Students in advanced branding class gain valuable experience

Real-world experience is a keystone of the curriculum at Columbus College of Art & Design, and a recent class project had students dive into branding with a top construction company.

More than 50 Advertising & Graphic Design students worked on a branding project with the construction company Corna Kokosing as part of CCAD’s Fall 2016 Advanced Branding class.

“We looked at refreshing Corna Kokosing’s sales materials and opportunities throughout their sales processes to differentiate them from competitors,” said Associate Professor Matthew Mohr, who taught the class along with CCAD Adjunct Instructor Jeff Dickson, partner at Alloy Research & Brand Strategy.

The semester-long class included experiential research around Corna Kokosing’s buildings and featured a trip to several Corna Kokosing clients including the Columbus Museum of Art, The Greater Columbus Convention Center’s new renovation and expansion project, and The Childhood League Center, an early intervention education center for children with special needs.

“We also did a Charrette with the C-suite and sales team at Corna Kokosing,” Mohr said. “We had them play a version of Apples to Apples and The Dating Game to better understand their values and the functional needs of their sales processes.”

The process was a hit with Corna Kokosing management.

“At the Charrette, our company leaders absolutely loved the activities used to draw out insights,” said Julie Fountain, Associate Brand Manager with Corna Kokosing. “In fact we used some of the same activities the following week at one of our internal meetings. As the manager of this project on the Corna Kokosing side, I was delighted with the feedback I received from my superiors.”

The experience proved valuable for students in the class.

“I learned how to work with a brand and how to come up with new concepts for a company,” said Ann Marie Dailey (Advertising & Graphic Design, 2017).

That’s not uncommon at CCAD.

“These types of projects have significant benefits for our students,” said Tom Gattis, Dean of the School of Design Arts, which includes CCAD’s Advertising & Graphic Design program. “They get an opportunity to practice theory in real-world settings through projects that solve current business problems. At the same time, they are learning how to be good collaborators and developing critical leadership skills.”