The Google Online Marketing Challenge and Distributed Learning

Stagnant perceptions continue to persist in the general public regarding the services libraries offer. LIS research suggests an increased need for marketing, yet LIS programs and students may not view marketing as core to the degree. The Google Online Marketing Challenge (GOMC), a global competition for online marketing, was incorporated into two LIS courses to build skills in project management, industry analysis, marketing, and search engine optimization. A qualitative analysis was conducted to investigate whether they perceived the marketing project as relevant to their courses and degrees. A model was created to represent the factors that had an impact on project success. Overall students experienced an increased interest in marketing. Leadership, teamwork, and communication played strong roles in how students dealt with project challenges and their perceptions toward the end of the project.