By Jean Ciancio

Career and technical educators often attend professional development events looking for new ideas to take back to their classrooms. A sports marketing instructor from Great Oaks Institute of Technology and Career Development found just such an idea and used it to create an exciting and fun learning experience for his students.

Donald Trump may be best known for uttering that phrase when he selects his apprentice on the popular television show, but at least one career and technical educator has adopted it as well.

Mark Steedly teaches sports marketing at Winton Woods High School in Ohio as part of a satellite program of the Great Oaks Institute of Technology and Career Development, and last year he used “The Apprentice” as part of his teaching, making it a theme that continued through the school year.

Steedly originally got the idea from the workshops for marketing educators that he attended in Philadelphia during the summer. There he saw presentations by several marketing teachers from across the nation who were using the program in their teaching. Steedly wanted to use their ideas, but he also wanted to incorporate other elements that reflected the High Schools That Work goal, which is the primary goal of Winton Woods. That goal is “to increase academic rigor and relevance to the curriculum.”

To meet that goal, Steedly put together his own Sports Marketing Apprentice program that includes “higher expectations and collaboration with industry to bring real-life sports marketing to Winton Woods.”

The Tasks

In the first season of the television show, the first project assigned the contestants was a lemonade stand, so that was the first project for Steedly’s students. He even divided the teams into boys versus girls, mirroring the men versus women competition in the television version. And, as in the television version, the girls won the task, which took place at a school football game. The boys were done in by the same sort of mistake seen on “The Apprentice.” They scrapped the idea of selling lemonade and instead sold soup. While not a bad idea for a chilly evening, they ran out of their product by the first quarter.

Lessons were learned, and the students were able to donate the proceeds they earned—with $100 going to the Make-A-Wish Foundation and $130 to the Winton Woods Music Booster Club.

As a result of losing, three boys in the class of 25 were eliminated.

Steedly really didn’t want to say those even more famous words, “You’re fired!”

“I knew I would have a hard time doing that,” he explains. “I wouldn’t want to make them feel bad.”

So instead he started by telling the winning group, “You’re hired!”

His students, however, had other ideas. If they were going to do this, they were going to do it authentically. They insisted that, when they lost, Steedly tell them, “You’re fired!”

For their second task, the students worked with the Warren County Convention and Visitors Bureau on submitting a bid for an AAU Super Regional Basketball Tournament. Donald Trump involves company executives or community leaders in the judging, and so did Steedly. Warren County Convention and Visitors Bureau Sports Marketing Director Mark Hecquet introduced the task, which involved a presentation about hotel accommodations, special activities, location, quality and proximity of facilities, and community support. Five teams, each composed of three students, made PowerPoint presentations to Hecquet. In business and marketing, presentation skills are important, so that was the emphasis for this task. Three teams advanced to the next round, and 12 more students were eliminated.

Jay Blumberg, the owner of a marketing company called the Deciding Factor, introduced the third task. Students were to select a sports or athletic endorser for a bundle of Procter & Gamble products called Health Expressions. According to Steedly, Blumberg requested a solid rationale behind the selection. Apparently, the winning team made a very solid case for Mary Lou Retton, and Blumberg presented their choice for an endorser to the company. Of the five groups of two students, three advanced to the next round.

A three-person panel judged the fourth task, which was to develop a marketing strategy, concession pricing, ticket pricing, and a name and logo for a fictitious minor league baseball team. Cincinnati Reds Promotions Manager Lori Watt, Cincinnati Reds Information Systems Manager Brian Keys, and Dayton Dragons Director of Media Relations Mike Vander Wood heard the teams’ presentations and advanced four of the teams to the fifth and final round.

The Final Challenge

Viewers of the television show will know that in the final round, former contestants return to work as teammates for the remaining competitors, since the task requires more than one person to complete it successfully. So each of the five students who advanced from the fourth task were able to pick one student to help with the final task.

Steedly notes that the hardest part of the project for him was keeping the students who had been eliminated interested in doing the project. He had to make sure that they understood that they were still required to prepare the PowerPoint presentations of their strategies and proposals. They might not have been in the competition for the apprentice any longer, but those presentations were still going to be part of their grades in the class.

The students met several times with Dave Buesking, the public works director for the City of Forest Park, to research the project, which would involve a task that benefited the community. The winning student would help with a proposal to be presented to the Chamber of Commerce for replacing a community swimming pool with a basketball facility. The city administrators on the panel of judges included Buesking as well as Human Resources Director Tye Smith, Community Relations Director Chris Anderson and Economic Director Paul Brehm.

The Winner

Kelly Campbell, who was assisted on the final task by Ryan McMullen, won and was “hired” as the 2004-05 Sports Marketing Apprentice. She received two tickets to the prom, and A Bee Limousine donated a limo ride to the prom as well.

When the final presentations were made, Superintendent of Winton Woods School District Camille Nasbe, Councilman Barry Owens and several parents were in attendance. Dr. Robin White, president and CEO of Great Oaks Institute of Technology and Career Development, also attended.

White praises the efforts of Steedly and his students, saying, “This was a very creative and exciting way for students to learn. They experienced a variety of activities and were truly engaged in each challenge.”

She also notes that the students “got to work with top-notch professionals,” Of those professionals, she says, “We cannot thank them enough for their involvement.”

White adds that she applauds Steedly’s efforts “to make sure that learning is not only meaningful, but fun as well.”

Steedly adds to the fun and the real-world learning in other ways, such as inviting guest speakers to his sports marketing class. Among these have been John Meeker and Melvin Levett. Meeker, a business management student at the University of Cincinnati, also played sports as a walk-on for four years at the university. In addition to playing for the University of Cincinnati from 1996-99, Melvin “The Helicopter” Levett has played with the Los Angeles Lakers and the Cincinnati Stuff.

White says that she believes the lessons Steedly’s students learned through the Sports Marketing Apprentice program “have been internalized and will never be forgotten.”

So while the program provides excitement and fun and for the students, it is also a great learning opportunity. The students gain confidence, learn how to work together as a team, hone their communication skills, and gain knowledge about sales and marketing-all of which will surely ensure that one day they again will hear those famous words: “You’re hired.” 

Jean Ciancio is the public relations coordinator at the Great Oaks Institute of Technology and Career Development in Ohio. She can be reached at ciancioj@greatoaks.com.