Students hit the street to assist The Big Issue vendors
MAKING IT BIG: Marketing students take to the streets to help a street vendor sell copies of The Big Issue magazine
Thursday, 16 October 2014
First-year Marketing students put their classroom skills to test to make a difference in the lives of The Big Issue street vendors.
Students used word of mouth, flyers and social media to advertise the magazine and hit the city streets to sell the magazine alongside vendors.
A group of students were assigned to one vendor and they then had to use all their marketing savvy to boost sales.
The project is a collaboration between the Marketing Department, the Language Unit in the Faculty of Business and the Service Learning Unit.
The Big Issue is a non-profit organisation that assists unemployed adults to earn a living through a developmental employment programme.
The project’s brief was to integrate community engagement into the language curriculum.
Yesterday students showcased their work and reflected on their experiences.
In the feedback session, students said they learnt a lot more from the project than in the classroom as they were challenged to use skills some did not even think they had such as dealing with nasty rejection from motorists as they were selling the magazine.
The vendors were also given gifts and certificates during the round-up session.
Written by Kwanele Butana
Email: butanak@cput.ac.za
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