Brewing an Advertising Campaign for Wachusett

Students in Associate Professor of Marketing Zachary Daniels’ advertising course brewed something a little different than what they were used to: full marketing campaign pitches for Wachusett Brewing Company.

“Over the years, we’ve done this project in different capacities,” Daniels says. “This time, we amplified it, creating a glorified live case study in class.”

Students were tasked with creating advertising to build awareness for Wachusett’s new vodka cocktail. They were split into four groups, given assets and information about the brand and the product, and got to work creating their pitch decks.

Three students in the class, Mardochee Mexil ’26, Max Fuoco ’26, and Haley Brown ’26 (who are all over 21), said that the project started with them understanding the product, the brand, and the demographic to whom they would be marketing it.

“We spent some time becoming ambassadors of the brand,” says Fuoco, an international business major. “We were trying to understand what was marketable in an advertising sense about the product. We felt the only way to do that was to immerse ourselves in the demographic and find out what would be culturally friendly to who we’re marketing to.”

“We also looked at what competitors were doing for that demographic and seeing how we could use those for inspiration while still maintaining the original, authentic Wachusett brand,” Brown, a double major in management and marketing, says.

Mexil and Fuoco were in the same group and did something unique for their project: created ads for Spotify.

“That’s what people are doing in their day-to-day life—listening to music,” says Fuoco. “The advertisement would pop up when they were in the gym or walking to class, and it would be a way to reinforce that top-of-mind awareness.” 

For all three, this project was their first experience with outside the classroom, real-world advertising, and it helped the seniors strengthen their future plans.

“I’ve had other classes where I’ve done mock campaigns like this, but never one where I’ve had actual data from the company,” Mexil, a marketing major with a concentration in digital marketing, says. “That’s an experience I’ll really take away from this project. It solidified my desire to do something like this for my future career.”

“This was my first big marketing project, and Professor Daniels designed it so we were able to work on it continuously throughout the semester,” Brown, says. “It was cool to learn about the marketing principles as we worked on it, and how we could really do this in our careers at some point.”

“It’s the first time I’ve been brought outside of the classroom from a research standpoint and trying to really get in tune with the brand,” Fuoco says. “My goal is to work in an advertising agency, work with many clients, and have a diverse client base—this type of field work is what I see myself doing.”

Rob Day, vice president of marketing at Barrel One Collective (the company that owns Wachusett Brewing Company) was invited to watch the students’ presentations and give feedback.

“I was honored to sit in on the student presentations prompted by my real-life brand scenario.  It was a good opportunity to get a fresh perspective on the real challenges we face,” said Day. “The students certainly delivered on the assignment, and I left energized and even with some fresh ideas to try.  I was impressed by the overall quality of work and would happily participate again.”

All three students were thrilled that Day was able to watch their presentations, saying that it was one of the most gratifying parts of completing the assignment.

“Being able to take everything that we were able to learn and discover over the course of the semester and being able to present it to Rob Day, who could actually use everything we were presenting, was so rewarding,” says Brown.

“Seeing the finished product and putting it in front of Rob as a cohesive presentation, was a very exciting feeling,” says Fuoco. “All the hard work that we had done meant something to the brand, and it was such an informative process for us.”

After how well the students did with the assignment last fall, Daniels hopes to offer the class again soon. Brown, Mexil, and Fuoco all encourage other students to take advantage of the opportunity, as it is a tangible way to bring research to life.

“Rather than just writing down what you learned on a test or in an essay, you’re actually implementing what you learned,” Mexil says. “And you’re doing it in a way where you’ll be able to use it in the future if you do end up pursuing a marketing career.” 

“It’s a great experience to be able to do something like this all semester long,” Brown says. “It teaches you a lot of things, and it’s not just about a project or about marketing. It’s how you present yourself, it’s how you manage your time…it teaches you skills that you will need after college.”