Marketing class promotes airport

Mount students tour Johnstown facility to craft social media campaigns

JOHNSTOWN -- A new social media marketing course at Mount Aloysius College this fall is giving students a real-world opportunity to market the John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria County Airport.

The students, working together in five separate groups, are tasked with preparing a marketing plan for the airport as a semester project. At the end of the semester, they'll present their plans to airport officials, gaining valuable experience in the process.

On Thursday, the students visited and toured the airport to learn more about its operations. For some, like seniors Kyle Lohr and Alexis Weyandt, the tour was valuable because they've never been inside of an airport before.

Senior student Xavier Johnson said the class is currently learning about proper marketing techniques on social media platforms.

Each group has its own target audience to research and determine how to effectively advertise to their audiences, he said, noting some groups are marketing to sports teams, while others are focusing on specific age groups and families.

Johnson said he and his classmates are carefully considering what types of advertisements they want to use -- photos or videos -- to market the airport on social media. When it comes to advertising, colors play an important role in influencing certain demographics, he said.

"Stuff like that you have to worry about," Johnson said, adding many consumers don't stop to think about how advertisements are produced.

"We see the ads, but we don't know what goes on behind the scenes or even how these ads are being placed in front of us," he said.

Weyandt said her group is developing strategies to attract business people to the airport, so it can increase its passenger numbers and earn more revenue. The group plans to show how TikTok can help the airport reach a younger audience, she said, adding the airport can grow its audiences on Facebook and LinkedIn by posting more regularly.

During the tour, the students read newspaper articles outlining the history of the airport and toured hangar buildings.

Lohr said he was intrigued by the number of notable political figures who have flown in and out of the airport, while Weyandt said she enjoyed perusing the articles on display.

"It was cool to see the history of the airport," Weyandt said. "I've never been in an airport before, so it's cool to see how an airport functions."

Mount Aloysius associate professor Jodi Blubaugh said she thinks many of her students came into the class thinking it would be about writing social media posts. But many of her students seem to enjoy the work they're putting into their projects, she said.

"It's giving them hands-on experience, and I think when they were going in, they weren't expecting what it is," Blubaugh said. "But now I think they're looking at their social media and saying 'Wow, how different it could be if I wrote this.'"

Blubaugh said she met with airport manager Cory Cree and assistant manager Heather Tomasko in the spring to determine ways of growing the airport's social media pages. In the summer, she suggested the idea of having her students develop marketing plans, which Cree and Tomasko thought was a great idea.

"Marketing of the airport is really important because we have to let the community know that we're here and offer flights and services," Cree said, noting the students are providing a free service for the airport through their presentations.

Blubaugh said she plans to collaborate with the airport again in the spring when she teaches a graphic design course. Many of her students could also pursue internships at the airport as a continuation of their projects, she said.

Cree said he's interested in having Mount Aloysius interns at the airport.

"We're definitely looking forward to teaming up with them as much as possible," he said.

Mirror Staff Writer Matt Churella is at 814-946-7520.