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There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
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Atlanta | Posted: October 28, 2005
Four undergraduate students at the College of Management are getting their literal 15 minutes of fame this fall on MTV's mtvU network, which is broadcast on college campuses nationwide.
These marketing students - seniors Christin Hubbard and Matt Swanburg, junior Jason Nelson, and sophomore Vicki Rokhlin - are appearing on three segments of the five-minute program "Quad Squads," competing against four peers from the University of Georgia.
During the first segment, which debuted October 10, they learned their challenge: To see which team can devise the best marketing plan aimed at college students for Amp'd Mobile, a new phone company whose service allows customers to access broadband, play mp3s, and watch cable programs on their cellphones.
On the second segment, which began airing October 31, "Quad Squads" shows the progress the two teams have made. Pitted against each other because of their schools' longstanding athletic rivalry, the teams are competing for a $1,000 scholarship for each member, a trip to mtvU's Spring Break, and a year of free service from Amp'd. The winner will be decided during the filming of the third segment Nov. 13 when the teams make their presentations to Amp'd executives, who will consider using the winning concept in their product launch.
Though each segment is only five minutes long, mtvU has spent numerous hours filming the Tech team, recording group meetings, conducting interviews, and following each student around campus. The team's members, who were recruited by Tech marketing faculty after mtvU contacted the school, have spent many more hours off-camera formulating their strategy, a six-week process with a $2,500 budget.
"It's taken a huge chunk of time," says Rokhlin, who figures it will all be worth it if they win. She recognizes that it will make terrific resume material regardless. "This is going to look incredible."
The experience has been a "reality" check for most team members. "It's not really reality TV if you have to do everything three or four times," Nelson notes.
Broadcast on campus only in dormitories, the Student Center and Recreation Center, mtvU's "Quad Squads" can also be viewed on mtvU's Website http://www.mtvu.com/uber/index.jhtml?name=live.
Writer: Brad Dixon, College of Management
