The School of Communications lecturer and entrepreneurship major led a theory and practice-in-action workshop at the Co|Operative, a nonprofit business startup incubator in Graham.
Hal Vincent, a lecturer in the School of Communications, and first-year Elon student Courtney Chambers visited the Co|Operative on March 28, discussing how budding entrepreneurs might communicate brand meaning through traditional and nontraditional media platforms to generate business success.
Vincent presented brand communications principles and theories with a practical how-to approach to weigh the considerations of strategic choices of when, what and where to communicate. A first-year entrepreneurship major, Chambers discussed her successful business, A Little Craft in Your Day, and explained how she attracted and continues to communicate to stakeholders, while developing content to grow and energize a customer following.
Vincent, a Coleman Foundation Faculty Fellow of Entrepreneurship, said he was delighted to partner with Chambers, whom he called a perfect example of the success an inquisitive and deliberate marketer can have when they turn their passion into business.
“To hear from Courtney how the fundamentals of brand identity, message strategy and media execution come to life in an online content platform was enlightening,” said Vincent. “And to showcase research and classroom foundations to a wider professional audience seeking mentoring to start a business in our community is always a good thing.”
“Elon’s support of entrepreneurship and community engagement has been vital to the Co|Operative as we grow our programming around topics ranging from marketing to raising capital,” he added. “As we work on helping grow our region into the type of community that supports emerging businesses and creates a sustainable economic infrastructure, we are excited to have Elon’s students and professors participating as a part of the larger community. To hear Hal’s fundamentals of communications planning and digital messaging coupled with Courtney’s first-hand application to her successful business helped encourage and invigorate our growing cohort of future business owners.”
This isn’t the first time the Co|Operative and Elon have collaborated to educate and support entrepreneurship in the region. Vincent said this presentation was a natural extension of a previous relationship with Cox, who partnered with Vincent’s “Strategic Research Methods class” last spring.
Vincent also noted that Elon alumnus Jensen Roll ’16, the Co|Operative’s director, and several student interns currently gain valuable experience at the Graham nonprofit. Additionally, Cox has spoken to several Elon classes and student organizations and served as a judge for Elon’s student Triple Impact Challenge.
About the Co|Operative
The Co|Operative’s mission is to act as an entrepreneurial hub for Alamance County, providing co-working space, ongoing programming and entrepreneur support services. It seeks to be a catalyst in the community – to connect, to inspire and to create opportunity by building an engaged community that supports creativity, innovation and local entrepreneurship.