SFA students to compete in American Marketing Association Collegiate Case Competition this fall

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Members of Stephen F. Austin State University's American Marketing Association chapter will sharpen their skills during the AMA Collegiate Case Competition this fall.

The yearlong competition brings together top marketing students from around the world to work on a marketing challenge submitted by a sponsoring organization, according to ama.org.

The competition's purpose is to "provide AMA undergraduate members the opportunity to collaborate on a problem that typifies a real, working marketing situation" and "to provide the Case Competition sponsor direct contact with the very best marketing students with possible real-world solutions to its marketing problem," according to the website. This year's competitors will develop a comprehensive marketing campaign for eBay, an online auction and shopping website.

Corey Johnson, an SFA senior marketing major from Dallas and executive vice president of the university's AMA chapter, has been leading the project. Once the fall semester begins, Johnson said the SFA team would begin working more in-depth and start creating an advertising and social media campaign for eBay.

"I truly feel honored every time I get to compete with our team and represent SFA," Johnson said. "I have started conducting preliminary research for the Case Competition, which includes researching eBay and its competitors and creating strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats analyses for each entity."

Dr. Marlene Kahla, SFA professor of management, marketing and international business and AMA co-adviser, stated the university's chapter is again poised to compete after a several year hiatus. The group placed in the top three from 2002-06 during the international competition.

"I wanted to enter this competition because I saw an opportunity for SFA to reclaim the crown as the best marketers in the nation," Johnson said. "Our professors work extremely hard to teach us to be successful marketers, so I feel we owe it to them and the university to compete and give it our best."