ASU NAMA student chapter travels to Dallas after win in Anaheim

April 06, 2007

MESA, Ariz. — Six Arizona State University students in the Morrison School of Management and Agribusiness will be heading to Dallas to compete in the National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) Student Marketing Competition at the “Live Large, Think Big!” 2007 Agri-Marketing Conference April 11. Before making it this far, the team won four awards at the Western Collegiate Food Marketing competition in Anaheim, Calif., in March.<separator></separator>While in Anaheim, the Morrison School undergraduate and graduate students, who are members of the ASU Student Chapter of NAMA and whose team name is the Sonoran Agri-Marketing Group, took:<separator></separator><ul><li>1st Place Best Product or Product Most Likely to Succeed </li><li>2nd Place Best PowerPoint Presentation</li><li>Top Five Western Collegiate Food Marketing Competition</li><li>Top Five Most Innovative Marketing Idea </li></ul> Sonoran Agri-Marketing Group team members are Jeffrey DeKruif of Gilbert, AZ, Kamryn Dorman of Laveen, AZ, Claudia Dumitrescu of Ploiesti, Romania, Shanna Luster of Phoenix, AZ, Francesca Muscarello of Mesa, AZ, Grant Smith of Chino Valley, AZ, and Matthew Stevens of Crystal, NM.<separator></separator>At the Dallas conference, they will again present their marketing plan developed to promote the sale of Sonoran durum wheat in Greece for use in making premium pasta products.<separator></separator>Under a USDA research grant, the team traveled to Greece last fall to study the Greek food-marketing channel, the Greek pasta industry, Greek consumers, and the feasibility of marketing a high quality pasta made from Sonoran durum wheat. Sonoran durum wheat is coveted for its use in premium pasta products and is only grown in the Southwestern United States, primarily in Arizona and California.<separator></separator>Through the students’ research, they concluded that the Greek pasta market has tremendous potential for Sonoran durum wheat because Greece is an opinion leader of the entire Balkan region. The team concluded that if a market for Sonoran durum wheat can be established in Greece, then this could eventually open up markets in other Balkan countries, where there is a consumer base of more than 100 million people. <separator></separator>The team will face off against 35 other collegiate marketing teams representing universities throughout the United States and Canada. In addition, agribusiness marketing professionals will be observing the student presentations to scout new talent for their companies.<separator></separator>“Being part of the NAMA Marketing Team provides students a unique opportunity to work on a real world marketing plan and also provides students with important and meaningful networking opportunities,” said Paul Patterson, dean of the Morrison School of Management and Agribusiness. “Alumni that have participated on the team in past years often tell us how much this activity has helped their current careers.”