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COMM 431 – Advanced Topics in Marketing

Team-Based
Capstone Project

Bachelor of Commerce

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The team-based capstone project is an opportunity for partner organizations to receive strategic advice and recommendations on how to incorporate digital marketing tools and other emerging technologies into their customer-facing operations.

Call for Project Partners

The Team-Based Capstone Project is an opportunity to engage with fourth-year Commerce students that have a keen interest in tackling current issues that may be unsettled within the discipline of marketing and that are of great interest to marketing practitioners. This includes changing technologies; changing consumer expectations and values; and changing marketing fundamentals.

Throughout the semester, students will work in teams to provide strategic advice and recommendations to a partner organization on how to best incorporate digital marketing tools (including collecting and managing digital customer data) and other emerging technologies (e.g. artificial intelligence, virtual reality) into their customer-facing operation.

Project Criteria

  • Project must be scoped to a limited time frame of 10-12 weeks, and to the capabilities of fourth-year undergraduate students.
  • Partner must be willing to be a bit flexible on scope (agreed to in advance) to align with the learning objectives of the course and the knowledge of students (pre-existing and what they will be exposed to throughout the course of the term).

Process & Timeline

July - Aug

Complete a project proposal

  • Interested organizations are asked to submit an online project proposal by August 31st.
  • Projects will be reviewed and approved by the course instructor.
Mid-Sep

Brief student teams on the marketing problem/challenge

  • The partner organization will deliver a presentation to student teams outlining the problem/situation – including background, documents, and any available research (could be in person or via Zoom).
Oct - Nov

Project execution

  • Student teams will work to craft a strategy report and presentation that addresses the needs of the partner organization.
  • Throughout the late September to mid-November time frame, the partner organization may need to provide additional information (in response to weekly emails) to the course instructor or a designated student representative.
  • If the project involves surveying/interviewing customers or other stakeholders, the organization should be prepared to help facilitate making those connections.
Early Dec

Project conclusion

  • In a live presentation format (could be in person or via Zoom), student teams will deliver their strategy recommendations to the partner organization (30-45min presentation). The partner organization will also receive a written report detailing their findings and recommendations.

Partner Benefits

  • Access top talent from Smith’s Bachelor of Commerce program
  • Leverage student knowledge and expertise to receive customized solutions to contemporary marketing challenges facing your organization
  • Strengthen relationships with Smith students and faculty
  • Elevate your organization’s visibility at Smith
  • The project is a possible audition for a career opportunity with the partner organization
  • No financial commitment requirement from project partners

Partner Requirements

An ideal partner would have a reasonably clear idea of their needs and some understanding of the options out there, but would be receptive to ideas and recommendations from undergraduate students as to direction and strategy. In the time frame in question, it is unlikely that the project would produce tangible materials like sales collateral, advertisements and marketing messages, or a specific plan with timelines, budgets, etc. The goal of this project is primarily to identify, investigate and recommend potential options for integrating new technologies and marketing tools into an organization’s customer/client facing operations.

Past projects have included:

  • Providing recommendations on what additional services, product lines or positioning can be created to reflect consumers’ environmental, social and governance concerns.
  • Devising a responsible user/client data collection and management strategy for a non-profit endeavouring to shift to a digital mindset.
  • Providing recommendations on what measurement approaches and tools can help connect the long-term strategic goals of a small business with appropriate and useful key performance indicators.

Ready to get involved?

Complete and submit the following project proposal. If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact the Experiential Learning Team.

Briefly describe your organization and activities.

The problem or challenge that this project will seek to address.

Provide a description (3-5 sentences) of the proposed project as it relates to the problem or challenge.

What do you hope this project achieves? List any deliverables, goals and objectives.

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