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Marketing Capstone Class Collaborates with Jacht Ad Lab

Marketing students finished their University of Nebraska–Lincoln College of Business Administration undergraduate program with a unique interdisciplinary collaboration. Working with the Jacht Ad Lab, a student run ad agency through the UNL College of Journalism and Mass Communications, the marketing management class assisted with market research for one of their clients.  
 
“From my perspective, this was a great experiential learning project for our students,” said Rob Simon, associate professor of practice in marketing. “This was an opportunity for them to work on a unique project with a real outcome. With the short time frame, I thought the students developed an understanding of using marketing to enhance business opportunity.”

Jacht Ad Lab
The unique project was working with goidit, a local company solving real-world problems through the development of solutions that incorporate the design of sensor-based hardware, software and wireless communications. They are developing self-powered wireless health sensors for animals and wireless GPS based inventory tracking devices for car dealerships. Simon’s marketing class had less than five weeks to learn about the product and the marketplace in order to develop and present marketing plans to the goidit management team. Their research will in turn be used by Jacht students in the fall as they develop a strategy to move the product forward in the market.
 
“I believe everyone wins when students, faculty, government agencies and private businesses collaborate to share ideas and create opportunities,” said Rex Lamb, president of Comply Trax and goidit co-founder. “I thought the CBA students brought a fresh, unbiased perspective to the marketing of our product that would be hard to replicate with our in-house resources. It will also provide a springboard for the development of messaging and branding by the Jacht students.”
 
Amy Struthers, associate professor of advertising, founded Jacht in 2010 to provide an ad agency experience to better prepare students for life outside the classroom. Jacht has done everything from strategic branding to campaign concepts to integrated marketing communications for clients such as Pinnacle Bank Arena, Pinewood Bowl, the Nebraska Shrine Bowl and Nebraska Dairy.
 
“This project opens the door for more potential opportunities to collaborate between Jacht and marketing students,” said Struthers. “I have been trying to figure out ways to integrate CBA students with the Jacht experience because they bring a different perspective to the table. I am excited to work on more projects in the future.”
Published: September 3, 2015