Students in the Sports and Event Marketing class participated in a real-world advertising and brand hands-on project that was inspired by the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. This assignment challenged students to find current parade sponsors and for students to create their own sponsorship ideas. The project combines creativity with real-world business concepts. This gives students an understanding of how marketing works and gives them the ability to apply their knowledge in a hands-on way.
Preparing for the project
Before the actual project, students had to research current sponsors for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. Some students looked at major sponsors like Nickelodeon and analyzed their target audience. Many of the brands focus on families and children, which goes with the audience that the parade mostly has.
Students also learned why companies sponsor big events. The sponsorships help brands to gain attention, promote their products, and get seen by millions of viewers. With this knowledge, students were able to understand how important marketing is. The research helped students start creating their own sponsorship ideas of their choice.
Making the project
When completing the research, students started to create their own sponsorship ideas. Each student chose a brand they believed would fit well with the parade and that would appeal to the audience. My group, with Nina Ahmad and Norah Curtis, chose the FIFA World Cup as our sponsor because it connects with sports fans and is globally recognized, especially since it is coming to the United States this year.
To finish the project, students designed and decorated the mini using materials from the classroom —paper, plastic, tape, and balloons — to make it look like a float. These materials were used to make a realistic parade float. On presentation day, students walked around the classroom with their floats in hand to show off their floats to the classroom, and then minutes later went to the Office to show the office ladies.
This project gave students a better understanding of how marketing and sponsorships work beyond the classroom. It shows how brands connect with the audience and why events like parades are important to the sponsors. Many of the students enjoyed the creative and engaging project. It also gave students the opportunity to look into possible careers in sports and event marketing.
