Butler University’s “Save Lives at Five” Team Wins Pearson Presents the (RED)™ Challenge Contest
Students Propose (PRODUCT)RED™ Notebooks for Campus Bookstores To Help Eliminate Aids in Africa
New York, NY (Vocus) July 9, 2010
A clever proposal to help eliminate AIDS in Africa with a new (PRODUCT)RED item targeted to college students has won a group of students at Indianapolis’s Butler University a trip to New York City to present their idea to the (RED) team.
Sponsored by Pearson, the authors of Marketing: Real People, Real Choices – Michael R. Solomon, Greg W. Marshall, Elnora W. Stuart – and (RED), “Pearson Presents the (RED) Challenge” asked Principles of Marketing students across the U. S. to create their own marketing plan for a product that would fit into the (RED) product line and that would help raise awareness of and drive contributions to (RED)’s mission to help eliminate AIDS in Africa. Entries were submitted through Facebook, and voted upon by the public.
The Butler team’s winning product, suggested in their short contest video, is notebooks, binders, planners and folders to be sold at campus bookstores. The Grand Prize winning “Save Lives at Five” team will be flown to New York on July 9th to present its submission to (RED) as a future opportunity that can be explored for (RED). The video can be seen here: http://www. youtube. com/user/chuckyduck83.
The winning team members are Charlie Schmelzer; Erin Matthew; Kayla Wininger; Mac Huffman; and Robert Hobson. Their professor is Kathryn King.
“Principles of Marketing students across the country responded with great enthusiasm to this important competition, through which they had the opportunity to gain real marketing experience outside the classroom, turning their knowledge and skills into an actual product,” said Anne Fahlgren, Senior Marketing Manager, Pearson. “We congratulate the Butler team for their Grand Prize win, and thank all the students who participated.”
About Pearson
Pearson (NYSE:PSO), the global leader in education, teacher training, education technology and school solutions, provides innovative print and digital education materials for preK through college, student information systems and learning management systems, teacher professional development, career certification programs, and testing and assessment products that set the standard for the industry.
About (RED) ™and (PRODUCT) RED™
(RED)’s primary objective is to engage the private sector in raising awareness and funds for the Global Fund, to help eliminate AIDS in Africa. Companies whose products take on the (PRODUCT) RED mark contribute a significant percentage of the sales or portion of the profits from that product to the Global Fund to help finance HIV/AIDS programs in Africa, including interventions targeting women and children. Current partners are: American Express (U. K. only), Apple, Bugaboo, Converse, Gap, Emporio Armani, FLOWE(RED) (U. K. only), Hallmark (U. S. only), Dell, Nike, Penguin Classics and Starbucks. Since its launch in the Spring of 2006, $150 million has been generated by (RED) partners and events for the Global Fund. (RED) money is at work in Ghana, Lesotho, Rwanda, South Africa, Swaziland, and Zambia and supports programs that have reached more than 5 million people. For more information, visit http://www. joinred. com.
About The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
The Global Fund is a unique global public/private partnership dedicated to attracting and disbursing additional resources to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. This partnership between governments, civil society, the private sector and affected communities represents a new approach to international health financing. The Global Fund works in close collaboration with other bilateral and multilateral organizations to supplement existing efforts dealing with the three diseases.
Since its creation in 2002, the Global Fund has become the dominant financier of programs to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, with approved funding of US$ 19.3 billion in 144 countries. To date, programs supported by the Global Fund have averted more than 5.7 million deaths through providing AIDS treatment for 2.8 million people, TB treatment for 7 million people, and by the distribution of 122 million insecticide-treated bed nets for the prevention of malaria worldwide. The Global Fund provides nearly a quarter of all international financing for AIDS globally, as well as three-fifths for TB and malaria. (RED) is the Global Fund’s largest private sector contributor. For more information visit http://www. theglobalfund. org.
About Butler University
Challenging and enabling students to meet their personal and professional goals has guided Butler University since 1855. Today, Butler is a nationally recognized comprehensive university that blends the liberal arts with first-rate pre-professional programs. It seeks to prepare each graduate not simply to make a living but to make a life of purpose, in which personal flourishing is intertwined with the welfare of others. Butler is known for its vibrant campus, superior academics and dedicated faculty. The University enrolls more than 4,400 undergraduate and graduate students in six academic colleges: Business, Communication, Education, Liberal Arts and Sciences, Pharmacy and Health Sciences, and Fine Arts. Located just six miles from downtown Indianapolis, Butler’s urban setting affords students internship opportunities that provide excellent graduate school and career preparation.
Contact:
Susan Aspey
Pearson
Susan(dot)aspey(at)pearson(dot)com
800.745.8489
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