One Friday evening in mid-November, the Darden community came together for the Brand Challenge event (sponsored by General Mills). Each year the marketing club puts on this event where student groups are paired with companies interested to obtain market research on new or existing products. This year, the turnout was spectacular with over 300 students, faculty, and Cville community members ready to sample and survey.
While the event was sponsored by General Mills, each team was paired with a company ranging from start-ups to the likes of Microsoft and Johnson & Johnson. While many teams had tangible products like skincare creams and coffee, our team had the interesting challenge of working with an app. Specifically, we worked with Cardagin, a loyalty and rewards app. While all teams get to participate in several calls with their assigned company, it was really neat to work with a growing business with a national presence based in Charlottesville.
I, of course, loved working to help design the booth. Inspired by the Cardagin’s use of a storefront with an awning to represent their customer target of small businesses, we decided that our booth should simulate a small cafe serving local favorites like Eppie’s Pumpkin Bread and Take It Away Sandwiches where customers can check out using Cardagin. It was a great opportunity for our team to get our “craft” on;) Building the 9 foot framework made of 2x4s, 1X2s, dowels and brackets was a nice reminder of just how much I enjoy interior architecture and small household projects.
At the end of the night, students were judged on booth design, best spirit and best overall (booth design + survey design).
