
When Consortium Media needed to research audience development for TOArts, a nonprofit supporting the three resident performing arts companies at the Bank of America Performing Arts Center, they found a perfect partner in CSUCI’s student-run business solutions agency, CI Solutions.
“Working with the CI Solutions team was a great solution and so very much fun,” said Denise Bean-White, President and CEO of Consortium Media, a Ventura/Bay area-based brand development and PR firm. “For projects that need to be extremely cost effective, this is a great route. I enjoyed working with them and will do so again.”
CI Solutions provides students of all majors with opportunities to work in paid positions on real-life business problems with small businesses and nonprofits. Students gain professional experience by tackling projects ranging from advertising and design to brand development, research, and web marketing. The student organization was founded in 2020 by Professor of Marketing Ekin Pehlivan, with support from the Martin V. Smith School of Business & Economics and the Entrepreneurship & Small Business Institute.
Ekin Pehlivan
“This is the best thing I’ve done in my professional life,” said Pehlivan. “I thought we were going to build an experiential learning program for students to work with local employers. It turned organically into this vibrant student community that learns,