AMAze Students Create Marketing Solutions for Corporate Partners
Since launching in spring 2020, AMAze,™ a Haslam student-led program operating through the UT chapter of the American Marketing Association (UT AMA), has been creating marketing recommendations and strategies for a diverse array of corporate partners.
Guided by faculty advisor Cindy Raines, distinguished lecturer and Lee and Allison Herring Endowed Teaching Fellow in Marketing, the students work directly with firms for six to eight weeks. Projects are tailored to each company’s needs, and may include tasks such as branding and imaging, target audience identification, naming and logo development, social media, and research.
Junior marketing major Lygia Karagiozis, UT AMA president and AMAze™ group leader, has been involved since her first semester at UT.
“AMAze™ intrigued me because we had the opportunity to meet with upper-level executives, conduct research, critically think on a team of other like-minded peers, create a deliverable, and present our findings,” she said.
AMAze™ assists for-profit and non-profit organizations of all sizes. Recent partners have included Bridge Refugee Services, UT Printing and Mail Services, Cruze Farm, Coffee and Chocolate, and Knoxville IT firm IT4e. Although AMAze™ members volunteer their time, corporate partners are asked to make a small donation to help fund future educational student initiatives.
Jodie McIntyre, founder of Emmy’s Frozen Yogurt, partnered with AMAze™ to develop marketing initiatives targeting UT students.
“We were thrilled to work with these bright, energetic students, who provided us with important and up-to-date marketing material and insight,” said McIntyre. “They expanded on social media outlets that college students would most likely use and outlined appealing ways to grab the attention of the students.”
Like McIntyre, Mark Hickman (HCB, ’86) appreciated the students’ perspectives as young consumers. When his firm, Hickman Development, was considering investing in a local food products company, he asked AMAze™ to research the industry and provide insights to help his firm make an informed decision.
“AMAze™ students were essentially a snapshot of our target market—young, diverse, educated (soon-to-be) professionals,” Hickman said. “From our initial meeting, they asked questions that never occurred to my much older mind.”
The UT AMA leadership board now includes four positions dedicated to AMAze.™ That focus has helped the chapter win numerous campus- and college-wide awards, including UTK Outstanding Academic Student Organization for 2022. As UT AMA membership continues to grow, more than half of the organization participates in AMAze.™
Grace Caldwell, a junior marketing major and vice president of AMAze,™ especially values the connections and leadership experience she has gained.
“No other club can offer such a one-on-one experience with businesses,” Caldwell said. “Getting to create a personalized marketing deliverable for their business has given me more confidence in my ability as a marketer and young businesswoman.”
– Stacy Estep
