For some MSU advertising majors, the curvaceous and brightly colored FUZE Beverage bottles they're used to seeing behind the glass at Sparty's Convenience Stores could mean more than just quenching their thirst.
The company rolled out its FUZE college ad campaign this week, offering students at more than 10 of the top advertising schools in the country a chance to design the beverage's next national marketing blitz.
Instructor David Regan's advertising campaigns class was introduced to the competition Tuesday. They will be working on it until the start of spring break.
"I am mostly looking forward to just the opportunity," advertising senior Robert Ryan said. "I mean, we are going to be competing against some of the top advertising schools in the nation. It's a great thing to boost your résumé with too."
In the next five weeks, students will explore the advertising world by using new media, PDAs, phones and iPods, as well as the more common print and broadcast styles, Regan said.
"The thing that I feel most proud of is the fact that these students are working in a real atmosphere, on a real project, and this client is looking for real ideas," Regan said. "I think we need to do more of this."
Last week, students gathered in teams of five to become more familiar with the beverage's various product lines including Vitalize, Healthy Teas and Refresh.
"I'm most excited about the experience," advertising and telecommunications, information studies and media senior Nikki Mcfarland said. "It's not very often people get this kind of experience in college, to get a big national company to come in and have you actually do their national campaign."
The class received a starter package made up of five cases of FUZE, T-shirts, hats, stickers and other brand-stamped merchandise. The winning team from MSU will be flown to New York City to receive a $1,000 academic scholarship from top FUZE executives, including advertising guru Donny Deutsch.
And the team with the best campaign overall will receive a $3,000 scholarship and get to see their campaign used across the country.
The company's Chief Marketing Officer and MSU alumnus Bill Meissner was on campus Tuesday to talk to students about ways to approach the campaign.
"FUZE beverages are a healthy alternative to soft drinks and sugar-filled teas," Meissner said during the presentation.
When asked if students could find themselves working with the company in the next year or two, Meissner enthusiastically replied, "Absolutely. If the students go above and beyond, they will definitely be heavily recruited by FUZE after graduation. Definitely."
