Undergraduate students from the USC Marshall School of Business were named winners of a national collegiate competition to create a marketing program for the automaker Subaru.

The competition involved 12 universities and colleges and was sponsored by Subaru to challenge a new generation of marketing students to help raise awareness of the Impreza line of vehicles among college-aged consumers.

The USC students were recognized as the best in the nation for the creation of their marketing program “Fast Feels Good,” a campaign that was implemented in Los Angeles this spring. USC won over other finalists Southern Methodist University, which placed second, and Emory University, which placed third.

Five USC students presented the campaign to Subaru leadership May 24 at the company’s U.S. headquarters in Cherry Hill, N.J. Subaru’s chairman, president and CEO Kunio Ishigami was in attendance from Japan to participate in the judging.

Diane Badame, associate professor of marketing in the USC Marshall School, led the students in the project, which was the outcome of a capstone marketing class on campus this spring.

For the class, her 35 students were given an initial budget of $2,500 to create a campaign. The USC Marshall School marketing majors added another $43,000 to the total through corporate sponsorships to augment that budget, ultimately signing 24 Hour Fitness and Sony Direct to the effort.

“This was the best real-world learning experience you can get,” said Badame of the consulting project. “The students learned what it’s really like to develop a real campaign for a real company. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

The USC students’ marketing campaign culminated this spring with a promotional event on the University Park Campus that featured a rock-climbing wall, a race-car driver from the Grand Prix circuit and a bank of virtual reality video driving games.

Students said the project taught them how to make the connection between concepts in class and the real needs of a major international corporation. It also taught them about working in teams and with a client.

USC student Aimee Anderson, who graduated two weeks ago, served as account executive for the team and headed up the presentation by USC students to Subaru executives. “I can’t remember a time when I was more nervous than when they were announcing the winners,” she said. “It was an incredible finale to see all our hard work pay off. We were able to put all that we learned in the classroom to use.”

Badame said the students had to create a project that marketed the Subaru Impreza line to Generation Y, which responds well to an alternative marketing approach – including online and sales promotion events. For the project, her class members created special air-fresheners and ping-pong balls as promotional devices.