Busch Gardens Gives CNU Students a Free Day in the Park
News Release - May 8, 2009
Media Contacts:
Lori Jacobs
University Relations
lori.jacobs@cnu.edu
(757) 594-7961
(NEWPORT NEWS, VA) – Busch Gardens will provide free passes to 58 Christopher Newport University students on Friday, May 8, in recognition of their outstanding work on a Busch Gardens case study assignment for their Interactive Marketing Strategy course this semester. Dr. Lisa Spiller, the CNU marketing professor responsible for writing and assigning the case, will join her students for a day of fun.
The Busch Gardens case was one of five real-world case assignments completed in partial fulfillment of a semester-long, senior capstone marketing course.The case required students to work in small consulting teams to analyze and recommend lead generation strategies for the theme related to marketing, group sales and special event campaigns.
The case specifically asked each team to identify and justify each of the following: prospective customers and analysis for the campaign; rental strategies for prospecting for new customers; marketing budget allocations and strategies for each identified target customer.
The case client, Mr. Dan Dipiazzo, vice president of marketing for Busch Gardens was impressed with the work of the CNU marketing students. "When Dr. Spiller asked about using Busch Gardens as the basis for a real-world class project, we were happy to cooperate and thought it would provide a fun topic for the students. We gained some outstanding ideas and insight that we can incorporate into our group sales efforts. The CNU marketing students showed great understanding of direct marketing techniques and were highly professional in their presentations. "
Christopher Newport University is a four-year public university in Newport News, Virginia. CNU enrolls 5,000 students in rigorous academic programs through the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the Joseph W. Luter III College of Business and Leadership and offers great teaching, small classes and an emphasis on leadership, civic engagement and honor. Visit us at www.cnu.edu.