Six students from the Integrated Marketing Communications program at West Virginia University’s Reed College of Media had the opportunity to share IMC campaign ideas with the nation’s first and only comprehensive cancer center devoted exclusively to children – St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

IMC graduates Britney Ambers, Thomas Armitage, Lindsay Emery, Michelle Delgado, Bruce Morgan and Noelle Shema joined St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital team members via video conference to present their IMC capstone projects.

During the WVU IMC capstone course, each student is given a hypothetical budget to create a 12-month top-to-bottom integrated marketing communications campaign. Campaigns included qualitative and quantitative research, a target market analysis, brand positioning and integrated marketing strategies, and at least 10 creative executions. This group of students was charged with increasing St. Jude brand affinity among U.S. teenagers.

Recent IMC graduate Michelle Delgado conducted focus groups for her capstone project and found that teens ages 14-18 perceived the St. Jude brand in terms of “cancer,” “children,” and “helping.” She found the teens’ No. 1 reason to volunteer was to help their community.

Delgado’s campaign, called #cancerisabully, proposed using a Twitter campaign, Vine videos, TV ads during age-specific shows, YouTube and Netflix online ads, and celebrity events. She also proposed a #cancerisabully guerilla marketing campaign featuring branded T-shirts, bracelets and phone cases.

“The process of putting the #cancerisabully campaign together was extremely rewarding,” Delgado said. “The opportunity to create an IMC campaign with zero creative restrictions, especially for an organization as prestigious and inspirational as St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I walked away from this project, and the capstone course in general, with a newfound confidence in my work. Furthermore, I was reminded of why I chose to go into this field in the first place.”

Shelby Anderson, the executive director of Field Program Development for ALSAC/St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, said she appreciated IMC students’ unique outlooks.

“We thoroughly enjoyed the WVU student-led presentations which had some great ideas to help ALSAC/ St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital reach the teenage audience and how they can help support our mission,” Anderson said. “It’s one thing to read campaign proposals, but it’s another to actually hear the passion and experience the depth of thought from the students on a web conference. We are currently vetting several of those ideas to see which we may be able to implement.”

Dennis O’Connell, professor for the capstone course and former president of the integrated marketing communications agency Beyond DDB, praised the client-student collaboration.

“It’s no wonder that St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is at the top of ‘Fortune’ magazine’s list of the best companies to work for,” O’Connell said. “We interact with the brightest, most ardent and enlightened marketing people that one could find in any organization. The professors and students are exceedingly fortunate to have such a supportive client for our capstone project.”

Highlights from top IMC campaigns can be found on the IMC student work page.

-WVU-

bw/09/29/14

CONTACT: Briana Wilson, College of Media
304.293.8542, Briana.Wilson@mail.wvu.edu

Follow @WVUToday on Twitter.