HERITAGE PARTNERS WITH MCAD ON REAL-WORLD MARKETING CHALLENGE

Each year the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD) Intro to Advertising class selects a local organization to partner and brief students on a business challenge. As a part of this assignment, students get a chance to concept ideas for a local or national brand based on a real-world problem. Throughout the semester, students work in creative teams, as they would at an agency, to come up with a variety of ideas and executions for products or services based on the brand assignment and problem.

Last fall, Red Wing Heritage was chosen as the real-world client, kicking off the brand assignment with the MCAD class.

“There are a lot of layers as to why and how I chose the Red Wing Heritage brand for this year’s challenge. I wanted the students to see how high-quality products are made, right here in Minnesota. I also felt the 20-something students may have a unique perspective on the styles that make up the Heritage collection of footwear. Another nuance which made this experience completely unique was that Ani Djaferian, the Red Wing Heritage Art Director, is an MCAD grad of this class and program.”

– Nancy Rice, MCAD Faculty

There were 17 students in the F22 Introduction to Advertising class, with majors & minors in advertising, 3D animation, arts entrepreneurship, film, graphic design, illustration and product design. That's the magic recipe for this class – diverse majors at varying degrees of honing their skills, all working together. For most, it's not only the first time they're working with partners, but the first time they've worked with a real client on a contemporary business challenge.

PROJECT BRIEFING: THE BRAND CHALLENGE

With the support of Nancy Rice, MCAD Faculty and Minneapolis advertising legend, the Heritage team briefed students to establish a strategy and recommendation for how Red Wing Heritage could activate and promote retail pop-up experiences that can be easily repeatable in many markets across the United States.

Students were asked to define what makes a best-in-class retail experience, create a framework for a pop-up experience, and develop ways to promote the experience.

Pictured (left to right): Dave Schneider, Nancy Rice, Ani Djaferian, Jamie Kvamme

“We wrote a project brief in the same way we do for our agency partners – setting up a real brand challenge, our target consumer, insights, assignment, etc. It was important that the students be challenged in the same way they will be in their future careers. We delivered a meaningful brand challenge that exists today and asked them to think strategically about how we might solve the problem.”

-        Jamie Kvamme, Director Marketing, Global Heritage

RED WING VISIT

Students toured Plant 2 in Red Wing, Minn., as well as the Flagship Red Wing store to inform their pitches. They spent time understanding how the products are made, how consumers are fitted in store, and the importance of how these experiences impact the consumer journey.

“It was great to have the full circle experience of guiding students in the same MCAD class I once took. I loved being able to share the rich history of the brand and pieces of our meticulously preserved archives with Nancy’s class. The students were inquisitive, bright and possessed a contagious energy throughout the partnership.”

-       Ani Djaferian, Heritage Art Director

PROJECT PRESENTATIONS

At the end of the semester, a total of five student groups pitched their ideas to the Heritage Marketing team and CMO, Dave Schneider. Each group was asked questions and provided constructive feedback as to provide them the same experience they would get with a real-world client project.

“What I value most about this assignment is the confidence this experience helps instill in each student. They must put themselves and their ideas OUT THERE, no matter their year in study or their skillset in progress. The client – Red Wing Heritage – is a key member of the team, providing students critical guidance and feedback on their work, something that they’ll take forward as they graduate and enter their first jobs.”

-       Nancy Rice, MCAD Faculty

WHAT’S NEXT

Ideas from the Red Wing Heritage student pitches will be assessed for future brand potential and the partnership with MCAD will continue in the Fall 2023 semester with another real-world brand challenge.  

"One of our four key values at Red Wing is "Community".  Programs like these have the benefit of providing exposure and opportunity to our business and brands to a community of next generation students while simultaneously giving us valuable insights as to how they think about our brands. It truly is a WIN-WIN partnership for the students, college and all of us at Red Wing."

– Dave Schneider, Chief Marketing Officer