Digital marketing students kick off the inaugural Digital Marketing Consultancy Program at Cal Poly Pomona

Founded in September 2001, the Cal Poly Pomona Farm Store was established to provide agricultural students at Cal Poly Pomona with a retail outlet for the fresh produce grown on campus. The Farm Store features farm-to-table excellence by way of fruits, honeys, jams, syrups, readily accessible vegan options, and even its own red wine, all locally sourced from over 400 acres of farmland across the campus and the greater Pomona area. In addition, consumers can purchase a variety of garden species to grow or harvest from the attached nursery, and there is even a petting zoo and on-site pumpkin patch, which both draw visitors to the store on select dates and annual events.

Sounds amazing, right? Given these attributes on top of an incredibly unique shopping experience, area natives have often described the CPP Farm Store as “the best kept secret within the San Gabriel Valley.”

A group of 10 students at the Cal Poly Pomona College of Business Administration recently sought out to change that “hidden gem” reputation by launching and participating in the school’s inaugural Digital Marketing Consultancy Program. The program was developed by Professor Jae Min Jung, who also serves as the director of the Singelyn Graduate School of Business Master of Science in Digital Marketing program (MSDM), a STEM designated and Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) accredited program that yields real world opportunity for students pursuing a graduate degree in digital marketing.

Assistant Professor In-Hye Kang lent her consumer behavior and digital marketing expertise as well, giving students the guidance and leadership necessary to aid in their learning journey. “Students often focus on creating digital marketing content such as social media posts, without necessarily considering a business goal and strategy. I wanted students to develop the skills needed to create strategic digital marketing plans,” says Professor Kang.

Students Heather Bautista, Heather Wrixon, Ethan Palisoc, Sophia Fregoso, Crystal Sho, Alyson Villamor, Alex Lam, Quynh Nguyen, Andrew Alvarez, and Synnikiu Cordero were tasked with creating that comprehensive and applicable digital marketing plan for a working business - in this case, the Cal Poly Pomona Farm Store - complete with a well-defined foundational strategy and applicable marketing tactics designed to raise the profile of the business and increase revenue by attracting new and repeat customers.

If the students’ plan met with approval, CPP’s Farm Store, represented by Associate Dean of the College of Agriculture Peter Kilduff and Farm Store Assistant Manager Brianna Cox, would engage with the students each semester going forward, to apply and utilize each class’s on-going recommendations as the overarching digital marketing engine for the CPP Farm Store.

 “Learning a concept in a theoretical setting can be somewhat dry. A project like this offers students the invaluable experience of applying theoretical knowledge to practical work. The rich context provided by the client company not only allows students to engage deeply with the subject matter but also prompts critical evaluation of the real-world applicability of the theories they've learned.” –  Professor Jae Min Jung, Director MSDM Program, Singelyn Graduate School of Business and Director of the Center for Customer Insights and Digital Marketing, Cal Poly Pomona

Preparation and Goals

 In tandem with Cal Poly Pomona’s “learn by doing” ethos, Professors Jung and Kang both envisioned the program to replicate a real-life client/agency relationship. Curriculum planning began months prior to the class introduction to the program, and the professors chose social media and website design as primary focus areas for the students. Both professors also stressed the importance of client relationship development and maintenance as keys to success for this student project.

 “My primary goal was to instill in them the ability to critically assess situations and discern the most appropriate solutions, differentiating between the ideal and the practical,” clarifies Professor Jung. “Ultimately, the project was designed to go beyond textbook learning, fostering practical skills, and emphasizing the real-world dynamics of client interactions and problem-solving.”

 Professor Kang shared this same focus, and further emphasized the students’ quest for real-world legitimacy. “This course provided students with an opportunity to consider and analyze a substantial amount of information from various sources, and more importantly, students learned how to integrate this wealth of information to derive the data-driven and goal-driven marketing recommendations.”

"This experience significantly enriched the students' education by providing them with hands-on exposure to various facets of digital marketing, including social media management, keyword research, SEO, and web design. Beyond the technical aspects, they also acquired valuable insights into the consulting process and the dynamics of effective teamwork.” – Professor Jae Min Jung, Director, MSDM Program, Singelyn Graduate School of Business and Director of the Center for Customer Insights and Digital Marketing, Cal Poly Pomona

The Program

“At the onset of the Fall 2023 semester, our class initiated a comprehensive evaluation of The Cal Poly Pomona Farm Store’s online presence,” explains Heather Wrixon, a marketing major who participated in the program. “We aimed to identify growth opportunities aligned with the goals outlined by the Farm Store.” The group had four key meetings throughout the semester, consisting of an introduction meeting early in the semester, a social media audit meeting by week seven, an SEO and web design meeting by week 13, and the final presentation pitch meeting occurred at week 16, which marked the end of the semester. These portions of the project allowed students to engage with clients before the final presentation and evaluate the feasibility of their recommendations, selecting the best work from all groups as the primary content, supplemented by contributions from other teams. “We were able to work in small groups which extended our reach of research and allowed us to collect more data to analyze,” says Heather Bautista, a marketing major at the Cal Poly Pomona College of Business Administration who participated in the program. “We had at least three major projects for the program throughout the semester and for each project, we were able to work with different individuals which allowed us to create a strong connection between each student.”

“This class stands out as my absolute favorite throughout my collegiate journey, and it significantly enhanced my education at Cal Poly Pomona’s College of Business Administration. This experience encouraged me to delve into the intricacies of SEO, taught me how to conduct online presence audits, allowed me to improve my website design skills, and helped me gain insights into strategic planning, creative direction, and content creation—all of which digital marketers need to be successful.” – Heather Wrixon, Marketing Major, College of Business Administration, Cal Poly Pomona

 The Pitch (and the win!)

The dynamic group of students executed their pitch to Kilduff and Farm Store Assistant Manager, Brianna Cox, weaving a blend of detailed storytelling and strategic insights as they walked their clients through the intricacies of their digital marketing plan. If the Farm Store was happy with their recommendations, they would approve of the plan and trust the students as a real-life client going forward.

“Considering their demonstrated expertise, I would certainly consider them as a valuable candidate for potential collaboration as a marketing agency for the store,” says Cox, affirming that the students had won the opportunity. “Over the next few months, we will incorporate their recommendations into our existing initiatives, and in the upcoming semester, the next class will be using the framework presented by this group to create marketing content for the Farm Store.”

The 10 students more than set the bar for the future of the program, and not only won the business for the CPP Farm Store, but they also formed a successful collective agency while exemplifying the core philosophy of Cal Poly Pomona. “This project is a great example of the 'Learn by Doing' principle Cal Poly Pomona incorporates into its curriculum, since we are working with a real client,” Bautista explains. “Digital Marketing plays a very imperative role in the success of effective marketing through its detailed works in analyzing existing content and forming the best plan to see positive results.”

The confidence that radiated from the students during the presentation was by design, insists Professor Kang. “Our students demonstrated a highly confident attitude, adopting the role of actual digital marketing consultants - rather than seeing themselves solely as ‘students’ -because they were deeply involved from the start and became very knowledgeable about every aspect of the project.” The experience not only enhanced their technical skills but also fostered a sense of responsibility, teamwork, and the understanding of the real-world implications of their work.

As for the future of the Digital Marketing Consultancy Program, Professor Jung remains optimistically confident in the learning opportunities this new program has launched for students in the Cal Poly Pomona’s College of Business Administration. “A story shared on LinkedIn about it gained over 60 likes and 2,300 impressions - one of the largest reactions I have had so far!” With online interest like that, it is safe to say that the Farm Store is in good hands as these digital marketing students from the Cal Poly Pomona are just getting started.