Developing a brand strategy involves an immense amount of creativity, being able to set yourself apart from the masses, and ultimately connecting with your target audience. Between April 18 and May 9, GRAMMY U members were asked to craft an online marketing plan for a new music artist that would achieve all of those goals for its Third Annual Business Plan Competition. Music Business bachelor’s student Jacquelyn Moss won that competition with her intuitive approach to brand engagement.

“The most challenging aspect of the competition was taking a broad description, ‘create an online marketing plan for a new artist,’ and really narrowing that down so I could accurately describe a plan built for that particular artist,” said Jacquelyn. “It involved thoroughly connecting the dots from the artist to the fans and everything in between. My biggest take-away from participating in this competition is that it pays to challenge yourself. Do the thing that scares or intimidates you, just do it! Do it for the experience and practice because even if you don’t win something, you learned something."

In addition to her valuable learning experience, Jacquelyn also won a trip to New York to spend a day with the president of Sacks & Co., Carla Sacks, who has worked with talent ranging from Björk and Foster the People to Queen Latifah and The Black Keys. Jacquelyn hopes to learn as much as she can from Carla, but is particularly curious about how she is able to remain authentic and innovative among today’s constantly changing technological landscape.

“When I step back and look at the big picture, it makes sense that a student from our university won this competition. Here at Full Sail, we also foster an ever changing environment that has always been far from the traditional route. Congratulations to Jacquelyn! This is just the beginning of great things we can expect to see from her,” said GRAMMY U club advisor and Associate Course Director for Recording Arts Nat Carpenter.

Looking to the future, Jacquelyn hopes to have a career in the live entertainment industry which will allow her to channel her creativity and passion for event planning. To other students looking to participate in this event in the future, Jacquelyn has a solid piece of advice: “Don’t be afraid to ask for help. From reviewing my plan with mentors, to asking for friends to help me record and edit my video, I was able to close many lose ends and submit a polished product. There are so many resources at your fingertips, but you can’t be afraid to ask for help.”