The Grad Voice

In the fall semester of 2008, Park Bench Marketing Group, comprised of undergraduate and graduate students at Baruch College, was established to facilitate students' ability to gain real-world experience in the areas of marketing, viral marketing, advertising, corporate branding and public relations. The group is a fully integrated and multidisciplinary marketing organization that is currently working on projects for Executives on Campus, Timex Corporation, the Mayor's Office of the City of New York and Kognito At Risk.

Park Bench Marketing Group is housed in Baruch's Marketing Resource Lab, which is a faculty-directed, student-run resource center that supports student learning in the areas of advertising, direct marketing and marketing research. The lab is run by marketing professor Dr. David Luna, who serves as director, as well as two graduate students who serve as lab managers.

The group's first account was the Baruch College Executives on Campus program, which builds meaningful academic and professional relationships among students, faculty, and leaders in the business, nonprofit, and public sectors.

Another account involves the imminent launch of a new watch, the Helix brand, which is manufactured by Callanen International, a subsidiary of Timex Corporation. A subcommittee of Park Bench (a five-person marketing and brand management team led by two graduate students serving as marketing managers and Professor Michael Lissauer serving as director) has created an extensive marketing plan and begun to promote the products through viral marketing techniques.

Michael Lissauer is a former executive vice president of marketing and business strategy for Business Wire. Lissauer, who played an instrumental role in the company's acquisition by Berkshire Hathaway, retired from Business Wire in December 2007. Lissauer works closely with Dr. Kapil Bawa, Professor and Chair of Marketing at Baruch, and Dr. David Luna.

According to Lissauer, the rationale behind the establishment of Park Bench Marketing Group at Baruch College, is that "undergraduate students, better than volunteer executives, can best increase awareness and name recognition for the Executives on Campus program and the Marketing Resource Lab while increasing student, faculty and corporate, non-profit and public sector participation." He believes that it is not a stretch to envision his students bringing the same high level of motivation and creativity to the private sector.

The name "Park Bench Marketing Group" commemorates the fact that Bernard Baruch, our university's namesake, did his best thinking in Washington D.C's Lafayette Park and in New York City's Central Park. It was not uncommon to see him sitting on a park bench discussing economic and governmental affairs with others. The park bench became his trademark and it was said that his office was a park bench near the White House. In 1960, a commemorative park bench, located across from the White House in Lafayette Park, was dedicated to him.

In the future, the group will consider doing projects for students who have successfully launched business enterprises as a result of their participation in the Baruch Entrepreneurial Network (BEN).

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