Students participated in a unique opportunity to experience and create online marketing campaigns for clients.
During the Spring 2016 semester, students enrolled in the “Digital Marketing” course participated in the Google Online Marketing Challenge (GOMC), gaining experience creating online marketing campaigns using Google AdWords.
The Google Online Marketing Challenge served as a platform for students to apply skills learned in the classroom to a real-world situation. In teams of three, students created an AdWords account and used a $250 budget to run an online advertising campaign for a business over the course of three weeks. AdWords is Google’s online advertising platform that can help drive interested people who are searching on Google for specific information, service or product to a business’ website.
“The Google Online Marketing Challenge was a great opportunity for students to gain practical, real world online marketing experience and gain valuable skills that potential employers are looking for,” said course instructor, Kacy Kim, an assistant professor of marketing in the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business. “Students were also able to help local businesses and communities by supporting them with their online marketing knowledge.”
Teams worked with the following businesses: Interno Ink, Suzanne Curtis Interior Design, Emily’s Cookies & Cakes, Tangent Eat + Bar, Fat Frogg Bar & Grill, Pandora’s Pies, Stokely’s BBQ, Oak House, Nugget Markets, All that JAS, The Mission, Traction Jack LLC and Smitty’s Homemade Ice Cream.
“This experience has shown me what digital marketing is like in the workforce and how clients can reap the benefits of my work,” said Kristen DeMaria ’16. Her team developed a strategic marketing plan for Emily’s Cookies & Cakes and used Google Adwords to increase online traffic to the company’s website. In just over two weeks, the campaign resulted in more than 500 clicks, which the team hopes to see converted into sales, DeMaria said.
In preparation for the challenge, the students became Google AdWords certified, demonstrating their advanced understanding of AdWords.
The “Digital Marketing” course focuses on four fundamental areas of interactive marketing: Search Engine Optimization (SEO), multimedia technologies, social networks and mobile marketing. Built on experiential education, the course provides students with the opportunity to improve their level of professionalism and proficiency and a more future-oriented perspective in understanding marketing strategies.