UT Tyler Office of Marketing and Communications

The University of Texas at Tyler Students Develop Marketing Plan with National Industry Partners

May 16, 2017

Media Contact:  Hannah Buchanan
Editor/Writer–Strategic Communications & Media Relations
Marketing and Communications
The University of Texas at Tyler
903.539.7196 (cell)

The University of Texas at Tyler students and marketing faculty collaborated this semester with industry partners in providing solutions to a real-world situation, Dr. James Lumpkin, College of Business and Technology dean, announced.

The group concluded a semester-long project in which they partnered with Southern Glazer's Wine and Spirits headquartered in Miramar, Florida and 7-Eleven, based in Irving, Texas. The university participated as part of the Insight Motivated Marketing 360 (IMM360) curriculum, a 2016 Texas Higher Education Star award program nominee; and by having one of four marketing programs nationwide accredited by the Category Management Association.

"Our mission speaks to building the knowledge and skills students need to be successful as professionals," Lumpkin said. "This project is a great example of how we are putting that into action."

Based on an examination of a combination of two-year Point of Sale data and Nielsen industry data, students presented alternative wine packaging opportunities in the wine category and made assortment and merchandising suggestions to several category managers and executives of both companies.

Student participants were Alec De Jong of Lindale, Marissa Frear of Euless, Brittani Harman of Liberty, McKenzie Parrish of Athens, Ariel Reyna of Humble, Paul Ross of Austin, Maria Sanchez of Van, Yasmin Snoubar of Lindale, Daria Crenshaw of Irkutsk, Russia, Samah Khan of London, England; and Kindle Chapman, Justin Hall, Ericka Reina, Amy Weakley and Madison Weakley, all of Tyler. Participating University of Texas at Tyler marketing faculty were Drs. Kyung-Ah Byun, Robert Jones, Barbara Wooldridge and Krist Swimberghe.

"This partnership with 7-Eleven and Southern Glazers Wine and Spirits is an example of how our marketing curriculum adds value for all stakeholders involved," said Swimberghe, "businesses gain valuable consumer insight and knowledge, the CBT gets unique industry support and recognition, and students receive a valuable 'real life' experience and get introduced to unique career opportunities with industry partners."

Throughout the semester, several top executives and managers from both 7-Eleven and Southern Glazer's Wine and Spirits met with the students both face-to-face on the main campus in Tyler and via Skype. Students met project benchmarks and ensured that the ultimate recommendations are implementable and testable in 7-Eleven stores.

One of the 14 campuses of the UT System, The University of Texas at Tyler features excellence in teaching, research, artistic performance and community service. More than 80 undergraduate and graduate degrees are available at The University of Texas at Tyler, which has an enrollment of almost 10,000 high-ability students. The University of Texas at Tyler offers courses at its campuses in Tyler, Longview and Palestine as well as a location in Houston.