NOTE: This is the latest in a series of question-and-answer stories featuring faculty members who are integrating the 2022 Canada Games into the courses they teach at Brock University or the research they’re leading. For more information on Brock’s academic activities around the Games, visit brocku.ca/canada-games

Brock University Professor of Marketing Kai-Yu Wang has been actively integrating experiential education into all the undergraduate and graduate level courses he teaches in the Goodman School of Business. His students have completed service-learning projects with more than 80 local organizations.

Wang sees the 2022 Canada Games as a great opportunity for his students to apply their digital marketing knowledge and skills learned in the classroom to the real digital business world. Because of this, Wang is integrating the Canada Games into his Internet and Social Media Marketing course.

What is your Canada Games-related course title, code and description?

MKTG 4P93 — Internet and Social Media Marketing. 

The fourth-year marketing course focuses on the theoretical understanding of the dynamism in the internet marketplace. This includes practical knowledge needed to perform vital digital marketing functions such as an online presence, utilization of internet and social media.

Describe how you’ve integrated Canada Games-related material into your course?

One of the most important components of this course is that it is run as a partnership program with local businesses. This course prepares students with sufficient knowledge and skills in digital marketing in order to develop and implement search engine marketing (SEM) and social media marketing (SMM) campaigns. Each student team will be paired with a local business. After a 10-week planning process, student teams will run Google Ads and social media campaigns for two weeks. This course will make the most of the opportunity to promote the Canada Games and at the same time local businesses and organizations in the Niagara region. It will not only provide students hands-on experience, but also offer practical implications to local businesses in promoting and digitalizing their businesses during the upcoming Canada Summer Games. The timing of offering MKTG 4P93 during Winter 2021 is optimal.

Why do you think the Canada Games present such a good opportunity for students at Brock?

Hosting the Canada Games in the Niagara region offers a great opportunity for Brock students from different disciplines to get involved, learn and experience. For example, business students can learn or get involved in event marketing, marketing communications, marketing research, fan engagement, staff/volunteer recruitment and planning, event hosting logistics and game scheduling, information system management and financial budgeting.

Do you have any suggestions for ways your colleagues can use the Games as a way to enhance teaching and learning opportunities in their courses?

My colleagues will certainly want to integrate the themes of the Games into their course teaching around subjects relevant to their expertise. Options include interdisciplinary planning and hosting events, involvement in the various sports and games, and interaction with individual athletes and coaches from across Canada, as well as the local community. There are plenty of opportunities for unique learning that I am sure my colleagues will be eager to explore with their students.

Once the Games are finished, how do you plan to continue using this new idea in your course?

After the Games, I plan to continue using this idea to help promote local businesses and organizations for different events. This will create a positive impact for the short and long term.   

Many organizations have been affected by COVID-19. This partnership program will allow students to work with local businesses and help them to cope with COVID-19 challenges by increasing awareness, website visits and purchases with the experiential learning project this Fall Term. Although, the course and the team-client meetings are all running virtually, student teams are still able to develop and run campaigns for their partners successfully.

For more information about MKTG 4P93 — Internet and Social Media Marketing, email Wang at kaiyu.wang@brocku.ca