Standing in front of the SUV she named, Christy Cole, a public relations major in the Texas Tech University College of Media & Communication, was handed an Apple iPad mini.
“This is our new Masked Communicator,” Cole said.
Christy Cole, right, a public relations major in the Texas Tech University College of Media & Communication, hugs Randy Christian, a marketing director for car dealership McGavock Nissan, at a celebration event Thursday on campus. (Allison Terry/The Hub@TTU)
Thursday afternoon in the College of Media & Communication R5 parking lot, a celebration was held to thank the car dealership McGavock Nissan for a new Armada SL, and to announce Cole as the winner of the “Name that SUV” contest with a prize.
“All of you have probably seen the flyers around the building where we were having a contest to name this,” Todd Chambers, Texas Tech College of Media & Communication interim associate dean for undergraduate affairs, said. “I was just thinking about how this is going to recruit a lot more future Red Raiders. So that’s what this is about today. It’s about the future of media and communication, and more importantly, the future of Texas Tech University.”
David Perlmutter, dean of the College of Media & Communication, mentioned in an interview with The Hub@TTU that the vehicle will be used for a variety of the college’s needs, from transporting student organizations to activities to recruiting potential Texas Tech students at high schools.
The dean gestured to the SUV, with the college’s logo printed on the doors, a large bow fastened to the hood and red and black balloons tied to the side mirrors.
David Perlmutter, dean of the College of Media & Communication, looks at the college’s new Nissan Armada SL at its celebration event Thursday on campus. (Allison Terry/The Hub@TTU)
“We really wanted something where you go into town and everyone will say, ‘Oh, the College of Media & Communication,'” Perlmutter said, noting the spacious interior could hold camera equipment or boxes of brochures, as well as passengers. “You can’t get a better billboard than that, and it helps get our name outside of Lubbock.”
According to Perlmutter, an individual must be registered as a driver for insurance purposes, so faculty advisers and other staff within the college may be utilized when transporting student organization groups.
“We’re really excited about it,” Emily Balke, a recruiter for the college said of the opportunity to speak to students while transported to different high schools in the Masked Communicator. “In the past we’ve just used rental cars, personal cars. But now they know that we’re here and we’re willing to meet the students and we want them to consider Texas Tech. We’d like to start that retention effort from the moment that we pull in, they see that “Double T” and until the time they graduate from Texas Tech.”
According to the marketing and advertising director of McGavock Nissan, Randy Christian, the donation of the vehicle began simply from visiting with the dean.
Road trip-themed snacks are offered to guests during a celebration Thursday on campus, to name Nissan Armada SL donated to the Texas Tech University College of Media & Communication. (Allison Terry/The Hub@TTU)
“We got to talking and we wanted to do something with us,” Christian said. “It’s going to be a win-win situation. Mass Comm is going to have a beautiful Armada to use, and we’re going to have some faculty members do some focus groups and research for the business.”
Christian said the company will be bringing Eric Rasmussen, Ph.D. an assistant professor, and Glen Cummins, Ph.D., an associate professor, to a dealership in Wichita, Kansas, to aid with research.
“Dr. Rasmussen and Dr. Cummins are going to conduct some focus groups,” Christian said, “to try to help us understand what we need to be doing to be more successful than we already are.”
Cummins, also the associate dean for research in the College of Media & Communication, confirmed the mutual gain between the college and the dealership.
“McGavock really wanted to learn more about customer insights,” Cummins said, “and we recognized an obvious opportunity to help them and provide some information that expresses a specific need of theirs.”
Representatives from car dealership McGavock Nissan and the Texas Tech University College of Media & Communication gather around the Masked Communicator for the official starting of the SUV’s engine. (Allison Terry/The Hub@TTU)
According to Cummins, he and other faculty members will be doing field research by gathering focus groups to answer questions within McGavock’s market.
“Communication research is obviously our expertise,” Cummins said, mentioning the size of the company. “When you have that many properties and service that many customers, you’ve got to recognize what’s unique about those properties. And that’s part of what we’re wanting to get at, what makes one particular market or region different than another.”
The McGavock Nissan Lubbock website values the SUV at about $41,000.
The Masked Communicator seats eight passengers comfortably, with additional luggage room, according to Christian.
“If you try to cram everybody in there, you could probably get 20 or 30 people in there,” Christian joked with a chuckle, then continued genuinely, “This is a top-of-the-line vehicle. This is the SL. It has every bell and whistle on it you could possibly have.”
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