Service Learning Course Partners With Core Brewery

Lori McLemore

Members of the first place teams: Buzzed Marketing, On Tap Advertising, Thrive Marketing. The students from left in back row: Luke Waller, Aubrey Dixon, Adrian Hannah, Addison Smith, Samantha Gregory and Megan Lafferty. Front row: professor Anne Velliquette, Mackenzie Johnson, Natalie Lieber, Fayln Brothers, and Jules Fletcher. Not pictured: Will Nelson and Violet Duffy.

Last semester students in a marketing communications course partnered with CORE Brewery, a Northwest-Arkansas-based brewery, to create an innovative and mutually beneficial service learning experience. In the course, led by Anne Marie Velliquette, clinical assistant professor of marketing, students were asked to propose campaigns to help promote CORE's new Scarlett Letter Hard Seltzer.

"CORE presented to all of Dr. Velliquette's integrated marketing classes in September. During the presentation, they highlighted some of the key components and ideas they wanted to accomplish and spread to their ideal target market," says Adrian Hannah, a senior finance major who was a member of one of the winning teams. After hearing about the needs of Scarlett Letter, students were tasked with creating a presentation and a campaign that addressed target market, growth areas, problems in communication, and ultimate solutions.

After a semester of work, students presented this information to representatives of CORE Brewery, who chose two teams as winners: Buzzed Marketing and On-Tap Advertising.

From left, Cole Brothers of CORE Brewing; professor Anne Velliquette; students Annika Nielsen and Gabi Gifford; and Jesse Core, owner of CORE. This team is Innovation Hive Marketing, a second place-winning team.

Daniel Roberts, Stephanie West and Bladen Ketron of Differential Concepts, a second place-winning team. Not pictured Violet Duffy.

Buzzed Marketing was one of the overall top two winning teams.  Adrian Hannah, Aubrey Dixon and Luke Waller. Not pictured Will Nelson.

First place team from one class Thrive Marketing, including Jules Fletcher, Megan Lafferty and Samantha Gregory.

On Tap Advertising: Mackenzie Johnson, Addison Smith, Natalie Lieber and Fayln Brothers.

Cole Brothers, a former student of Velliquette who now works as a business development specialist for CORE, said that On-Tap Advertising "had some very creative ideas on how to strengthen brand awareness via innovative marketing techniques and campaigns. For starters, they proposed a really cool 'flavor contest' on social media that encourages people to engage with the brand. Not only would this provide great feedback and marketing material, but it would get people invested into our brand — this drives brand loyalty."

Buzzed Marketing, on the other hand, "focused on the 'place' aspect of the marketing mix. … They had good ideas about attacking Dickson Street which is where a significant amount of our target market spends money. Finally, they included ideas about community involvement, which is where we can not only get 'liquid to lips,' but also gain exposure to influential people."

Overall, students and community partners benefitted greatly from this service learning experience during an unprecedented semester. Aubrey Dixon, a senior marketing major who was part of the Buzzed Marketing team, said, "Some of my biggest takeaways from this experience were that every idea is a great idea and that with the help of others you can all inspire each other. You should never underestimate your abilities and what you have to offer."

Adrian Hannah added that "this project provided me with the confidence and experience that I would not be able to achieve in most normal classroom settings. … I would advise any students who are on the fence about taking a service learning course to take the plunge and do it. The experience and knowledge you will gain after completing a project with real world implications is priceless."

CORE has partnered with other university departments, for example working with the food sciences department to develop a patent on a new carbonation process. Additionally, CORE is the official Micro Beer of the Razorbacks — watch for the Razorback on cans for their Arkansas Red Lager. Jesse Core, founder of CORE brewery, mentioned that "I have thoroughly enjoyed working with U of A on numerous projects. I consider many of the professors friends."

Velliquette, instructor for the course, said, "I believe in active learning and really try not to lecture all the time. In this course, students engage with each other, the project, the client, and the community. It's such a rewarding experience to not only help the students learn hands-on, but to know that we are also helping the client. Jesse and his team have been incredible to work with."

For more information about service learning offerings and potential partnerships, please contact Jennie Popp (jhpopp@uark.edu), Angela Oxford (afoxford@uark.edu), Shalini Rana (svclrn01@uark.edu), or check out the service learning web site.

A full list of winners is below:

Class #1 9:40 am 

• 1st: Thrive Marketing: Megan Lafferty, Samantha Gregory, and Jules Fletcher
• 2nd: Innovation Hive Marketing: Sarah Auge, Gabi Gifford, and Annika Nielsen

Class #2: 11:50 am 

• 1st: Buzzed Marketing:  Adrian Hannah, Luke Waller, Aubrey Dixon and Will Nelson
• 2nd: UnCanny Advertising:  Rachel Barnes, Chandler Montgomery, and Maddi McKinney

Class #3 12:55 pm

• 1st: On Tap Advertising: Addison Smith, Falyn Brothers, Natalie Lieber, and Mackenzie Johnson
• 2nd: Differential Concepts: Bladen Ketron, Stephanie West, Daniel Roberts, and Violet Duffy

Overall Top Two Campaign Winners

• 1a) Buzzed Marketing
• 1b) On Tap Advertising

Honorable Mentions

• Posterity: Ian Fendley, Kyle Cloutier, Drew Durham and Sam Stewart
• Eye Candy: Baylee Knight, Caroline Henry, Emily Wentworth, and Tira Haag