A business student from Clitheroe has taken a marketing idea that began in the classroom and turned it into reality – or rather augmented reality!
An eye-catching globe of images of student life at Harper Adams University, Shropshire, which spins into action when scanned with a mobile phone app, was developed in conjunction with second year student Antonia Evans, from Clitheroe, as a spin-off from a class about integrated marketing techniques.
Also key to the project was fellow second year student Jacob Bower, who lives just a few miles from Antonia, in Barnoldswick.
Lecturer Becky Payne was keen to get students thinking about modern marketing techniques and pitching their ideas to a panel of judges.
“We have adopted various smaller ideas from students’ pitches, but one idea, from Antonia and Jacob, really stood out”, explained one of the judges, web and new media manager James Armstrong.
“They had sought me out before they made their pitch and asked if augmented reality might be an option.
“Then, when I saw their pitch, I really wanted to use it for our new alternative prospectus – a brochure designed to entice new entrants to the university by showing what life is like for our students.”
“I’ve never done something that has become part of a big organisation’s marketing,” said Antonia, who plans to gain experience of business in marketing in a wider context before returning to her family’s agri-chemical business.
“I’d given ideas here and there, but we have been able to take this from start to finish and it was a great experience.”
Antonia will now play a further role in attracting new students to Harper Adams, having just secured a position within its marketing and communications department for the sandwich year of her degree, starting in September.
