JUNEAU, Alaska, June 5, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- From the 16 million college students now out of school and searching for summer employment, six top marketing students on the West Coast have been chosen for the ultimate summer job. Labeled the Alaskan Six Pack, these six students will travel to Alaska to work for Alaskan Brewing Company as Brand Specialists. They will receive hands-on marketing experience in the craft beer segment while also getting a chance to explore the wilds of Alaska.
This is the second annual Six Pack for Alaskan Brewing Company, a 20-year old craft brewery based in Juneau, Alaska. During last year's recruitment period for the inaugural Six Pack program, the company experienced record sales with increases in excess of 23% across eight western U.S. states. Alaskan Brewing Company created the Six Pack to better reach the important 21-30 year-old segment and it has clearly succeeded. Students comprising the 2006 Six Pack hail from Washington, Montana, and California.
"With the domestic beer industry fairly flat last year, we decided that the best way to introduce our craft beers to 21- to 30-year-olds was to bring them up here and let them work hands-on with our brew crew," said Fred Hees, Vice President of Marketing for Alaskan Brewing Company. "The results were overwhelming so we decided to make it an annual program. Our recruitment efforts included on-campus advertising, working with college career centers, presentations to campus marketing clubs, point-of-sale materials at grocery chains, and even using myspace and craigslist to get the word out. Our sales continue to rise and we continue to grow."
"If working with the Supreme Court is the ultimate summer internship for law students, then the Alaskan Six Pack is the ultimate summer job for marketing students," said Blake Bidleman, a senior at University of Washington and member of the 2005 Six Pack. "Virtually every day I apply some principle of marketing that I learned as part of this elite team. Dog sledding across a glacier was also pretty amazing."
The 2006 Six Pack consists of the following students:
-- Fabio Garcia - A student double majoring in International
Business and Marketing at San Jose State University, he formerly
lived in Zimbabwe as a volunteer teacher at an impoverished
primary school.
-- Molly Gilbert - This dean's list, honor roll student studying
Business Marketing and Management at the University of Montana
recently helped spearhead the first "Aber Day" Missoula, Montana
has seen since 1979.
-- John Hollister - A Comparative History major at the University of
Washington, this dean's list regular is on the path to graduating
with honors and prides himself in having studied abroad three
times.
-- Jacob Jahn - This formerly sponsored skateboarder stays busy
working towards a degree in Print Journalism at Cal State Long
Beach while hosting a radio show on the university's K-Beach
station and giving surfing lessons to kids at the Long Beach
Yacht Club.
-- Angela Mejia - Newly graduated, this member of AMA, SPJ, Kappa
Tau Alpha, and Golden Key honor societies has put her training in
Print Journalism at Cal State Long Beach to good use as the
editor of the university's Dig Magazine.
-- Katelyn Schlactus - Majoring in International Business at San
Diego State University, she is no stranger to winning, having won
numerous championships for lacrosse and water polo, and was
recently featured on the life-guarding reality show "Beach Patrol
San Diego."
As brand specialists, each student will earn $2,500 for school while traveling to Juneau to contribute to the brewery's marketing strategy, work on an actual product launch, and represent the brewery at public events. During their off-hours, they will get to experience true Alaskan adventures such as whale watching, salmon fishing, dog mushing, and taking helicopters up to the glaciers.