By ELLIOT HARRIS

Staff Writer

The YMCA of Shreveport-Bossier City has teamed up with the Marketing 420 class, taught by Dr. Douglas Amyx, an assistant professor of marketing, to create a series of advertisements that will be used to promote its organization.

Amyx said the class project is a good learning experience for the students.

"Our mission is to work with the community, and we are involved with an important organization with the YMCA," Amyx said.

"It's a win-win situation because students get exposed to working on projects, working with a company and getting feedback from the company. They are learning more from this type of hands-on experience."

Students in Amyx's class were divided into groups of five to complete three projects.

The students' first project was to create a central concept or major selling idea on which the entire YMCA campaign would be based.

They were to create a magazine print ad that would effectively communicate the major selling idea to the target market and one that would reflect the needs and lifestyles, attitudes and behaviors of that market.

Using the central concept developed from project one, the groups' second project was to develop an informative print ad that could be utilized as a document for inclusion in a direct-mail campaign.

Each team was assigned one of the four different YMCA facilities in the Shreveport-Bossier area.

For project three, which is not yet complete, students will use their concepts from the first two projects and incorporate it into an emotionally stirring print billboard ad.

Jessica Thomas, a junior marketing major, said the project is going well.

"I'm excited about the experience we are getting. This is something that can be put on my resume. They aren't giving any input; we're doing it all on our own."

Thomas said she thinks all the groups' ideas could be selected.

"Every group has different ideas that come out in different ways.

"Other groups may do well on one ad, and we might do well on the next."

Among the various teams, the best or favorite major selling idea will be identified by the YMCA executive director and his committee. Each team will also have time to answer questions from the panel.

The panel includes Bob Griffin, KSLA newscaster; Mike Woods, a member of the LA Board of Regents; Joe Psalmonds, president of JPJ Investments and a Tech alumnus, and Gary Lash, executive director of the YMCA.

Lash, who has seen the first two projects of the class, said the work the students have done is "pretty incredible."

"It's really helped us both out," Lash said. "They are not working with an imaginary company, and some of the students have even taken pictures of both of our branches. I've been trying to make connections with Tech, and Psalmonds and Dr. Reagan [dean of the College of Applied and Natural Sciences] helped put it all together for us."

Amyx said the class has already received publicity for its work and will be featured in the June issue of the Louisiana Tech Magazine.

The winning team of the ad project will be announced by the YMCA panel at 2 p.m. Saturday in Bogard Hall, Room 218 after each team gives a five-minute presentation explaining how its ad was developed and answers questions.