What is Sparks: The UF Marketing Firm? I conducted an interview with Vice President and Co-Founder Cassandra Green.
So, what does Spark do?
Sparks: The UF Marketing Firm is the University of Florida’s first marketing firm! Sparks was founded this semester and is housed within the American Marketing Association. Here at Sparks, we consult with local businesses and help them implement marketing strategies that are catered to their business needs. This marketing plan will provide our partners with resources such as growth plans, Industry Analysis, and content to help solidify their visual and verbal identity. This is an opportunity for students at the University of Florida to gain applicable real-world experience!
How can students get involved?
Students from any major and any experience level can get involved in Sparks! To talk about involvement, let’s first get into our organization’s structure and what you will do!
We are divided into three departments: Strategy, Market Research, and Branding. The Strategy Department consists of Strategists, The Market Research Department consists of Analysts, and the Branding Department consists of Specialists. Our Strategists, Analysts, and Specialists are each assigned to an individual client to create a cross-functional team. There you will work together to help businesses overcome real-world challenges! For those looking for leadership, we also have an Executive Board consisting of our Department Managers, Marketing Directors (those running the cross-functional teams), Assistant Executive Director, and our Executive Director.
Fall applications to Sparks will open at the end of the semester! Be sure to follow @sparksgator and @Amagator on Instagram to hear more about our application cycle once it is released.
How does getting involved benefit students?
All students who get involved will complete our Sparks Development Program. This development program consists of curated LinkedIn Learning Paths, workshops led by our department managers, and a case competition involving two of our clients.
This program was created to provide a learning environment for students! This will help prepare students to be able to produce high-quality client work. On top of this, you will gain real-world experience by communicating with clients, collaborating on a cross-functional team, and dealing with challenges in the consulting landscape.
Who are you currently working with?
We have four dedicated teams of consultants focused on guiding our four local businesses! We are working with our lovely client Virginia on her endeavors with Cereal Rush and Ginny’s All American. We are also helping our local college Santa Fe with its Respiratory Therapy Program. We also are working with two clients from Keller Williams Realty! These clients are The Curling’s Group and Lisa Hoover. The students on these two client teams will go neck and neck case competition style. They will present their findings to the Marketing Department here at our school! We invite anybody to come out and see our teams present. Follow our socials for updates.
