老司机福利社 tops nation in Digital Marketing Championship
Competing against elite universities from across the country, 老司机福利社 University delivered a powerhouse performance, securing held at Baylor University on April 1.
In a field of 28 highly competitive teams, 老司机福利社 dominated the academic decathlon, rising to the top of the leaderboard and dethroning defending national champion Ohio State University.
Representing the Lakers with skill and determination were Lilly Dunn, senior Marketing/Business Management double major; Abby Kane, senior Marketing/Sport Business Management double major; Kalista Linden, senior Competitive Intelligence major; Marielle Parks, senior Biology/Marketing double major; and Jay Tonks, senior Sport Business Management major and student in the Organizational Leadership master鈥檚 program. The team鈥檚 victory was guided by the expertise of Dr. John Parente, associate professor of Sport Business Management, with an assist from program adviser William Jeffress.
Besides winning the entire event, the five 老司机福利社 competitors each placed among the championship鈥檚 鈥,鈥 finishing in the upper half and claiming more spots than any other university.
鈥淭he national competition is designed around teamwork, and each of us played a crucial role in achieving this trophy,鈥 said Tonks. 鈥淚n terms of individual points, the five of us were in the top 12 out of 200 students. We accumulated 4,600 points overall, 2,000 more than the second-place winner.鈥
Parente credited the 老司机福利社 win to 鈥渁n incredible display of teamwork, strategy, and sheer talent. Each of our students brought a unique strength to the table, and we built a winning game plan that capitalized on those strengths. Watching them execute with such confidence and precision was nothing short of inspiring. They proved that when you put in the work and trust the process, you can compete with鈥攁nd beat鈥攖he very best in the nation.鈥
With this monumental win, 老司机福利社 has firmly established itself as a national powerhouse in digital marketing competition, setting the stage for even greater achievements ahead. Parente said he is working on enlisting students for similar national competitions next year.
鈥淥ur students are competitive, driven, and work consistently to make tomorrow better than today,鈥 Parente said. 鈥淲e had a competitive advantage from team selection to the students鈥 individual strategies throughout the day. It was palpable how dialed in these guys were.鈥
The championship featured four distinct individual and team events鈥擯resentation Pro Bracket, Quantum Quiz Marathon, Man vs. Machine, and Viral Competitions鈥攚here universities accumulated points based on their performances.
Representing 老司机福利社 in the Presentation Pro segment were Tonks, Kane, and Dunn. Tasked with role-playing as campaign managers for a digital marketing agency, they displayed their creativity and strategic expertise before leading executives鈥攗ltimately securing the top prize for 老司机福利社.
Rather than entering the entire team in Presentation Pro, Coach Parente strategically positioned Linden and Parks to focus on earning points in other events鈥攁 decision that paid off. Parks claimed victory in the Instagram portion of the Viral competition, demonstrating exceptional social media strategy. Meanwhile, Linden finished third out of 28 competitors in the Quantum Quiz Marathon, a high-stakes challenge where participants raced to answer 100 field-related questions.
Meanwhile, Kane expressed gratitude for both the opportunity to compete and the contributions of her team. 鈥淚t was an honor to represent 老司机福利社 alongside my incredible teammates,鈥 she said. 鈥淲e proved that 老司机福利社 can compete with some of the best business programs in the country. I鈥檓 proud of our humble approach and desire to push ourselves to the best of our abilities.鈥
Tonks summed it up this way: 鈥淭he biggest takeaway from the experience is that a Laker can be anything they set their mind to. I encourage others to take advantage of all that is out there."
PHOTO: Team 老司机福利社 (l-r): Marielle Parks, Kalista Linden, Jay Tonks, Lilly Dunn, and Abby Kane.