Effective teamwork is at the core of every organization’s success, and learning how to collaborate is an essential piece of a BYU Marriott education. Whether they’re involved in classroom projects, field studies, or internships, our students work together early and often. These opportunities cross business disciplines and functions, teaching our students how to leverage one another’s strengths and understand how each role contributes to the greater organizational good.
Baskin-Robbins, Adobe, and Union Pacific are just a few of the companies that benefit from the strategic marketing recommendations and research coming out of BYU Marriott’s Marketing Lab. At the lab, students work alongside top marketing professionals and educators to deliver research results to big-name clients.
“The students in the Marketing Lab are some of the best we have. It’s fulfilling and simply fun to watch them bring creative ideas and innovative new techniques to life on real work,” says Matthew Madden, newly appointed BYU Marketing Lab director and an associate professor at BYU Marriott. “It’s also a pleasure to have clients who are generous and eager to work with students.
“The students receive excellent guidance from faculty mentors,” Madden continues. “I’m looking forward to seeing the Marketing Lab grow in the coming years so we can allow even more students to enjoy these experiences.”
Jeff Dotson, associate professor of marketing and former director of the lab, observes that the lab is so successful in part because of its distinct student makeup, combining both graduate and undergraduate students. Dotson says that the interaction gives an advantage to both groups: the MBA students take on project-management roles while undergraduate students focus more on research execution.
To deliver exceptional results, all students engage in various forms of research, including quantitative and qualitative surveys, consumer insights, and product testing. “There’s collaboration from the inception of the project—where you have our leadership team scoping, defining the project, and working on the bid—to the execution,” Dotson says.
Dotson remembers one particular student, Jason Grindstaff, who made a successful career switch with the support of such hands-on experience. Grindstaff wanted to transition from accounting to marketing but didn’t have the necessary background. “The lab filled that gap for him,” says Dotson. “He was able to build a skill set and add to his résumé valuable experience working with national brands.”
Grindstaff’s story isn’t an anomaly. In fact, most students agree that working alongside and learning from other team members significantly shaped their careers and prepared them to shine in a competitive job market. “The students view it as the apex or culminating experience of either their undergraduate or MBA programs,” Dotson says.
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This story was featured in BYU Marriott's 2019 Annual Report.
