Robins AMA Chapter creates winning marketing strategy for new social media platform

The University of Richmond collegiate chapter of the American Marketing Association (AMA) spent the fall of 2017 creating a marketing strategy for a new social media platform, Hintd.

“It seemed like a great opportunity, and we have a lot of people that are interested in fashion and digital marketing,” said Brandon West, ’19, chapter president. “I thought it would be a good opportunity for our members.”

As described by its creator, Lucy Danziger, former editor-in-chief of SELF magazine, Hintd is an app where users can create a wish list of products and share them with their friends and family.

“Hintd is all about getting the life you want. By making lists and adding your "hints," or wish list items, you can choose whether you buy them for yourself or send the list to friends and family for gift ideas,” Danziger said.  

West reached out to Danziger after she requested marketing strategies from AMA collegiate chapters all over the country.

“We were launching the app in the fall and the schools are an amazing resource for creating marketing programs and activations to help us grow the user base,” Danziger said. “Brandon hosted me at the AMA meeting and I ended up meeting more young marketing minded people there than any other school.” 

West and other students in the group decided to start an internal competition for who could come up with the best marketing strategy for Danziger.

“She wanted a strategy to outline the approach for how to get the most downloads,” West said. “We came up with strategic ideas that had long term implications.”

The group was competing against dozens of schools across the country, including Ivy League institutions, for the Hintd bid. And their strategy paid off.

“When she came to campus, she was so incredibly impressed, and it was beyond what she expected,” West said. “She gave us the prize money because we did so well, and she said that our presentations were the best ones out of all of the schools with which she had worked.”

“I was impressed that the follow-through was so professional,” Danziger said of their presentations. “Richmond students work together to make it happen and help one another execute on good ideas. That's the basic difference between success and failure.”

Danziger was so impressed that she hired one of the winning team members Meredith Gallo, ‘20, as campus ambassador for Hintd.

Gallo says she would not have gotten this opportunity without the support of the AMA board.

“Our chapter encourages one another and strives for success,” Gallo said. “AMA's collaboration with Hintd has been one of my favorite things I have been able to be a part of on Richmond's campus.”

West said the opportunity to have real world marketing experience while on campus gives students a leg up in the job hunt process, and after graduation. 

“It means a lot to have this opportunity to bring in a project like this, especially for freshmen and sophomores,” West said. “To be able to give them something tangible to put on their resume, saying you created a winning marketing plan for a start-up is pretty incredible.”