West Virginia University students took first place out of 10 teams in the 2015 Collegiate Nonprofit Marketing Plan Competition held in Pittsburgh April 10.

The competition was sponsored by the Pittsburgh Collegiate Chapter of the American Marketing Association and held at the Sewall Center at Robert Morris University. Ten student groups participated from colleges and universities including Grove City College, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Robert Morris University, Slippery Rock University, University of Pittsburgh and WVU.

The winning WVU team included students Tanner Assimos, Mark Byrne, Matt Elder and Jessica Petrina from the College of Business and Economics, and Emma Weiss from the Reed College of Media. Second place was awarded to the team from the University of Pittsburgh, and third place went to a team from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Participating students were assigned in January to research Sustainable Pittsburgh, a locally based, nonprofit organization that works to integrate economic prosperity, social equity and environmental quality to bring sustainable solutions to communities and businesses. Student groups worked together to collect market research and develop a marketing plan designed to increase the number of organizations that belong to Sustainable Pittsburgh.

Mike Walsh, chair of the marketing department at the B&E, said the team made an effort to develop a comprehensive strategy to identify target organizations as well as an integrated marketing communications plan.

“This competition was a great opportunity for our students not only to present in front of five leaders in the marketing industry, but also in front of their fellow peers from other universities,” Walsh said. “There’s a big world out there full of other talented and aggressive students that are hungry for success just like our students, and it was great to see WVU come out on top in the competition.”

The students spent time researching similar organizations to Sustainable Pittsburgh in order to further understand the industry. Traci Knabenshue, interim director of sustainability at WVU, also shared her expertise with the students, Walsh said.

“I truly believe that the students who participate in these competitions throughout the year are permanently changed for the better,” Walsh said. “We see the confidence rise in these students, and the shift in their attitude, once they’ve gotten to experience the real world. From start to finish, the way they portray themselves as professionals improves as the weeks of preparation go by.”

To learn more about the College of Business and Economics, visit http://be.wvu.edu.

-WVU-

mm/04/15/15

CONTACT: Patrick Gregg, WVU College of Business and Economics
304.293.5131; Patrick.Gregg@mail.wvu.edu

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