Stories

THE COLLEGE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION PUTS ITS MBA PROGRAM TO THE TEST.

MBA students in Dr. Schiele’s Digital Marketing class were tasks with taking the lead on creating a digital campaign for the World Affairs Council of Orange County.
Students in Dr. Schiele’s class were asked to evaluate the nonprofit's current digital marketing strategies and then provide solutions and content for the organization to use. Naseem Qader, the organization's Public Relations Chair, had a few words to say about her experience using Cal Poly Pomona Masters students:

Why did you choose to work with a Cal Poly Pomona class?
I am an IBM Business School alum with an MBA. I had participated in the Professor for a Day program in the past and decided to participate again last year. I was presenting my non-profit marketing experience working at the World Affairs Council OC to Dr. Schiele’s Digital Marketing MBA students. I also wanted to leverage this opportunity to identify and recruit student Interns to help them gain some experience working for a non-profit such as WACOC. I felt this was one way I would give back to my alma mater.

What did Dr. Schiele’s class create and what problem were they asked to solve?
Our goals were to:
• Redesign WACOC website, improve user engagement,
• To build brand awareness & recognition as well as,
• Grow membership, improve event registrations, increase donations to ultimately generate long-term constituent loyalty.
The Digital Marketing students’ deliverables included:
• Identifying issues/weaknesses with the current website,
• They recommended a more impactful layout and navigation to improve user experience,
• Crafted sample targeted campaigns to reach diverse demographics utilizing multimedia
platforms, and provided suggestions, recommended tools to improve event registrations, increase membership and gather data.

What did the World Affairs Council of Orange County end up using in new website design?
The student presentations helped me to be a more knowledgeable and effective consultant when working with a website design company.
(Before)

For starters, we have improved the look, layout, navigation, user experience, and overall functionality. We are now working on the overall strategy to build meaningful content, develop an effective data gathering platform and continue to improve user engagement. Overall, the students' work product informed WACOC’s digital marketing strategy and tactical planning that is realistic and sustainable.
(After)

What was your overall experience like working with Dr. Schiele’s MBA class?
Refreshing, productive, informative! I was impressed with the students’ consultative approach to problem-solving. Their level of interest in learning about our organization, applying their knowledge about digital marketing to address WACOC’s challenges