UAlbany business students market the FBI

Thirty three business students taking UAlbany's senior-level Integrated Marketing Communications course (BMKT 432) were given a rare opportunity to put their education to work in the real world. Over the 15 weeks of the fall semester, these students created and put into action a working marketing agency. They were responsible for researching, implementing and evaluating an on-campus integrated marketing communications campaign for their client, the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The students were specifically charged with promoting to UAlbany students specific career opportunities within the FBI, such as Special Agent and Professional Support positions.

	Chris Sangimino presents the group's PR strategy

Calling themselves "Fountain Marketing Group," the students organized into typical "agency" departments: research, budget, strategy/campaign implementation, public relations, and advertising. They spent the first half of the fall semester formulating their marketing strategy and campaign ideas and then presented them to their client (the FBI) in October. After receiving the go-ahead, they went on to implement their campaign and track and analyze its results. "The things I learned in this class go well beyond anything I've read in a book," said Chris Sangimino a senior business administration major from Nesconset, NY. Chris headed up the "agency's" PR group.

	Junior Arianna Komninos attended the event in the Campus Center. She is a criminal justice/psychology double major. "American government is my concentration, so the FBI would be a good fit."

Focusing on career opportunities within the FBI, the students targeted their campaign at their key market-other UAlbany students. With a budget of $2,500, they held an event in the Campus Center. By offering free food, games, prizes, music and contests they also raised more than $7,000 in additional donations from sponsors. They attracted nearly 700 attendees to the day-long event. In addition to the fun students found out about internships, spoke to an FBI recruiter and had opportunities to learn about careers at the FBI.

FBI Supervisory Special Agent Gregory M. Milonovich addresses the class.

The semester-long project culminated in a formal, agency-style presentation by the students to FBI representatives. The results of their research demonstrated the success of their marketing plan, increasing the likelihood of future applications to FBIjobs.com. "The students' project to increase the FBI's exposure on campus was tremendously successful," said FBI Supervisory Special Agent Gregory M. Milonovich. "We were extremely impressed with the level of maturity and professionalism of the UAlbany students."

UAlbany and the FBI were brought together by EdVenture Partners, an education marketing company based in Berkeley, California, that partners real-world business with educational institutions across the United States. They provided the student agency with ongoing resources, guidance and the project budget.

"It's definitely a win-win situation for the Bureau and the students," said Donald G. Purdy, who teaches the course. "The class members working on the campaign know their campus and student life better than anyone else, so they can create a highly relevant campaign that the FBI wouldn't otherwise have access to." Said senior Freddie Sanchez from Babylon, NY, who has a double major in Spanish and business administration: "It was a great real world experience and a useful learning tool to any business major who wants to pursue a career in marketing."

 

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