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U.S. Department of State Recruits Students and Fresh Ideas
University of Texas Students Get Hands-On Experience in the Real World
Editor’s note: A team of undergraduates at the McCombs School of Business prepared the press release that follows as a part of their project work for the United States State Department.
Austin, Texas – The United States Department of State is sponsoring a unique, industry-education course where marketing students from four universities around the country will promote the Foreign Service Officer career with the U.S. Department of State to a key target market – fellow college peers.
A university campus is the ideal environment to teach young adults about the U.S. Department of State and Foreign Service Officer career opportunities. Who better to speak to college students than other college students? This innovative approach is underscored by recent findings from Yankelovich Partners, Inc. emphasizing, “The idea is to let Gen Y ‘stumble’ upon a brand in unexpected places. The way to communicate with this group, which is generally mistrustful of mass media, is to reach them on their terms, turf and time.”
In addition to The University of Texas at Austin, the other three universities participating in the U.S. Department of State Student Marketing Program are Florida A&M University (Tallahassee, FL), New Mexico State University (Las Cruces, NM) and San Francisco State University (San Francisco, CA).
This spring, eighteen marketing students from The University of Texas at Austin are being given a rare opportunity to put their education to work in the real world with a prestige client. Over the next ten weeks, these students will create a fully functioning marketing agency responsible for researching, implementing and evaluating an integrated marketing campaign (IMC) for their client, the U.S. Department of State. The student developed marketing and communication strategies will be focused directly on their peers to effectively convey the fulfilling careers offered by the U.S. Department of State. Students receive a $2,500 budget to help them bring their plans to life.
After organizing their agency and researching their target market, student teams will spend the initial stage of the semester formulating their marketing strategy recommendations and campaign ideas. They will have the opportunity to design an IMC aimed at increasing awareness for the Foreign Service Officer career with the U.S. Department of State while informing fellow students about the Foreign Service Officer hiring process. After presenting their concept to ambassadors and officials from the U.S. Department of State, they will execute their campaign as well as track and analyze its results. The program culminates in a formal, agency-style presentation that serves as a unique opportunity for students to develop public speaking and presentation skills, in addition to building self-confidence.
With a 5.7% unemployment rate reported in the fourth quarter of 2003 by the U.S. Department of Labor, coupled with mounting overseas competition in professional services sectors, today's college students are in a "catch-22" when entering the job market. They lack experience and find themselves in a situation where they may have a difficult time finding a job due to their inexperience. The U.S. Department of State Student Marketing Program effectively bridges the gap between industry and education, providing students with the hands-on, experiential learning necessary to find employment and a business partnership with an organization that offers several rewarding career options.
Watch for more information about the U.S. Department of State Student Marketing Program at The University of Texas at Austin throughout the spring semester. For further inquires regarding the Texas project, please contact Alex Nguyen at 512-232-8316 or AlexNguyen@mail.utexas.edu.
About EdVenture Partners: EdVenture Partners is a Berkeley-based marketing company providing unique industry-education partnerships to more than 300 campuses across the United States. EdVenture Partners, in conjunction with industry partners, provides each student agency with on-going resources, guidance and a project budget to implement their marketing campaign.
Contact:
Alex
Nguyen
Public Relations Department Head
Affinity Marketing
University of Texas
Cell: 469-450-4925
E-mail: AlexNguyen@mail.utexas.edu
Jennifer Lee
Public Relations Department
Affinity Marketing
University of Texas
Cell: 832-755-6763
E-mail: jLee1102@yahoo.com
For information on specific programs at the McCombs School, consult our contacts page. For media information, contact the Communications Director by phone at 512-471-3314 or by email at CommunicationsDirector@mccombs.utexas.edu.
