The topic was marketing. The presenter was Lisa Vallee-Smith, CEO and founder of Airfoil, a public relations firm based in Detroit that specializes in marketing and public relations services for some of the world’s most prominent technology, consumer, automotive and healthcare companies.

The audience, however, was not executives from Fortune 500 companies, but rather Academy seventh graders who were about to embark upon a marketing project of their own for social studies class with Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Whitaker. Divided into groups and assigned African countries, the students’ challenge is to market those countries to travel agents using two tools: a brochure and a display booth.

The project is due at the end of May, and Ms. Vallee-Smith grouped the project requirements into manageable phases within a timeline: 1) research (study it), 2) plan and design (plan it), 3) create, write and design (shape it), 4) execute, rehearse and present (put it to work), and 5) evaluate (reflect).

“You start with content and research and build on that,” Ms. Vallee-Smith explained. She went on to describe different forms of marketing research, from primary research (or “research that doesn’t already exist – you can’t buy it or access it on the Internet”) to secondary research – i.e., research that already exists on web sites, etc. Ms. Vallee-Smith advised the students to start with primary research. “Talk to a travel agent,” she said. “Find out what they want, what associations they belong to, what they read and where they get their information.” They would then continue their research via the Internet.

Ms. Vallee-Smith left the students with two pieces of key advice. “Know your audience,” she said. “And come up with three key messages you want your clients to know about your country.”

As a member of the Academy Board of Trustees who serves on the Executive Committee as well as co-chairs the Marketing Committee, Ms. Vallee-Smith shares her marketing expertise not only with Academy students, but with Academy administrators and staff members as well.