Cal Poly Students Win National Marketing Competition

 

SAN LUIS OBISPO — Cal Poly’s National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) Team won first place at this year’s student marketing competition hosted by the National Agri-Marketing Association.

 

Cal Poly — which has taken first place three times in the last four years — competed against 28 other schools from the United States and Canada for the championship title April 26-27 in Dallas. The top six marketing teams in winning order were: Cal Poly, University of Wisconsin – Madison, North Dakota State University, University of Minnesota, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and Ohio State University.

 

Cal Poly’s team included: James Broaddus, an agricultural communication sophomore from Davis; Blair Brookes, an agribusiness senior from Kelseyville; Molly Gilmartin, an agribusiness senior from Valencia; Eleanor Harlan, an agribusiness senior from Woodland; Jenna Nichol, an agribusiness junior from Cottonwood; and Shane Gillard, an agribusiness senior from Atwater.

 

Agribusiness Professor Lindsey Higgins coached the team. The competition is part of the National Agri-Marketing Association’s annual conference and trade show.

 

The students developed a marketing strategy for creating a consumer product using grape pomace left over from the wine-making process. The team, which began working on the project in November by consulting with Sonoma-based WholeVine to develop the product, spent the last six months conducting market research, crafting a marketing strategy, writing the marketing plan and developing a presentation.

 

The product they created, Rise, is a line of baking mix products that offer added protein, fiber, and antioxidants compared to traditional competitors, with drastically lower levels of sugar. The team crafted a complete strategy toward launching the product into the retail market and presented a five-page written executive summary and a 20-minute presentation to pitch the marketing strategy.

 

“The team reached out to a wide network of industry contacts and Cal Poly alumni to conduct research and get feedback on their plan,” said Higgins. “We are grateful for the support that continues to provide our students first-hand exposure to real-time industry issues.”

 

A nationwide organization, the National Agri-Marketing Association consists of agri-marketing professionals. Student NAMA chapters, with more than 1,300 members at leading universities and colleges, comprise an important part of NAMA’s membership. For more information, visit www.nama.org.

 

About Cal Poly’s College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences Cal Poly is a nationally ranked, comprehensive polytechnic university. The university’s College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences is comprised of expert faculty members who take pride in their ability to transform academically motivated students into innovative professionals ready to solve the complex challenges associated with feeding the world in sustainable ways. Students have access to state-of-the-art laboratories, including ranch land, orchards, vineyards and forests, all of which provide the basis for Cal Poly’s Learn by Doing methodology. It is the fifth-largest college of agriculture in the country, with 4,000 undergraduate students.

 

 

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