Anatomy of a PLUS Project

Within four years of starting the MBA Plus Program—the McCombs School’s professional development component of the full-time MBA program—the school has delivered quality consultation to dozens of companies and organizations. As the students address a real issue facing a company and get an insider’s view of how the organization operates, the company receives valuable advice and services free-of-charge. Here is a look at one of the spring 2006 projects.

Client: Fall Creek Vineyards, a local, privately held corporation.

Project: On May 9, 2005, Texas passed a bill allowing direct shipping of wine to Texas consumers for personal consumption. How can Fall Creek Vineyards take advantage of this ruling to ship wine to both consumers in the state of Texas and several other states that allow shipping wine around the country?

Team: Manuel Milan (captain), Paul Bordone, Cesar De La Garza, Kevin Mastriano and Eugenio Soltero-Lopez.

Strategy: The team wanted to benchmark successful existing wine clubs in the market, research Fall Creek’s advertising possibilities on the Internet, and conduct a survey to learn more about where to advertise, who is willing to buy wine on the Internet, where and how to sell online and what kind of wine people prefer

Proposal: The students provided research on current Internet commerce within the industry and focused on California, the most developed wine region in the United States. The team recommended acceptable methods for selling wine directly to consumers, focusing mainly on Internet marketing.

Benefits: “I didn’t have people in our organization with the time to do the necessary research for this project,” said Chad Auler, co-owner of Fall Creek Vineyards. “The team has brought in some very good research.” The students also contributed a unique perspective. “Because I am immersed in the industry, I think it is important to receive input from those who are not industry insiders,” said Auler. “In addition, their perspective is that of younger consumers.” The team’s ability to deliver quick results also helped. “The team received feedback from a pool of students quickly,” Auler added. “It is valuable to be able to tap such a good sample so quickly.”

Results: The team’s survey was launched on the Fall Creek Vineyards Web site and was sent to the existing customers database. “I wanted the team to work on this project because I had a need at the time, and I knew the quality of MBA students at The University of Texas. I knew they could provide value.” —Amy Lavergne