Penn State Behrend students prepare Marketing Plans for the Hagen History Center again in 2020
For the second year in the row, Penn State Behrend marketing students have worked on a project to write marketing plans for the museum to attract visitors under the age of 30. This is a demographic the museum staff knew hasn’t been effectively reached.
In 2019, the students worked together to generate a total of 10 creative, insightful, and detailed marketing plans for ECHS. Out of these came the recommendation to use the name Hagen History Center for all marketing efforts; another was to use the slogan Make History With Us. Both were adopted by the ECHS staff in 2019. Other recommendations included enhancements to the website, increased utilization of social media, and the creation of specific events for people under the age of 30. Many of these recommendations were implemented and continue to be updated/implemented.
This year, Penn State asked ECHS’s Advancement Director, Geri Cicchetti, to be the adjunct professor for the Marketing 444 classes. A total of 43 juniors and seniors are in the capstone class required of all marketing majors to graduate. ECHS appreciates being selected as the organization chosen for the marketing plans.
This is a difficult year for all students. Because of Covid-19, they were required stay home and continue the semester online from mid-March. For students working together in teams, it is difficult not to be able to meet physically. They faced a host of challenges with students living in different time zones and some without easy internet access. The students needed to be very creative in completing this project, and they rose to the occasion. Because of their perseverance and diligence, the Hagen History Center will benefit once again with 10 creative, insightful and detailed marketing plans.
The students will complete their marketing plans in April, and we look forward to reading them in May.