A recent cross-program collaboration between Fanshawe's business marketing and broadcast television students has not only ended successfully, but has given Fanshawe Television a makeover.

“We'd always talked about doing a project like this,” said Laurel-Ann Hardie, a professor in the television program, as well as one of the project coordinators. “So the project was developed so we could incorporate a real client into it, and that client was Fanshawe Television.”

The pilot project, dubbed Fantube 2007-2008, was assigned to students who were split into groups and then asked to work together to create an integrated marketing campaign for Fanshawe Television that would help in re-branding it.

“They had to use three marketing tools,” Hardie continued. “Use television, the Internet and a third of the students choice, like flyers and posters. And the winning team not only used the three tools, but they also redesigned the logo, which was gutsy, but worked.”

The students were then judged by a panel, which included the program deans, on their ideas and presentations, with the winning team not only getting to spearhead the re-design, but also winning gift certificates.

“We decided to not only find a way to advertise, but to re-brand,” explained Justin Pereira, a member on the winning team. “We thought the logo was a little outdated and needed something fresh to promote the station, and they obviously liked the look.

“It was also nice that our year was able to mould [the logo] into what we wanted to see.”

According to Hardie, the program has launched the new Fantube logo and are working on a website for the official launch this fall.


And if Hardie has her way, this won't be the last time such a project gets carried through to fruition.

“I think they gained insight into other areas,” Hardie said. “There are a lot of collaborations within the school, but it's taking that step [outside the school] that makes the big difference.”