Mobile Business Retailing: Driving Experiential Learning on Campus

Abstract

Engaging students in the classroom is a struggle all faculty face especially in the age of modern technology. This article proposes a novel approach to engage and motivate students through the mobile business “on wheels” marketing concept. The growth in mobile business retailing (e.g., food trucks, mobile dog groomers, etc.) is an appealing concept for today’s entrepreneurial-minded students. This concept provides students with an opportunity to combine their creativity with their understanding of the seminal marketing concepts of a principles of marketing course. The project involves two marketing challenges: the promotion of a mobile business retailing event on campus and the development of a marketing plan for a unique mobile business retailing idea developed by the students. The project provides a variety of hands-on, engaging pedagogies to guide the students from concept creation based on primary research through campaign proposals integrating digital media examples. Resources in project design, implementation, evaluation, and critical analysis of this comprehensive marketing project are outlined in this article. Recommendations for future research and implementation are also provided.