BY JIM GRAVES
The Norwich Record | Summer 2019
Matt Valsecchi ’19 and CJ Davis ’20 didn’t craft this museum-quality comb-back rocker. Instead, they created a social media marketing strategy for the people who did. Last fall, the students worked as marketing consultants for second-generation Windsor chair maker George Sawyer and his small family-owned Vermont company, Sawyer Made.
The team was handpicked by marketing Prof. William Jolley for the business development project sponsored by the Central Vermont Economic Development Corp. Working as paid consultants with oversight from Professor Jolley, Valsecchi and Davis aimed to increase Sawyer Made’s social media presence. They were “careful not to overlook the financial implications of their recommendations,” Jolley says. But first, the students had to lay the groundwork. They updated the company’s website, researched their target market, and then developed social media strategies. “Getting to know the Sawyers was easy,” Valsecchi says. “They were very open to our ideas.” The Sawyers had an important idea of their own—they wanted to grow their business at a pace they could handle.
Jim Graves is the NU internship coordinator for the Career and Internship Center.
