2022 Orbis/DEC Commercial Real Estate Project
Denny Elwell Company [DEC] recently had the opportunity to offer some insight into the world of Commercial Real Estate and Digital Marketing to some of the students from the Ankeny Orbis Program. The goal of the Orbis/DEC project was to enlighten the Orbis students enough about marketing commercial real estate to enable them to create functioning marketing materials based on their own research.
Chris Murray, President & CEO of Denny Elwell Company [DEC] and former Ankeny Centennial parent, presented the group with the challenge of marketing an available restaurant space at DEC’s Park Fair Mall [PFM] location in Des Moines. The intention behind choosing a Des Moines location was to bring the students out of their elements by exposing them to an unfamiliar demographic that was a bit beyond the norm of their everyday lives in the Ankeny area.
The DEC/Orbis group took a couple of field trips to the Highland Park neighborhood, which is home to the Park Fair Mall, to gain insight from a local business owner, photograph the property, and get an overall feel for the space and its surroundings. Over the course of two months, the students were given a bit of homework each week ranging from simple research to creating their own marketing materials.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE ORBIS PROJECT FLYER
Some of the research included finding the demographics of the PFM neighborhood, assessing the location’s features and amenities to determine what type of restaurant would be a good fit for the space, learning what type of business would benefit the local residents, and exploring the existing neighborhood eateries.
Once the research was completed, the students were given the opportunity to work directly with Denny Elwell Company’s marketing team to learn how to develop marketing materials using DEC’s resources, platforms, and design tools. The students then used their new skillsets to create flyers, ads, and social media graphics on their own time.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE ORBIS PROJECT ONLINE AD
The project concluded with a student-led grand finale presentation, which included an overview of the project, the launching of a social media video, and some milkshakes and Crumbl Cookies– to end the project on a sweet note!
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE ORBIS SOCIAL MEDIA VIDEO
Congratulations on a job well done, Alyssa, Anna, Lincoln, and Broden!
