Three students from Marian University’s Byrum School of Business won first place out of 53 entries at a national social media competition hosted by Ball State University’s Center for Advancement of Digital Marketing and Analytics. The event required students to develop a social media campaign and tools to solve case issues. On Saturday, April 13, Daniel Sanders ’19, Katherine Santos ’19, and Cameron Riches ’22, presented their social media strategy for their client Sun King Brewery.

“The students worked hard to develop a great strategy for the client, often working in the evenings when everyone could be available. They showed incredible creativity and skill, impressing the judges with their innovative ideas,” Lori Rumreich, assistant professor of marketing, said.

During the final round of the competition the students were not only judged by marketing professionals from Sun King Brewery, Salesforce, and Geico, but they were also challenged with a case twist and only 21 minutes to prepare.  

“Once our team thoroughly understood Sun King Brewery's market image and position, we were able to conceptualize the ‘Craft that Cares’ strategy that incorporates all Sun King has to offer. It focuses on four main market segments: customers, employees, the community, and the environment. Our strategy shows that Sun King Brewery is more than great taste, it is an experience,” Sanders said. “Using social media knowledge attained in the classroom and my tactical understanding learned at my internships really made it easy to translate ideas and concepts to the national social media competition.”

Sanders, Santos, and Riches proposed social media tactics including a Twitter Bot, a “go live” video feed called Craft Cam, and Instagram animations that impressed the judges. 

“Working on the Sun King project was an absolute blast,” Santos said. “We’ve been taught to think outside of the box, and I think that’s why we won. Everyone brought unique and creative ideas to the table and Professor Rumreich helped us implement them. None of this would’ve been possible without the Byrum School of Business.” 

The judges awarded Marian University’s team $500 for their win.

“Everything we do in the Byrum School of Business from a student’s first semester is based on learning by doing. This foundation really prepared these students to create a winning social media strategy. They have learned to develop ideas, assess and communicate them effectively, and this was evident in how professionally they delivered their plan at the competition,” Rumreich said.