{"id":13444,"date":"2026-02-27T09:22:06","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T15:22:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/?post_type=campus_story&p=13444"},"modified":"2026-02-27T09:22:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T15:22:07","slug":"carbliss-taps-uw-oshkosh-advertising-students-for-fresh-media-strategies","status":"publish","type":"campus_story","link":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/story\/carbliss-taps-uw-oshkosh-advertising-students-for-fresh-media-strategies\/","title":{"rendered":"Carbliss\u00a0taps UW-Oshkosh advertising students for fresh media strategies\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Photo<\/a>
Teaching Assistant Professor Kathy Fredrickson talks with students from the team that developed the TouchTunes activation idea for Carbliss during UW-Oshkosh\u2019s Advertising Media (AMP 353) course. Pictured with her, from left, are students Brianna Hone, Jacob Link, Jayden Hawkins and Kenny Satori.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Carbliss, one of Wisconsin\u2019s fastest-growing beverage brands, came to the University of Wisconsin\u2013Oshkosh expecting to hear a series of student media proposals. What they didn\u2019t expect was to be leaning forward in their seats as senior Kenny Satori and his teammates unveiled a TouchTunes activation idea that immediately grabbed their attention. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The team\u2019s concept, which linked Carbliss to bar-goers through digital jukebox ads and QR-driven song credits, was one of several innovative pitches delivered during a semester-long applied learning project in UW\u2013Oshkosh\u2019s Advertising Media (AMP 353) course. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carbliss\u00a0marketing coordinator Jordan Jossie, UW-Oshkosh student Veronyca Frahm and\u00a0Carbliss\u00a0public relations and communications coordinator Casey Suttner (front row, left to right) talk with students about their presentation in UW-Oshkosh\u2019s Advertising Media (AMP 353) course. In the back row are students Brianna Wesenberg, Vanessa\u00a0Xiong\u00a0and Mia Patterson.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carbliss, headquartered in Plymouth, has quickly become a major force in the ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktail industry and has earned national recognition for its explosive growth. The brand has topped Inc.\u2019s Midwest Regionals list and reported selling 2.8 million cases in 2024, a 100% increase over the previous year that ranks Carbliss among the top five fastest-growing RTD cocktail brands in the U.S. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Five student teams spent the semester working like small agency units \u2014 researching audiences, analyzing consumer behavior, comparing media channels, building target profiles and drafting early creative concepts. They learned to evaluate reach, frequency and impressions; calculate cost-per metrics; and use secondary research tools like Nielsen and Comscore. Throughout the semester, teams iterated on their ideas through peer review, instructor feedback and structured checkpoints that mirrored real campaign development. All of this work culminated in the final week of the semester, when they presented their recommendations to a real client with real stakes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Satori, a radio TV film major from Denmark, Wis., said presenting a real idea to a real company changed everything for him and his teammates. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Class group photo: In the front row center (in white) are Carbliss marketing coordinator Jordan Jossie, left, and public relations and communications coordinator Casey Suttner, who attended the presentations and provided feedback to students.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really cool to have something to actually work toward instead of a fake scenario,\u201d he said. \u201cPresenting to people who actually work in marketing makes it feel real.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carbliss marketing coordinator Jordan Jossie and public relations and communications coordinator Casey Suttner attended every presentation, marking the company\u2019s first-ever collaboration with a university class at this level. Katie Dennis, director of marketing for Carbliss, joined the presentations remotely. All three left impressed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dennis said the collaboration offered a meaningful look at emerging talent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis project showcased the next generation of talent, bold ideas, thoughtful strategy and a clear understanding of our brand,\u201d Dennis said, adding that many of the student teams demonstrated a sophisticated grasp of how brands connect with consumers. \u201cSeveral presentations highlighted experiential marketing and social-first thinking in really smart ways, especially around how the brand shows up in real-life moments.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jossie said the students were already thinking like professionals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey\u2019re talking about topics that we discuss on a daily basis at our job,\u201d Jossie said. \u201cSeeing a fresh mindset approach these topics, and students who are probably our consumers giving us perspective on how to gain more reach and build our brand, is really interesting and insightful.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suttner praised the students\u2019 coordination, clarity and depth of research. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cKnowing how difficult it can be to work in a group setting, I thought all of the presentations were very well thought out and thorough from start to finish,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The TouchTunes idea from Satori\u2019s team\u2014part of the audio and podcast assignment\u2014quickly emerged as one of the most memorable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s such an interesting concept that we think would work really well, and it\u2019s something we\u2019ve never thought about,\u201d Jossie said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

UWO students\u00a0Gaiab\u00a0Vang, Ella Roux, Delaney\u00a0Ross\u00a0and Sully Westfall pose for a photo after presenting an event-focused media strategy proposal to\u00a0Carbliss\u00a0during final pitches.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Teamwork meets strategy<\/strong> <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Each student team was assigned a specific media channel:
\u2022 Google and Meta advertising
\u2022 Connected TV and video
\u2022 Audio and podcasting
\u2022 Out-of-home and experiential
\u2022 Event sponsorship <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This structure mirrored the division of roles within real agencies, allowing students to develop both specialized skills and inter-team collaboration. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For senior Mia Patterson, a public relations and advertising double major from Dodgeville, the experiential aspect was invaluable. Her team focused on out-of-home and experiential marketing, designing a campaign that included billboards, festival activations and targeted messaging. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis project has made it so much better for me and so many other students,\u201d Patterson said. \u201cA lot of people in my major worry about what they\u2019ll have to show employers. This gave us something real to put in our portfolios.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Presenting to a company like Carbliss raised the stakes and the motivation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen we heard we\u2019d be presenting to actual company higher-ups, it was definitely nerve-racking,\u201d Patterson said. \u201cBut it gave us great insight into what the real world will be like after graduation.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Teaching for the real world<\/strong> <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

UWO Teaching Assistant Professor Kathy Fredrickson designed the course to mimic the work of professional agencies and marketing departments. This is her second semester teaching AMP 353, but she has incorporated real clients into her courses for more than two decades. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy customer is the student, and my job is to deliver value to them,\u201d she said. \u201cThe greatest way they can get value is to dig in, do the work and feel the stress of deadlines and creative breakthroughs. A case study isn\u2019t going to cut it. You have to have a real client.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fredrickson intentionally partners with Wisconsin-based companies so students can observe brand presence firsthand and better understand regional audiences. She connected with Carbliss through LinkedIn and later learned UW-Oshkosh is the first university class the company has ever collaborated with at this level. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She also incorporates AI literacy through a Human-AI-Human framework that requires students to think critically before prompting AI tools and to analyze results after using them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe need people who are able to create,\u201d Fredrickson said. \u201cHuman interaction comes first. AI is here, but students must understand the dynamics of what they want before they prompt. Creativity still matters.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fredrickson said she saw notable growth across all teams, especially in media strategy, teamwork and presentation skills. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A win for students and Carbliss<\/strong> <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Although the course is designed for student growth, Carbliss representatives emphasized how valuable the ideas were for them as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is another way for us to give back,\u201d Suttner said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s actually probably a little more valuable for us, hearing new ideas from students who may be our consumers.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jossie added: \u201cThey\u2019ve probably heard of Carbliss, maybe consumed Carbliss. Having a local college community tie-in with a local brand is awesome.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That feedback energized the students, who had invested months into building research-driven media strategies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe worked together all semester,\u201d Satori said, adding, \u201cand to see our idea matter to someone outside the classroom, someone who is in the industry, that felt incredible.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Written by Grace Lim<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Link to original story: https:\/\/www.uwosh.edu\/today\/129707\/carbliss-taps-uw-oshkosh-marketing-students-for-fresh-media-strategies\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Carbliss, one of Wisconsin\u2019s fastest-growing beverage brands, came to the University of Wisconsin\u2013Oshkosh expecting to hear a series of student media proposals. What they didn\u2019t expect was to be leaning forward in their seats as senior Kenny Satori and his teammates unveiled a TouchTunes activation idea that immediately grabbed their attention.  The team\u2019s concept, which […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":13445,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","institution":[94],"story_category":[148],"class_list":["post-13444","campus_story","type-campus_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","institution-uw-oshkosh","story_category-economy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story\/13444","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/campus_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13444"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13445"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13444"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"institution","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/institution?post=13444"},{"taxonomy":"story_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story_category?post=13444"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}