OSU-Tulsa Students Study Creativity; Compete for Chance to Shine at Drillers Game
TULSA (Feb 1, 2010) – How’s this for homework?
Students from Oklahoma State University-Tulsa’s Creative Marketing course are using social media to rally support in an online creativity tournament and creating videos for a second competition whose winners will be featured at a Tulsa Drillers game during opening weekend at ONEOK Field.
Dr. Tracy Suter, associate professor of marketing in OSU’s Spears School of Business, challenged his students to co-create, explore and interpret the creative experience. The short-term course will conclude with the second annual TAS-sel College Tournament and a viral video production project that will be showcased in the OSU-Tulsa Auditorium on Feb. 11 at 6 p.m.
“So often we ask students to study theories, learn facts and perform scholastic tasks. I do not want to diminish the importance of these activities, but I recognize there is rarely any room for their own creative ideas. My goal was to bring creativity back,” Suter said.
The TAS-sel tournament began with 35 students and their examples of creativity including original, student-created ideas. The examples were placed in six categories, made up of logos and brand marks; product designs; advertising campaigns; distribution and pricing; Web sites; and consumer-generated content.
Suter then pushed his students to use their imaginations to campaign for the selection with a six-word nomination speech. Through in-class voting, the nominations were narrowed down to five finalists. The entire class then started using social media and viral marketing methods to drive people to the class’ official Web site, www.tas-sel.org, to vote for a winner.
Since launching Jan. 15, the project’s Web site has already recorded more than 71,500 hits and 825 votes. There is also a text messaging voting option at 3059-TAS-SEL (305-982-7735) that has resulted in more than 300 text-based votes so far. Voting will conclude Feb. 5 and Suter will announce the winner at the Feb. 11 event and on the project’s Web site.
For the second component of the class project, students were put in teams and challenged to create an original video production for the Tulsa Drillers about their move to ONEOK Field, located just south of OSU-Tulsa
Suter said working with a real-world client means his students’ work is more than just a class project.
“Working with a high-profile organization, like the Tulsa Drillers, enhances their creative output and the quality of their efforts,” Suter said. “It also gives the students a better sense that their work is relevant and has the potential for them to gain some valuable marketplace exposure as they pursue career advancement.”
Members of the Drillers staff will be in attendance for the video showing on Feb. 11 at OSU-Tulsa. The event is free and open to the public.
After the viewing, the Drillers staff will select the top videos to be showcased on the Drillers Web site at www.tulsadrillers.com. Another round of online voting for 30 days at www.tas-sel.org and the Drillers Web site will determine the winner. The winning team will be recognized on ONEOK Field and their video shown to the crowd during opening weekend in April.
Suter said he hopes these projects will help students develop a diverse skill set for both internal and external marketing.
“Today’s business and marketing environment is changing very rapidly,” Suter said. “Video production might not be a skill we characteristically teach in a business school, but broad experiences are necessary and desirable for current college graduates.”
Updated 02-02-2010
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