Ryan ChartrandA group of Cal Poly students will introduce the community to Honda’s 2008 Accord Coupe in an event with a taste of the nightlife on Mott Lawn today.
The 22 Orfalea College of Business marketing seniors planned the nightclub-themed event, coined “Live Accordingly,” as part of a semester-long effort and senior project through the student-run firm New Wave Promotions.
“We’ve just been working overtime and doing the best we can because it would be amazing to represent our school as one of the top teams,” said New Wave Promotions president Jaclyn Regan. “This project has given us a lot of professional experience and real-world experience.”
“Live Accordingly” will be open to the entire campus from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The car will be on display Firestone Grill burgers will be free to anyone who stops by, courtesy of Honda. Musical entertainment will be provided by 103.3 FM The Vibe. The nightclub theme was chosen to advertise that the Accord is “not your mom’s car anymore,” Regan said.
New Wave Promotions is participating in the Accord Coupe Marketing Challenge: New Car, New Generation, which is a unique industry-education partnership managed by EdVenture Partners, officials said. EdVenture Partners is a Berkeley-based marketing company that provides similar partnerships to more than 300 campuses nationwide.
All 22 students involved were required to submit a resumé, a statement of why they would be best-suited for the project and a list of values and contributions they would apply to the project, Regan said.
“All of the students had to go through an application process,” Regan said. “It’s given me so much value, and allows me to have an event with tangible data to present to different companies.”
The promotional event is just a portion of the project. A post-event evaluation is necessary to analyze the success of the campaign and project participants will present the results of their research, along with an evaluation of their campaign strategy, to Honda executives.
“We’re competing against 18 other universities for a scholarship that would go to the Orfalea College of Business,” Regan said. “If we execute the event to the best of our ability, we can actually give back to our college for future senior projects.”
The top three national teams, selected by Honda, will be flown to American Honda Motor Co. Inc.’s headquarters in Torrance in December, where they will compete for the Scholastic Achievement Award scholarship by presenting their campaign ideas and results to the company executives.
While other universities competing for the award worked on a 15-week timeline, the Cal Poly students have been working on a 10-week timeline. The students honed their management, marketing and public relations skills while working on the project.
“Everything has gone really well,” said Alex Dunks who worked on the public relations portion of the project. He created a short commercial using Central Coast Brewery’s storefront and then created sets to get the nightclub feel.
“Everyone has been fairly cooperative because we’re in such a time crunch to get it done,” he said. “We wouldn’t be as on top of things if it wasn’t for Jaclyn (Regan).”