At the College of Business’s Spring Marketing Day, students were treated to a presentation by John Gainor, CEO and President at International Dairy Queen Inc. and a 1978 Ohio University alumnus.
It’s not every day that college kids have the opportunity to listen to the CEO of one of America’s largest restaurant brands.
At the College of Business’s Spring Marketing Day students were treated to a presentation by John Gainor, CEO and President at International Dairy Queen, Inc., and an Ohio University alumnus from 1978.
During his presentation, Gainor explained to students how being the CEO of a well-known company requires him to act as a vehicle for Dairy Queen’s brand.
“We invented soft serve ice cream 75 years ago,” Gainor said. “It’s part of our American culture. Dairy Queen is an iconic brand, and a big part of my job is to represent the Dairy Queen Brand. I have thousands of employees who work really hard, and I love being able to represent their brand.”
He also highlighted many of Dairy Queen’s recent marketing strategies, such as a new line of specialty sandwiches and baked desserts called DQ Bakes! that is targeted towards millennials.
“We have a lot of fried foods, but so do our competitors,” Gainor said. “We introduced DQ Bakes! because our consumers wanted to get food that they normally wouldn’t be able to get at a quick service restaurant.”
Gainor finished his presentation with some advice to students interested in marketing.
“Challenge the status quo,” he said. “That’s what makes it fun.”
Gainor attributes much of his success as an executive to his time at the university.
“I was a communications major myself,” he said. “The courses that I took and the skills that I learned, like interpersonal communications, are critical to my job. It’s a great university.”
After his presentation, the long-time Bobcats football fan was presented with a gift from the university: a personalized OU football jersey with the number 78 on the back, representing Gainor’s graduation year.
During the second part of the day, students enjoyed a networking lunch with marketing professionals, complete with Dairy Queen ice cream, as well as an interactive alumni question and answer panel.
Katie Hartman, the interim chair of the Marketing Department at OU’s College of Business, was part of the event’s planning committee, and hoped that students in attendance took something away.
“This is put on for the students,” Hartman said. “It’s designed to provide them with information for marketing, opportunities for networking with alumni, and inspiration for career paths.”
Avalon Bednarcik, a senior studying marketing and finance, said she learned a lot from Spring Marketing Day.
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“It was very informative,” she said. “(I learned that) Networking is really important in your future career, more so than what you learn in the classroom.”
Allison Brunenmeister, a senior studying journalism, also spoke highly of the event.
“It’s great to network with people and have a great meal along with it,” she said. “OU provides a lot of great opportunities.”
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