College minds can change as quickly as Wisconsin weather. That’s why, before revamping its student marketing materials, WAA decided to consult some experts — the students themselves.

Partnering with the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, WAA staff met with students from two classes in fall 2005 and spring 2006.

The students first looked at strategies of communication campaigns, and the second focused on developing creative messages for the media. Both student teams then presented their findings and projects to the WAA staff.

The result was “win-win for everyone involved,” says Dietram Scheufele MA’97, PhD’99, a professor of life sciences communication who taught the first course. Students developed “skills that they will need throughout their lives: how to interact with others in business settings, how to work under pressure, and how to negotiate competing interests among colleagues and clients.

“For WAA or any other service-learning partner, this is an opportunity to work with some of the best students in Wisconsin and in the nation,” he continues. “This is the Wisconsin idea applied to teaching.”

Journalism student Nate Koch ’06 also found value in the “real-world experience” of designing an advertising campaign to meet client needs. “Since we were working with a real client — WAA — who expected real results from us, we had expectations beyond just getting an ‘A’ in class,” says Nate, who’s hoping to leverage this project in his portfolio to find a job with an advertising or design agency.

A mosaic of ideas from several student teams, the final product will be used in various print and online formats. Nate believes the new campaign, “That's a WAA Hookup,” will provide the edgy feel WAA was looking for to elicit a strong response from students and ultimately, to increase their awareness of the alumni association.

Check out the Student Hookup campaign at uwalumni.com/students.