Evan Ensley leans into the podium, speaking with absolute conviction and an unmistakable passion. The fire in his eyes grows bolder and brighter while speaking about the new Wilkes Marketing Club, of which he is president. There’s something refreshing about his fervor. And that is because Ensley, along with his vice-president, Joe Kubicki, and the Marketing Club’s treasurer, Justin Schoennagle, are completely reinventing the concept of a student-run club.
Schoennagle explains: “We want to go into the community, you know, beyond the campus, and help businesses market themselves.” Ensley adds, “There are plenty of small businesses just around here that can’t actually afford to market themselves, so we’re hoping to give them a chance, and then with that we’re giving members of the club hands-on work experience with the marketing aspect itself.”
It is hard to label what Ensley, Kubicki, and Schoennagle are describing. It seems to be a cross between a club, an internship program, and a start-up. What is amazing is the amount of excitement the three share about their endeavor into the grey area of bridging community service with establishing a brand. The brand, naturally, is the redefined, repurposed, and all new Wilkes Marketing Club. Ensley elaborates on the club’s success thus far: “The fact that people are recognizing our marketing club and inviting us to see their printing press or big firm in New York City, stuff like that is a huge step for a club that was founded less than a month ago.”
What he says is indeed true. Ensley makes sure to emphasize that the differences between the current and past Marketing Clubs are vast. As he describes it, the past club was “more geared toward shopaholics, and had little to do with actual marketing.” The club was eventually disintegrated due to lack of interest shown by the student body. Three years later, it has been resurrected in a totally new form and is receiving generous support and encouragement from faculty and administration alike.
What matters most to the officers is providing on the job experience in the marketing world to students who may have a difficult time finding internships in the ever-competitive field. By building name recognition in the community and expanding their online presence through the use of viral marketing and social media, the officers of the Marketing Club have developed an impressive and distinctly modern strategy to put their organization on the map. While only being up for a total of four days, the Marketing Club’s website has already received nearly 250 views. Schoennagle further adds, “In this day and age, it’s all about social media. That’s the only way to get yourself out there.”
The current project of the Marketing Club involves designing and selling tee-shirts for the much anticipated Wilkes versus Kings football match-up, also known as the Mayor’s Cup Game. “We can use designers, we can use sales-people, even if marketing has nothing to do with your major, we can find a job with the right fit for you.” Ensley says excitedly, “If you want to make a lot of money right out of college and be given the experience to do so on your own, join our club.”
While this new experiment in entrepreneurship, management, marketing, designing and branding is already under way, you can join the excitement by stopping by their weekly meetings that take place in room 126 in the UCOM on Thursdays from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. Or for more information on the club or its purpose, you can email Evan Ensley at [email protected].