The Marketing Principles class is a required course for all Arts Management students in the Graduate Program that exposes students to fundamental concepts in order to effectively build and market a particular brand. This semester, the class has been afforded the opportunity to work with a new magazine in the Chicago market called FW: The Magazine for Chicago Women. Students are working in teams to develop a comprehensive marketing plan to present to the founder, Kendra Chaplin, and her team at the end of the semester.

All semester, teams have been working on industry analysis, research, idea generation, and concepts of marketability to pitch unique ideas to Kendra and her team. This is a great resume-building opportunity for the class in addition to the hands-on experience gained by working with a real client. At the end of the semester, each team will present their ideas to the FW: team and one marketing plan will be considered for implementation throughout the city.

This class project is one of many examples of the opportunities available to MAM students in course work alone. Faculty like Sandra Kumorowski are working professionals who leverage their networking skills and industry connections to bring real-world work to the students through the courses. In this case, Sandra connected a start-up company with eager students who were willing to help build their business.