Student Agri-Marketing Team Places 3rd Nationally
The Virginia Tech student National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) team recently placed third in the organization's national student marketing competition in San Diego.
The competition, held in conjunction with the mid-April National Agri-Marketing Conference and Trade Show, pitted the six members of the Virginia Tech team against teams from 34 other colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. The competition required the students to present both a written and oral marketing plan for an agricultural product or service of the team's choice.
"This is a tremendous learning experience for the students," said Dixie Watts Reaves, an associate professor of agricultural and applied economics and the team's adviser. "Going through this process and presenting their proposal to the judges really integrates and solidifies in their minds the concepts discussed in many of our classes."
The Virginia Tech team began working last October to create a plan to market live tilapia, a warm freshwater fish, in emerging upscale grocery stores in the Washington, D.C., metro area. In consultation with aquaculture specialist Dan Kauffman, the students conducted primary and secondary market research, including on-site customer surveys in two D.C.-area stores and a tour of tilapia production facilities. They then developed goals and objectives for a three-year roll-out; set pricing and promotional strategies; estimated three-year financial projections; and determined a strategy for monitoring and measuring the success of the plan.
Team members were John Dillard of Amelia, Va.; Julia Gardner of Bridgewater; Va.; Thomas Henley of Walkerton, Va.; Austin Lineberry of Fries, Va.; Carrie Rodgers of Slippery Rock, Penn.; and Lance Stenzel of Forest, Va.
The teams leading Virginia Tech in the competition were from the University of Guelph and the University of Wisonsin-Madison.
