In This Issue:
- Welcome
- Sprinting Ahead with Buyer Behavior
- Faculty Spotlight
- Internship Spotlights
- Alumni Spotlights
- Events
Welcome
Welcome to fall 2018! The Marketing major is buzzing with lots of activities and new initiatives. We just launched our new Marketing major webpage, which functions as a digital bulletin board for our major. It is the main portal for students to acquire information for advising, internships, full-time jobs, and industry news. Kristen McAuley, lecturer in marketing, is spearheading this effort with the help of student intern Nate Steis. In addition, we are continuing our Learning by Doing focus in the classroom. For example, the Marketing 422 Advertising and Promotion class will be working with Presque Isle Wine Cellars as part of an integrated marketing communication (IMC) project. Last semester, we were thrilled to work with Sprint Corporation on another Learning by Doing initiative where student groups developed nontraditional marketing plans to drive business to its retail stores. Special thanks to Mark Nachman, vice president of Branded Retail for Sprint, and Anna Whitmore, Sprint’s regional marketing manager, for making this unbelievable opportunity happen for our students.
Current students also are benefiting from our expanded internships. This newsletter highlights Chris Rosella’s internship at FishUSA in Fairview, Pennsylvania, and Arti Anna Ribarevski's internship at Helmut Lang in New York City. Internships are true resume builders, and all marketing majors are encouraged to complete at least one during their academic career. Internships are offered during all semesters – fall, spring, and summer.
The Marketing major is seeing BIG growth. Our enrollment numbers are rapidly increasing. Thanks to our newly revised curriculum and our strong Marketing faculty team, we are seeing many new majors and pre-majors. As of the end of September, our enrollment was 126 majors and pre-majors.
I would be remiss if I did not thank ALL of our marketing alumni. They continually give back to Penn State Behrend. We’d like to send special thanks to Jeff Stempka ’09, who works in brand management at Tyson Foods in Chicago and is a Marketing major advisory board member, as well as Bryce Putman 16. Bryce is currently working in Boston for MullenLowe, a full-service integrated advertising agency, as a media buyer.
Hope you join me looking forward to the future and being grateful for the past.
Be well,
Mary Beth Pinto, Ph.D.
Discipline Lead, Marketing Major
Breene Professor of Business
Sprinting Ahead with Buyer Behavior
Dr. Mary Beth Pinto’s MKTG 444 Buyer Behavior and Applied Research class spent the spring 2018 semester working on applied, real-world projects with Sprint. Mark Nachman, then Sprint’s regional president for the Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia region, worked with Dr. Pinto to help guide and support the teams as they created novel marketing recommendations for Sprint. At the end of the semester, top student teams presented directly to regional Sprint executives. These teams pulled out all stops for their presentations; one team even brought props and put on a skit to showcase its campaign. Many students and faculty joined Sprint leadership to watch the teams present their creative ideas and supporting research. We look forward to spring 2019’s Buyer Behavior class to see what Dr. Pinto has in store for incoming students.
Faculty Spotlight
Dr. Sean Yim, Assistant Professor of Marketing
Dr. Hyunsoon (Sean) Yim, assistant professor of marketing, was a co-author of the recently published article, “Do cross-border alliances with MNEs from developed economies create firm value for MNEs from emerging economies?” in the Journal of Business Research. The paper investigates value creation from cross-border alliances when the alliances involve partners from both emerging and developed economies. The research identified benefits for firms from emerging economies that ally with partners from more developed economies, addressing important questions for firms starting their operations in BRIC countries.
Outside of this latest research effort, Dr. Yim’s research focuses on corporate social responsibility and sustainability topics. He also explores questions in new product development and innovation. He often approaches these topics by focusing on marketing strategies and how they impact a company’s financial performance.
When reflecting on the value of academic marketing research, Dr. Yim connected good research to positive student experiences. If faculty remain up-to-date with current trends and new ideas, classroom experiences also should benefit. Cutting-edge ideas and student research opportunities can help set Behrend students apart from the competition.
Dr. Yim brings many years of multinational industry experience to the classroom. With his experiences in strategic management, Dr. Yim provides students not only with a pure marketing learning experience, but also knowledge in management systems and strategic planning. Teaching in a manner that truly emphasizes real world collaboration between students to reach higher level objectives and innovation, Dr. Yim provides his students a challenging yet enjoyable experience.
He currently teaches a wide variety of classes ranging from intro to marketing for undergraduates to MBA courses. He strives to share his knowledge with his students, encouraging them on their respective paths to achieve success. He has a true willingness and passion for helping students succeed, and his expertise and instruction benefit his students greatly.
Internship Spotlights
One of the great benefits about being a Marketing major is versatility. A Black School of Business marketing education can effectively prepare students for careers in sales, digital marketing, marketing research, marketing analytics, public relations, retailing, and other fields. With this diverse skill set, many marketing students have unique and interesting internship opportunities.
For example, Christopher Rosella, a senior Marking major who is treasurer of the Marketing Club, has an internship in retail and digital marketing at FishUSA in Fairview, Pennsylvania. He hopes to incorporate his love for fishing into his job after graduation. Arti Anna Ribarevski, a senior marketing and international business major, worked in e-commerce for Helmut Lang in New York City this summer. She plans to continue working in the fashion industry after completing her degree. While their passions differ greatly, these two students share their preparation as Penn State Behrend Marketing majors and are making the most of the opportunities presented to them.
Alumni Spotlights
Melissa Perseo '17
Stacy Rabat '16
Events
Marketing Insights for Erie Audiology
Erie Audiology had a challenge. They wanted to improve the rate of patients opting in to auditory health aids when hearing test results indicated a need for them. Erie Audiology and its mentoring Athena PowerLink team members visited the Black School of Business twice in the spring 2018 semester to work through possible solutions with Behrend Marketing students. Their first Saturday morning workshop focused on developing potential marketing strategies. A second workshop followed up on initial recommendations to plan out tactical approaches for execution. Each session gave students opportunities to work in teams to develop solutions and practical approaches to a real-world challenge. The Marketing Club, which sponsored the initiative, would like to thank Erie Audiology owner Dr. Allison Keenan for working with Behrend students on this project.
Marketing Club Co-Sponsors “Building Your Elevator Speech” Event
The Marketing Club and Academic and Career Planning Center co-sponsored a session on “Building Your Elevator Speech.” Scheduled a few days before the spring Career and Internship Fair, the session focused on guiding students through what it takes to craft a useful elevator speech.
William Rountree, a 2018 Behrend alumnus and outgoing vice president of the Marketing Club, discussed how to share your five best characteristics in less than sixty seconds. Highlights included a seven-sentence rule and marketing/business major examples. By keeping five primary points in mind, his recommended approach helps job seekers stay fresh and focused during a career-fair style event.
The event closed with students having an opportunity to prepare their five points and practice their speeches. To make the situation more realistic, Rountree prepared spicy and sour foods that would distract them and make it harder to talk. This effect seeks to mimic the sensation students often feel at the career fair. The Marketing Club would like to thank ACPC and Rountree for their efforts in making the event a success.
Presque Isle Wine Cellars Fall 2018 Project
At the start of fall 2018 semester, executives for Presque Isle Wine Cellars, a North East, Pennsylvania-based winery, paid the MKTG 422 Advertising and Promotion Management class a visit. Erik Moorhead and Randy Branch, PIWC's president and business manager, respectively, came to present about the company's history, current state, challenges, and marketing goals. Among others, their key goals are expanding their customer demographic and navigating through the stigma that wine from the Erie region is inferior. As a part of follow-up research, the class made visits to Presque Isle Wine Cellars to observe the physical location and get a sense for the company.
MKTG 422 will be working in teams with Presque Isle Wine Cellars as part of an integrated marketing communication (IMC) project. Students will start by performing different types of research on the current state of the company, then focus on how this would drive improved IMC for the winery. With strategies developed, each group will make a campaign pitch to PIWC managers. Students also will showcase their campaigns to the Black School of Business at an event with stations and posters set up by each group to communicate the objectives and tactics of their respective campaigns. The MKTG 422 students look forward to working with this local company and are eager to make suggestions that will assist Presque Isle Wine Cellars for many years to come.