Student Development
Are you looking to get more involved in the American Marketing Association, or in the business school in general?
Sparks: The UF Marketing Firm is AMA's in-house marketing firm that is open to all skill levels (even those with no experience)!
Why join?
➡️ Real-world marketing experience with local business clients
➡️ Department-specific training through our Development Program
➡️ Ability to build a new organization & build your future!
Be a part of the organization that won the Heavener Outstanding Event/Program of the Year Award for 2022!
What are students saying?
Consultants who have participated in Sparks's first working semester were asked their thoughts on how they thought it went:
Sparks has allowed me to gain real-world experience and has made me more competitive in the obtaining of an internship and job.
I found my client work interesting
and engaging.
My LinkedIn Learnings were helpful to learning vital information needed to perform my role.
My Managers workshops were helpful,
relevant, and effectively taught.
Alyssa Durham
2nd Year Food and Resource Economics Major
Asher Lowe
2nd Year Business Administration Major
Evan Kiddy
2nd Year Marketing Major
" I loved my team. I truly believe that the way our roles are structured and semi-integrated into one another created such an incredibly collaborative environment. We have had such an amazing time bonding over the work we have done and I think we can all say we have learned something from one another, whether it be marketing-related or not. "
" I really enjoyed how much I've learned about the field of marketing as a whole. With this being my first semester in the Business school, I learned a lot about relevant information and made some great friends."
" Sparks has allowed me to grow my public speaking, leadership and communication skills, and helped reinforce my ability to delegate responsibilities based upon people's strengths and weaknesses. Through Sparks, I was able to create strategies and produce high-quality work for a real client, which helped me stand out amongst other applicants for a summer internship. "
The Spark You Need to Start Your Career.
Recruiting for Sparks usually
occurs the semester before in order to then find the correct amount of clients for the Firm. If you are interested in becoming a consultant and would like to be sent a reminder for when applications open again, fill out this form!
Feel free to fill it out directly from our website or use the link provided below:
In order to provide a developmental, learning environment for those students with no previous experience, 'The Sparks Development Program' was founded. All Sparks members complete it in full in their first semester of being part of the firm while they simultaneously complete client work. Comprised of 3 parts, each prepares students in some manner to be able to produce high quality client work.
To understand what types of skills you will be learning, feel free to checkout some of the past Workshops Managers have put on, now available on the AMA Blog.
Sparks Organizational Structure
Hierarchical Structure
Directors Department: completely made up of Marketing Directors, who are at the same organizational level as the other department managers. There is one Marketing Director for each client the Firm currently has.
The Other Three Departments: each are composed of 1 manager and many department members, who are responsible for executing their respective service to the client.
Team Organization
Each cross-functional team is comprised of 1 Marketing Director and 2-3 people from each of the other departments (Strategy, Market Research, and Branding). There is one team per client account for the semester.
Managers mentor and advise all the members of their departments. They give guidance on gaps in knowledge and will put on workshops for necessary skills that are missing from a majority of its members