Falls Students Win Marketing Contest for National Restaurant Chain

Students from the Marketing Education program got a taste of their future careers after winning a marketing contest sponsored by Five Guys Burgers and Fries. The national restaurant chain will use the winning plan in an upcoming marketing campaign and will give one member of the CFHS class a paid marketing internship to assist with implementing the plan.

Marketing Education classes from five Northeast Ohio high schools –Beachwood, Copley-Fairlawn, Cuyahoga Falls, Firestone, and Polaris Career Center—participated in the competition, in which students had two months to research, develop, and present  a real marketing plan for the restaurant targeting the chain's key target audience, teenagers. The students were required to work within Five Guys budget and marketing goals.

Teacher Emily Kilgore-Knight said the project allowed students to put into practice the marketing concepts taught in class, and succeed in using them.

“Learning marketing concepts is only one piece of the important education these students receive. [This competition taught] communication, collaboration, creativity and other 21st century skills that are integral to their future careers. This hands-on, real world experience is the cornerstone of my Marketing Education programs.”

Student Corrine Hendrick agreed. “This competition has really shown me what it is like to be a marketing professional. It gave our class the opportunity to experience the real work and challenges a marketing team encounters for a large company.”

In October, the CFHS students began working in teams researching the company, carrying out market research and planning, and developing concepts and strategies to present to their class as a whole.

“From those presentations, the class worked as a large team to select the top ideas. Then, they worked to develop the ideas further and create their final presentation and written plan for the Five Guys staff,” said Kilgore-Knight.

“We were completely bowled over by the phenomenal job done by the students,” said Crystal Green, Community Relations Manager for Five Guys. “The plan consisted of much more than we had expected and the presentation was so clever and entertaining.”

The Marketing students worked with the CFHS Interactive Media /Digital Design class to produce a video component and create a 3D burger and fries display that contained the details of their plan.

“The 3D burger and fries was placed in real Five Guys wrapping and presented to the Five Guys team in a brown paper bag, their signature packaging,” Kilgore-Knight explained.

“I’m very proud of how hard my students worked on this project. It was a large enough challenge to stretch their thinking and force them to perform and think like marketing professionals. We had stiff competition…and I knew it would be close. It was a joy to see [the students’] efforts pay off.”

The students' marketing plan will be seen in local marketing for the restaurant chain in the coming months. The internship has yet to be awarded.