Marketing Students Putting Chevy Sonic Models on Display Tuesday in Campus 'Showroom'

All semester long, a group of Old Dominion University marketing students has been engaged in a competition with students from Christopher Newport University to create a marketing plan for the 2012 Chevy Sonic, a new automobile made by General Motors.

On Tuesday, Oct. 25, the ODU Chevy Sonic Marketing Team will have two models of the vehicles on display in front of Webb Center, the hatchback and sedan. Team members will also conduct trivia contests about the car, with questions about fuel efficiency, safety, technology and more.

In addition, the team will have a social media station for students to "like" the project on Facebook and "follow" it on Twitter at ODUChevySonic.

The 11:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. showing is the latest marketing effort for the group of ODU business students - Andy Hulme, Chris Jenkins, Chad King, Tiffany Robinson, Greg Selden, Yolanda Villegas and Angie Yanez.

The project was the result of the automaker reaching out to Anusorn Singhapakdi, marketing department chair in ODU's College of Business and Public Administration. Faculty members created a special-projects class, MKTG 496, New Product Marketing Practicum. The class meets weekly in Constant Hall, and has worked over the last several weeks to develop a themed message focused on "millennials" - students of university age - in an effort to build buzz about the car.

During Homecoming, the students pulled a Chevy Sonic through the homecoming parade, and held an all-day Twitter event to promote the project. The team has more than 200 followers on Twitter and close to 200 people that like them on Facebook.

At the end of the project, the class will creatively "launch" the 2012 Chevy Sonic on campus. The ODU students will present the results of their marketing and promotional plan to local Chevy dealers in Virginia Beach next month.