In a partnership with local Italian eatery Romanacci, Fairfield Dolan students boosted brand awareness, engagement, and customer base through their work with the restaurant's Fairfield location.
Under the guidance of assistant professor of marketing Woocheol Kim, PhD, students enrolled in a social media marketing course at Fairfield Dolan gained hands-on experience in influencer marketing by creating and executing a social media campaign for Romanacci, an Italian restaurant with five locations in Fairfield County.
James Ricci, chief marketing officer of Romanacci, collaborated with the Dolan students throughout the fall semester 2024 as a way to leverage community partnerships.
“The main part of this [partnership with Fairfield Dolan] was to give students hands-on work experience in the space, but the performance on our social media was way beyond what I expected," said Ricci. "As much as the students liked it, we [Romanacci] liked it too.”
Romanacci’s TikTok following increased from 353 to 583, a 65-percent rise from before the students started posting content. As a result of the successful collaboration, Romanacci offered two students a semester-long internship for spring 2025.
Fairfield Dolan’s work with the restaurant provided students with a valuable opportunity to apply theoretical concepts. They created dynamic social media content on platforms like Instagram and TikTok, then evaluated performance on the platforms.
“This project goes one step further, exposing students to actual issues related to social media and asking them to address [those issues]. I’d like my students to take this project as something they can be proud to share on their résumé,” Dr. Kim said.
