Making It Real: How Outside Review Elevated a Classroom Project
Greg Gerfen
Department of Marketing
Executive-in-Residence of Advertising and Promotion, Instructor of Marketing
How long have you been at WMU?
I started teaching at WMU in 2016.
What is your area of focus?
I teach advertising and marketing courses in the Haworth College of Business, across a range of levels. Before joining Western eight years ago, I worked in the advertising industry for 33 years. One of the most important areas I focus on is creative strategy—because it’s really the foundation for any effective advertising campaign. It’s where you define your objective, your audience, your tone, and, most critically, uncover a deep consumer insight that leads to meaningful and persuasive communication. Helping students understand and practice this process is central to preparing them for work in the field.
What led you to experiment with project-based learning in your course?
During the summer of 2024, I participated in the Gold Standard PBL Workshop through WMUx. One takeaway that really stuck with me was the idea that the final deliverable in a project shouldn’t just be handed to the professor—it should be shared with someone outside the class. That outside audience brings in a level of accountability, and it introduces a productive layer of risk. I hadn’t used a formal PBL structure before, but this inspired me to apply it to my fall creative strategy class in a way that could feel more authentic to the advertising profession.
How did you structure the assignment, and what made it different from previous approaches?
Since I didn’t have time to line up a real client for the course, I selected a brand in a category students would be familiar with and assigned it to the class. From there, students had to research the brand, identify a problem they believed could be addressed through advertising, and build a creative strategy to solve it. That strategy had to be grounded in real insights, so they conducted both qualitative and quantitative research—interviews, focus groups, and surveys—to better understand the target audience. Over the course of several weeks, they developed and refined each section of a formal creative strategy brief, which they presented at the end of the semester.
Typically, my advanced advertising students begin working on a year-long national case competition project during the fall semester, but that often leads to burnout and doesn’t allow much time for early feedback. Incorporating this new assignment gave them a lower-stakes opportunity to practice the same foundational skills, build confidence, and receive input before tackling the more intensive capstone project (the case competition) in the spring.
One of the most unique elements of your project was involving outside professionals. How did that come about, and why was it so impactful?
That idea came directly from the PBL workshop: find someone external to review the final product. I didn’t have access to the actual brand representatives, so I put out a call to my professional networks—forums, social media groups, and industry contacts—and asked for help evaluating student work. Six creative strategists from ad agencies volunteered. They reviewed student presentations, used a detailed rubric I created, and offered written feedback. Knowing their work would be judged by real professionals—not just their instructor—completely changed how students approached the project. They were excited, motivated, and took the assignment far more seriously.
How did students respond to the knowledge that their work would be evaluated by industry professionals?
They were “geeked out”—that’s really the best way to put it. It elevated the assignment in their minds from a typical class project to something with real-world relevance. Students worked harder and with more urgency, knowing they had an opportunity to impress professionals doing the work they aspired to do. It was clear to me that they spent more quality time on their projects and didn’t procrastinate like they might have with other assignments.
What kind of feedback did students receive, and how did it influence their learning?
The professionals were overwhelmingly impressed with the quality of work—some even said they couldn’t believe it came from students. That was powerful validation of our program and the solid foundation our students receive in research and marketing principles. The reviewers also gave helpful advice on how to make their presentations more compelling—how to tell a story rather than simply listing facts. The feedback was actionable, meaningful, and confidence-building, and it’s something students could carry with them into the case competition and beyond.
What did this experience show you about student engagement, and how might you continue building on this in the future?
This experience confirmed for me that when students know their work will be seen and judged by people in the field, they rise to the occasion. It added energy to the class and raised the overall quality of the work. I absolutely plan to continue doing this in future semesters. The challenge now is finding ways to sustain it without over-asking the same professionals. I’m expanding my network—through events, professional groups, and personal outreach—so I can keep this component fresh and viable. I’ve also learned how to make it manageable for reviewers by creating a clear rubric and setting reasonable expectations for their time.