Throughout the past Spring semester, seven students taking the Business Consulting and Practicum course worked on a project that could help generate commercial interest in Columbiana County.
The students partnered with the Columbiana County Port Authority and the Office of Economic Development to develop a comprehensive marketing plan for the organizations. The plan includes social media accounts for Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, as well as step-by-step guides and video tutorials for using the social media accounts.
The marketing plan was developed after benchmarking and surveying the other port authorities from across Ohio to learn more about their marketing activities. The survey results will be shared with the other port authorities.
The instructor for the class, Tim McFadden, explained that the students worked with Penny Traina, CEO and executive director of the Columbiana County Port Authority, and Tad Herold, director of Economic Development, throughout the project. The work culminated in a formal presentation to the Port Authority and Office of Economic Development, separate entities that work together to attract businesses to the county.
“It has been a great collaboration to work with the Kent State students,” Traina said. “The students were very engaging and we appreciate the partnership.”
Herold noted that the project was a great experience. “The students did research that provides a foundation for their recommendations, and the survey will be very helpful to us,” he said. “The social media aspect will also be very helpful for us as we will have a strong strategy for using it.”
Four of the students are from Columbiana County, while three are from Geauga County. The class was taught online, using video conferencing technology so that the students could “meet” weekly to work on their project.
“This is the type of work that is transformative,” noted Dr. David Dees, dean and chief administrative officer for the Kent State Columbiana County campuses. “Not only did our students benefit from this experience, but our county can benefit, as well.”
The students included Katelyn Carter, Macie Davidson, Drew Dawson, Sara Delp, Michael Jajcinovic, Jacob Nedergaard and Trevor Pesicek.
Cutline: (From left) Tim McFadden, instructor; student Macie Davidson; Penny Traina, Port Authority; student Drew Dawson; Tad Herold, Economic Development