex selling situation where needs are developed in early meetings, leading to a solution presentation and final purchase decision. The scenario always includes some aspect of international business.

The on-site sales management case was a two-round event where two competitors working as a team were given a specific sales management situation related to a sales operations challenge at Rexel Electrical Distributors and asked to present a realistic, effective solution to the issue.  For round two, finalists were presented with additional information about the issue, and teams were asked to refine their presentation for a final presentation to executives from Rexel Electrical Distributors.

UWL Sales Team Finishes Seventh at the 17th Annual Great Northwoods Sales Warm-Up

On October 12-14, the UWL Competitive Sales Team competed against 22 schools from across the country at the 17^th annual Great Northwoods Sales Warm-up at UW-Eau Claire. 

Student competitors each presented two 20-minute sales pitches to industry professional buyers. They were judged by professional salespeople on their communication skills, sales process, and overall performance for the chance to win the top prizes of First Place: $1,500, Second Place: $1,000, and Third Place: $750. 

UWL's Amanda Marshall had the highest day-one score and placed fifth overall. The UWL Competitive Sales Team finished seventh.

(L-R) Hank English (alternate), Kiara Lyons, Amanda Marshall, and Logan Griesbach

Sports Marketing Collaborates with UWL Wrestling 

Students in Associate Teaching Professor Terrance Gabel’s Sports and Recreational Marketing course are conducting a marketing consulting project this semester with UWL Head Wrestling Coach Dave Malecek as their client. Of the five student groups in the class, three are focused on how to best advance the interests of the existing Men’s program and the other two are looking into the possibility of adding a Women’s Wrestling program in the near future.

Prof. Gabel, Coach Malecek, and MKT 444 Students

Prof. Gabel and Coach Malecek are pictured here with the students—divided into which program they are working with—during the Coach’s recent visit to the class. You can read more about UWL’s highly successful Men’s Wrestling program here.