A Miami University business fraternity and one campus radio station have recently established a unique symbiotic relationship, and members are using this partnership as a springboard for other pairings cross campus.
Pi Sigma Epsilon (PSE), one of Miami's co-ed business fraternities specializing in primary and secondary market research and
sales, recently concluded an initial partnership with WMSR, which is currently seeking greater exposure on Miami's campus.
At the beginning of the semester, WMSR's Brendin King contacted PSE with a proposal offering the organization a market research project that would focus on how to attract a greater listening audience for the station.
Having conducted partnerships with other student organizations, such as intramural sports, the business fraternity accepted the task. PSE saw the project as a way to help another organization and a convenient opportunity for new fall 2006 members to have hands-on practice in the business and marketing world.
"We were looking at (PSE) as a model as to the direction that WMSR wanted to go," King said, explaining the reason behind asking PSE for help.
Dan Adorno, PSE's vice president of recruitment led the new member class involved with WMSR project in different phases.
Five groups each conducted two in-depth interviews, passed out 100 surveys asking students on campus what they knew about WMSR and sought feedback about what programs and music students on the Miami campus liked to hear.
Upon completion of this research stage, the groups analyzed their results and presented them to WMSR. The overall consensus was that WMSR was not getting listeners simply because very few students had heard of the station.
Although WMSR is not a new station, King explained that the organization had not done enough advertising in the past to make Miami students aware of its presence.
One group reported that of 100 students, only three said that they were familiar with WMSR. Another group reported that out of 100, 40 students knew of the station.
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King knew that changes had to be made so that a Miami audience could enjoy the entertainment the station had to offer, however; he was waiting on suggestion from PSE on how the organization could go about making those changes.
Upon learning of these statistics, King was anxious to implement the organization's suggestions.
"We are going to try to be more of a presence on campus," King said. "We want to branch out to students and get ideas for new shows."
Such suggestions included putting up table tents and bed sheet sign advertisements around campus and making Facebook groups.
WMSR also plans to give away free promotional items, sponsor upcoming events and implement updated programming, like adding live feeds from uptown concerts and possibly a top 40 countdown. The radio station plans on putting PSE's suggestions into effect during the week of final exams.
Adorno and King both spoke highly of working with other organizations.
"Not only was this project a good starting point for our new members, but it also helped us get our name out there to let other organizations know we are here to help their businesses," Adorno said.
While WMSR members say it is benefiting from PSE's researched suggestions, PSE will also benefit, as the radio station now offers PSE free advertisement on their sound waves. In fact, WMSR found the project with PSE to be so helpful that they plan to offer free advertisement to many other student organizations in the future.
"If we get involved in a student organization and they in turn get involved with us, it gives their members incentive to listen to WMSR," King said.
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