A team of students from UALR took first place honors following their winning presentation in a branding competition at the AT&T World Headquarters.

The team, which includes Vivien Fechner, Sara Massana, Brandi Glover, Leah Lauderdale, and Jamie Middleton, won the annual AT&T Campus Brand Challenge in Dallas on Dec. 16.

Five AT&T senior vice presidents judged the competition and awarded a $3,000 scholarship to the winning team.

The competition is designed to provide students with real-world experience through designing and implementing an integrated marketing plan.

The UALR students took the win after going head-to-head with teams from much larger universities, including the University of Illinois, University of Missouri, University of Texas, and Texas A&M University. The University of Nebraska was the runner-up.

The competition included tours of AT&T’s World Headquarters, interactions with high-level executives, and information about internships, management development programs, and other career opportunities for college graduates, according to Gary Geissler, professor of marketing.

The students also met several UALR graduates who work at AT&T, Geissler said.

More than just a win
Geissler said the campaign is very important for UALR students, mainly because AT&T offers some great career opportunities for many graduates.

“They have career opportunities for a variety of majors, especially business, engineering, information technology, computer science, and other STEM majors,” he said.

AT&T has more than 247,700 employees worldwide and ranks 11th on the 2013 Fortune 500 list of the largest corporations in the United States.

Geissler said more than 50 top-level executives who attended the presentation would testify about the caliber of UALR students and whether they can deliver a highly professional presentation and project.

“The AT&T Campus Challenge helps bridge the business world with the academic world, giving bright and creative students an opportunity to learn with practical, hands-on application,” said Jan Collier, AT&T vice president and general manager for Oklahoma and Arkansas.

“Congratulations to the team at UALR as this year’s winner. It’s rewarding for us to engage and learn from our future employees and customers in a truly meaningful way.”

“Competing at this level definitely takes a team effort,” said Geissler. “Our students have shown that they perform well at the highest level. This win also demonstrates what an outstanding faculty, staff, and College of Business we have at UALR.”

The students perfected their skills this semester through a course called Advertising IMC (Integrated Marketing Campaign) Development, taught by Geissler.

To prepare for competition, the students conducted focus group research, a pre-test and post-test survey each with a sample of more than 400 students, and secondary research about the Millennial market.

They also created a slogan, “What’s Next For You?,” modified the AT&T logo, and designed an entire integrated marketing program, including a week of events on campus.

Their campaign focused on strengthening AT&T’s brand value proposition and promoting its career opportunities among the Generation Y market.