Marketing Capstone Models The Apprentice Television Show With Client-Sponsored Projects

Abstract

Marketing faculty use cases, simulations, and client-sponsored projects to achieve learning objectives in the marketing capstone class. This class typically aims to integrate and apply previously learned material and to transition students into their careers. Drawing on the professional school, creative problem solving and constructivist learning literature, this article describes a unique client-sponsored project capstone patterned after the popular television show, The Apprentice. Student teams accomplish a series of four challenges and their grades partially depend on actual results or the teams’ competitive rankings as judged by clients. There are no exams, lectures, and little assigned reading in this class: Instead, students must determine what they need to learn in order to solve each challenge and the instructor serves as coach and learning facilitator. The class engages and motivates students by providing real-world problems in a short time frame, and develops their creative problem solving, presentation, time management, and team work skills. Although cases and simulations can increase creative problem-solving skills, client-sponsored projects are more easily framed in the ambiguous manner needed to stimulate creative thinking. This article describes the class in detail, outlining sample projects and discussing some of the challenges with client-sponsored projects.