Students' Hopes Are Riding on Recycling

A team comprising Tulane business students Amanda Diamond, Carly O'Meara and Beckie Warren is one of 10 finalists in the Honda CR-Z Media Challenge, a national contest that asked students to develop social media campaigns to generate a buzz for the Honda CR-Z, the sporty new hybrid car the company rolled out in August.

Freeman School students Amanda Diamond, Carly O'Meara and Beckie Warren are visiting colleges across the South to promote recycling as part of a social media campaign to generate buzz for Honda's new CR-Z sport hybrid coupe. (Photo by Paula Burch-Celentano)

As finalists in the competition, the students received a silver metallic CR-Z in October to use for six weeks. Diamond, O'Meara and Warren have logged hundreds of miles traveling across the South to hold recycling drives that double as promotional events for the environmentally friendly car.

The Honda CR-Z Road Trip — as they're calling their campaign — has visited the campuses of Louisiana State University, Auburn University and the University of Memphis. On Friday (Nov. 12) they will be at New Orleans' Green Light District, a stretch of Magazine Street featuring a number of green-conscious businesses. Along the way, the students are using cash generated from the recyclables they collect to pay for gas.

“Our motto is, 'We're riding on recycling,'” says O'Meara.

The campaign will conclude on Saturday (Nov. 20) with a “Recycling Block Party” in Pocket Park on the Tulane uptown campus featuring live music and displays from local green businesses.

Honda will select three teams to visit its headquarters in Torrance, Calif., to present a recap of their campaigns. In the spring, those three teams will become virtual interns for Honda, participating in brainstorming sessions, drafting promotional materials and attending events to support the launch of the CR-Z.

The team chosen for the best overall campaign will attend a product launch in Washington, D.C., in April 2011.

O'Meara says the ultimate reward is the chance to demonstrate their marketing skills and social media savvy for potential employers.

“Who'd think we'd have the chance to do our own marketing campaign for one of the world's biggest car companies?” O'Meara says. “This is just a great opportunity.”

The team has posted photos and videos on a Facebook page, where viewers can click the “like” button to give the students a better shot at winning the challenge.

Mark Miester is the editor of Freeman magazine for the A. B. Freeman School of Business.