TWU team places third in international marketing competition

April 30, 2024 – DENTON – Bad weather, flight delays and lack of sleep did not stop a Texas Woman’s student business team from putting its best foot forward at a national case competition in New Orleans in April. 

For the second straight year, the Texas Woman’s American Marketing Association student chapter finished in third place along with six other colleges in a case competition at the AMA International Collegiate Conference. Marketing students work together to develop a marketing strategy to solve a business challenge submitted by a sponsoring organization. 

College of Business students Ciara Easterling, Rebecca Lembrino-Crowe, Judith Vega and Taylor Reid presented their marketing plan to The Sheth Foundation after being named one of 11 finalists in January.

“I'm so proud of the Texas Woman's AMA chapter,” said assistant professor of marketing and AMA co-chapter advisor Andrea Bennett, PhD. “This year's case presented unique challenges, as it tasked teams to develop an integrated marketing communications plan to encourage businesses, governments and universities to increase their sustainable business practices. Our team devoted countless hours to developing the written IMC plan and the presentation, and each of these final products was amazing.”

Assistant professor of marketing Fernanda Muniz, PhD, served as the other chapter advisor. 

The team almost didn’t make it to its competition after bad weather delayed the group’s flight. Team members ended up renting a car in Houston and driving the final leg to New Orleans after missing the connecting flight. Despite only getting a few hour’s sleep, Easterling, the chapter president, said the team had its best run of their presentation. 

“We took a more simplified approach to our presentation this year, focusing on telling a story with our primary and secondary research to build an integrated marketing communications plan to encourage individuals, companies and industries to think and act more sustainably,” Easterling said. “We chose to highlight the necessity of authentic communication in sustainability in order to reduce risk of greenwashing, which could tarnish a brand's reputation. Our team practiced multiple times a week, including nights and weekends, to ensure that we would represent TWU and the COB in the best way.”

One of the highlights of the trip was the chapter’s second-place award in the inaugural Design Lab Marketing Challenge. TWU finished second out of 32 teams. The competitors were tasked with creating a reference document to guide small businesses in New Orleans in improving their social media marketing. With just a few hours notice, the TWU team created a colorful infographic for the Downtown Development District to include in its new business welcome packet about how to utilize Yelp and Instagram to market their business. 

“Through overcoming challenges and adversity and being such a small group, Taylor, Judith, Rebecca, and I all have formed close bonds and friendships and can understand how to communicate to one another to get things done,” Easterling said.