Students exhibit marketing projects at Crystal Compass Books

    PRESQUE ISLE – Marketing students in Northern Maine Community College’s business administration program completed a creative thinking project last semester designed to stretch the limits of their imagination. The results of this effort are currently on display at Crystal Compass Books on Main Street in Presque Isle.     “Business requires employees to not only use problem analysis, problem solving, and critical thinking skills, but creative thinking skills are a must in establishing a creative advantage,” said Pam Crawford, instructor of the marketing class.
    Students brought used books to class, which were “destroyed” and then recreated by altering the pages. The end result was a new book, log or journal of 50 creative marketing designs.
    “I really wanted to promote thinking outside of the box, giving the students the chance to hone creative skills that help develop non-linear thinking,” said Crawford. “I hoped to spark creativity by adding a sense of fun, whimsy and playfulness to the study of marketing.”
    To do so, she had students working throughout the semester on a project that “involved the same thought process as a marketer goes through in trying to make a product successful and appealing,” according to Brent Willette, a business administration student from Chapman who took part in the marketing class.
    Crawford had her students reuse easily obtained materials to alter a page, while considering how such work could be applied to marketing projects of various kinds. The students designed work that could be transferred to other marketing venues, such as posters, brochures, and Web sites.
    “I created pages in my own individual style and can apply this to any job I may hold in the future,” said student Kristina Kenneson of Presque Isle, who is completing degrees in both accounting information systems and business administration.
    This was also an opportunity for students to see multiple applications of the same task, using the same materials, for widely varied outcomes, according to Crawford.
    “For example, one of the in-class tasks was to use a 3-by-5 card creatively on a page. This resulted in pockets, tabs, flaps, envelopes, window frames, small booklets, origami shapes and more,” she said.
    “This project made me think critically, creatively, and fast, especially when we had just 5 minutes in class to do a page,” said Misty McMinn, an accounting information systems major from Mapleton.
    Students had to be creative not only with their designs, but with resources, as well.
    “In the real world, you don’t always have the resources available to be able to advertise effectively, so this taught me how to be creative with materials and time,” said business administration student Paige Corbin of Caribou.
    Eleven books created by NMCC students will be on display at Crystal Compass books through Feb. 15. The public is invited to drop by to examine these works from 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday.