May 9, 2008

University at Albany-SUNY Students Win Marketing Awards

The New York Capital Region Chapter of the American Marketing Association recently announced that four University at Albany students, Jennifer Brown, Oiza Garba, Scott DeMarco, and Cathie Wright, have won the 2008 AMA Student Scholarship. The award  recognizes and rewards savvy student marketers, as well as their faculty mentors, for their marketing talent.

Students attending accredited colleges and universities in the Capital Region are eligible for the scholarship.  To enter, students develop and submit a written marketing plan, as well as a recommendation from a faculty mentor, which is then judged by a panel of local marketers who score the plans on the basis of complexity, clarity, definition, creativity, and significance.  The scholarship not only acknowledges sound thinking, but also provides winners with a monetary reward.

Brown and Garba were the grand prize winners, receiving the Student Marketers of the Year Award along with a $2,500 scholarship.  They were advised by Professor Paul Schurr of the School of Business.  Brown and Garba developed a plan for Jack�s Neighborhood Pizza on South Pearl Street, which included defining the restaurant�s UVP (Unique Value Proposition) and focusing on its target markets and pricing strategy.

First prize went to DeMarco, who received a $1,000 scholarship.  DeMarco, whose adviser was Professor Scott R. Davidson, worked with Web site TeamTexting.com, which integrates e-mail and text messaging communications for sports teams.  DeMarco�s plan called for unobtrusive advertisements to be placed at the end of each message, tapping into the rapidly growing trend of mobile advertising.

Wright, also advised by Schurr, received the second prize scholarship of $500.  Wright developed a plan for SuperPower, Inc., which manufactures second generation high temperature superconducting wire (2G HTS wire) used in a variety of applications.  Among Wright�s suggestions for the company was its need to differentiate itself from the competition by focusing on branding and an integrated marketing communication plan.

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