Student Projects

Marketing students from Cal Poly’s Orfalea College of Business tackle marketing challenges posed by firms of all sizes and produce tangible deliverables that have real value.

Cal Poly Marketing students can deliver

• Competitor benchmarking
• Market feedback on early-stage concepts
• Well-defined attribute levels that maximize choice
• Ideas for using Web 2.0 to reach customers

“The [students'] best work … was the beta testing of the website; that was truly useful.”
-Steve Bell, Founder and CEO Startup Trek TV

Cal Poly Marketing students are able to

• Talk with and observe customers, in order to gain insight into customer requirements
• Develop, test, refine, and optimize ideas for new products and services
• Build and manage brand equity

“Working with your students was a great experience that offered fresh, creative thinking to a very competitive category. Their presentations were well thought out and professional. The time spent helped both the students and our company.”
-Michael Sands, Founder and CEO LesserEvil Brand Snack Company

Tools

• Observational studies
• One-on-one interviews
• Focus group research
• Survey design and analysis
• Brainstorming and ideation
• Concept testing
• Optimizing product concepts for market acceptance
• Discovering multiple points of differentiation for products/services
• Developing media plans

Projects with Marketing Students

Cal Poly’s location in San Luis Obispo ensures a certain degree of isolation and provides clients with the opportunity to test ideas and to refine product concepts away from potential competitors located in major metropolitan areas.

There are two ways to work with students in the Marketing Area at Cal Poly’s Orfalea College of Business.

Developing and Presenting Marketing Projects

BUS 454 offers the opportunity for businesses and non-profit organizations to engage students in the context of a 10-week, project-based course. The primary focus is student learning.Projects in BUS 454 are funded through a gift to the Marketing Area. Students and faculty are not paid for their work on the project. Contributions are used to defray expenses related to the project. There is no contractual arrangement between the Marketing Area at Cal Poly and the sponsoring organization. Project start dates coincide with the beginning of each academic quarter:  January (Winter);  March (Spring); September (Fall).

Complete a client application two months prior to the desired start date. Spots are reserved on a first-come, first-served basis.

Client-Sponsored Senior Project

The best and brightest marketing students from Cal Poly’s Orfalea College of Business are offered the opportunity to work on more complex marketing challenges defined by companies. The primary focus is student learning.Projects in BUS 464 are funded through a gift to the Marketing Area.  There is no contractual arrangement between the Marketing Area at Cal Poly and the sponsoring organization. Project start dates coincide with the beginning of each academic quarter:  January (projects from startup companies); March (projects with a sustainability angle); September (projects involving package concept testing).

Complete a client application two months prior to the desired start date.