Marketing project promotes UTV

While students lounge in easy chairs channel surfing for the perfect station, few have stopped at channel 13 -- the University's student-run television station. But a group in the Marketing 235 class is preparing a project that would increase the number of UTV's viewers. The group, which includes four students, has selected UTV as their client in order to create an advertising campaign that will help promote the station. College sophomore Blake Jacoby, College senior Melanie Chang and Wharton juniors Rebecca Anderson and Sridhar Rao began their project at the beginning of the semester by brainstorming possible clients. And after evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of each of their choices, the group found that UTV had the most promise. "Falcon Advertising" -- the name the group selected for their project company -- plans to use the station's current programming to promote UTV. "We do have an internal marketing staff, but we never have had enough people," said Engineering junior Todd Donovan, the president and general manager of UTV. "[The marketing students] are focusing people." Although the group has done market research and has been in constant communication with UTV, the project is still in its planning stages, said group members. The group members said this week they are confident UTV will be pleased with their work, and will appreciate their help. "[I] strongly believe that they will use the advertising," Jacoby said. The Falcon Advertising Agency staff said they are mostly concerned with reaching out to the University community to educate them about the benefits of UTV. The group participants said they have three different approaches to attract viewers --"Penn-centric" news source, nostalgic campaign of the 70's decade celebrating UTV's 20th anniversary and serious news sources. Students in the class said this week marketing professor Scott Armstrong acts more like an advisor to each group rather than a lecturer. Each group presents their progress to the rest of the class during class time. Marketing 235 is a class that is "not book-oriented," Anderson said. "We learn as much from each other as we do from [Armstrong]," added Chang. Other groups in the class have chosen clients such as the Gulf Coast, Penn Notes and the Delaware Valley Organ Donating Program.

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