Amanda Diamond, Carly O'Meara and Beckie Warren, left to right, traveled across the South to promote recycling as part of social media campaign they created for Honda's new CR-Z sport hybrid coupe.
A team featuring Freeman students Amanda Diamond (BSM ’11), Carly O’Meara (BSM ’11) and Beckie Warren (BSM ’11) was recently one of 10 finalists in the Honda CR-Z Media Challenge, a national marketing competition that asked students to devise social media campaigns to generate a buzz for the sporty new hybrid car. As one of the 10 teams in the finals, the students received a CR-Z to use for six weeks, a $150 gift card to help with implementation expenses, and a Flip Video camcorder to document their work.
For the campaign, Diamond, O’Meara and Warren logged hundreds of miles traveling to locations across the South in their CR-Z to host recycling drives that doubled as promotional events for the environmentally friendly car. The trio visited LSU, Auburn, University of Memphis and the Green Light District of New Orleans, a stretch of Magazine Street featuring eco-friendly stores. Along the way, the students used cash generated from the recycled goods to pay for their gas.
“Our motto was, ‘We’re riding on recycling,’” says O’Meara. “When people came to give us their plastic bottles and aluminum cans, we were able to show them the Honda CR-Z as well.”
The campaign—which they dubbed “Honda CR-Z Road Trip 2010”—wrapped up in November with a “Recycling Block Party” in Pocket Park on the Tulane campus that featured music, refreshments and displays from local green businesses.
While the students didn’t win the competition, O’Meara says the opportunity to demonstrate their marketing skills and social media savvy for potential employers was prize enough.
“Who’d think we’d have the chance to do our own marketing campaign for one of the world’s biggest car companies?” O’Meara says. “This was just a great opportunity.”
