Ideas with Impact
UNB Faculty of Management

There is nothing routine about learning in the Social Media Marketing Course offered at UNB’s Faculty of Management. This year, students enrolled in the course undertook a remarkable endeavor, applying their newfound strategies to orchestrate social media marketing campaigns in collaboration with local organizations.

One project was so fun, “it never felt like schoolwork,” said BBA student Cassidy Curtis. She and two other students, Vanessa Rasmussen and Charles Kuti, collaborated with the Victoria County SPCA Animal Shelter to create awareness and help find homes for some of their feline inhabitants. Their project quickly engaged the community, including students at the local elementary school.

They collaborated with Donald Fraser Memorial School to have the kids draw pictures of the cats at the shelter, shared them on social media, and the public voted on their favourites.

Kuti said, “…we learned what kinds of posts did and didn't generate engagement and we were able to experiment with a lot of fun post ideas.” His favourite part of the project was the adoption ad contest with the school children. “ It was really amazing to see how involved the community was with our campaign.”

Under the guidance of the instructor Dr. Hsin-Chen Lin, students tracked the campaign’s analytics and experimented with several strategies. From leveraging themed holidays to crafting engaging videos showcasing the shelter's residents, each tactic was a testament to their creativity and ingenuity.

For Rasmussen, the project highlighted the profound impact of evoking emotions through content, an insight that resonated deeply and underscored the power of storytelling in fostering genuine connections.

For Curtis, the experiential approach to learning was an eye-opener. “Anyone can sit down and memorize lecture notes for a test, but being able to apply the in-class information to a real-life project was transformative for my education. Building a social media campaign from the ground up with a great pair of like-minded individuals gave me the opportunity to see the proof of what’s being taught during class.”

The best part of the campaign was creating posts to celebrate adoptions. Four cats have found permanent homes thanks to this team’s efforts.

Photo: UNB BBA students Vanessa Rasmussen, Charles Kenneth Kuti and Cassidy Anita Marie Curtis collaborated with The Victoria County SPAC (Animal Shelter) to plan and execute a four week social media marketing campaign in their Social Media Marketing Course.

View the students’ posts on the Victoria Country SPAC’s Facebook page #campaign4346.

Learn more about UNB’s Faculty of Management.

Media contact: Liz Lemon-Mitchell