UT Dallas Student First To Receive New Marketing Award

UT Dallas student Joshua Joseph paired baby raising and fundraising in a campaign that increased awareness of the March of Dimes on campus. His work earned him a Collegiate Marketer of the Year Award.

The title, the first ever bestowed by the Dallas-Fort Worth chapter of the American Marketing Association, came as part of the first ceremony the chapter has held in more than a decade to honor local excellence in marketing.

Awarded the title and a trophy for marketing leadership and ability both in and outside the classroom, Joseph “exhibited his true passion for marketing,” said Ashley Claborn, chapter executive vice president for special events. “The DFW AMA chapter believes he will continue to make an impact in the marketing industry.”

The work that grabbed judges’ attention was Joseph’s implementation of a Baby Bank Campaign to bring in money and promote the March of Dimes, a nonprofit that fights to prevent premature births, birth defects and infant mortality. Joseph helmed a campus effort that raised more than $2,000.

After speaking with his peers, Joseph said he realized that “many students do not know what the March of Dimes is or why they should support the cause.”

His interest stemmed from his membership in the UT Dallas chapter of Phi Beta Lambda, an organization for students preparing for careers in business. Nationally, Phi Beta Lambda has been a community service partner to the March of Dimes for almost 40 years.

As external vice president of the campus chapter, Joseph took charge of the March of Dimes Baby Bank drive, tying giving to the growth of what he described as “our own UTD baby.”

Phi Beta Lambda welcomed the newborn at a launch party in the Student Union that included birthday cake, contests and games.

As donations climbed, the UTD baby reached important milestones. At $500, the baby was named Comet. At $1,500, Comet entered high school; at $1,750,  a driver’s license was obtained; and at $2,000,  a first date.

Joseph and fellow Phi Beta Lambda  members trumpeted the appeal in a booth on “March of Dimes Mondays,” on a Facebook page and in a blog. He created an email account, posted progress reports on the Phi Beta Lambda bulletin board in the Naveen Jindal School of Management and landed an article about the campaign on the front page of the campus newspaper, The Mercury.

Joseph said that in designing the drive, he and the campaign team bore in mind that because women give birth, “male students may feel that this cause is not important to them.” He said they also considered “the fact that many students may feel that supporting this cause will not help them because they do not plan on giving birth in the immediate future while attending college.”

Lauding Joseph’s strategic thinking, Phi Beta Lambda faculty advisor Dr. Jeanne Sluder told the American Marketing Association  judges, “Josh has great vision, which he arrives at by analyzing what has happened in the past, what is working in the present and what he wants for the future.”

“(Joseph) represents incredible potential and impact in the field of marketing,” added Julie Haworth, director of JSOM’s undergraduate marketing program. “I fully expect him to be a CMO [chief marketing officer] one day.”

Meanwhile, he has been elected president of the Phi Beta Lambda chapter and landed an internship at Mosaic Sales Solutions, where he is on the Samsung Client Services and Internal Operations Team. Joseph is a senior and is scheduled to graduate this December and is also enrolled in marketing’s fast-track program to earn a master’s degree.

“I am passionate about marketing,” Joseph said, “and it shows through my work.”