Students pitch ideas for tourism contest
LAFAYETTE — Beau Chene High School students pitched two social media ideas Monday that they hope will advance tourism in their parish and the state and translate into scholarship money from a statewide contest in about a month.
Some presentations in the Louisiana Business Challenge competition, which coincides with the state’s bicentennial celebration, already have received support from BP and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and the St. Landry Parish high school team’s proposals were among those garnering such attention, organizers said.
The Social Media for Inter-Community Leaders’ Excellence teaches businessowners how to self promote, and the St. Landry Parish Internship for Community Enhancement matches businesses with student interns who develop promotional videos and build social media profiles.
The St. Landry Parish Tourist Commission offered meeting space for the SMILE classes, a program that will be taught by a volunteer instructor and that could have cost about $38,000, said Lainey Latiolais, a member of the four-person Beau Chene High team.
However, the students designed the program with volunteer help and existing equipment from participating businesses, said Latiolais, whose teams includes Byron Stelly, Amy Stelly and Kathryn Knott.
“We’ll help you put it together,” said Frank Wallace, assistant dean in the B.I. Moody III College of Business Administration at ULL, to the team after their presentation. “Let us know what it’s going to take.”
The students said they chose to promote their parish in part due to declining parish revenue.
“It’s a program that can last a lifetime,” Byron Stelly said.
The students’ plan also included online content that creates five “promotional trails” with sites and attractions specific to tourists’ interest in art, historic sites, business and industry, recreation and food. Students also produced a jingle with the help of Latiolais’ father, Randy, that capitalizes on the Tourist Commission’s existing slogan, “Gumbo for the Soul.”
ULL’s business college is one of the competition’s sponsors. The event also has the support of BP, which has provided $40,000 in scholarship prize money to the winning teams, the Lieutenant Governor’s Office and the Louisiana Bicentennial Commission. The university is providing $24,000 in scholarships.
The winning teams also have a chance to promote their ideas.
This month, teams competed regionally before a panel of judges that include marketing professionals and ULL marketing and business faculty.
The Acadiana regional competition began Monday and continues through Wednesday. The regional winners will compete in the final round March 8 in Lafayette.
A team of Lafayette High School sophomores, Lance Collazos, Tylen Clark and Miles Vesper, developed a new attraction for New Orleans: a fishing rodeo, as well as a website that includes a comprehensive calendar of festivals.
Judges also reviewed presentations from Lafayette High students Mark Mallory, Junyoung Jeong, Kirkland Middleton, and Taylor Punch that cited BiBi’s Patisserie, a new local bakery that offers vegan, gluten-free and sugar-free products downtown and across the state.
The students touted BiBi’s Patisserie as a resource for those with diabetes and celiac disorders, and also as a cultural hot spot. Its owner speaks French, it displays art and it will soon offer live music, which could draw teenagers to an alcohol-free venue.
The group’s marketing strategy included YouTube and the blogging platform Tumblr to post customer testimonials and information about the chemistry behind the baked goods, students said.
The closest bakery offering similar products is in Baton Rouge, students said.
The scholarship money and experience building a marketing plan made the competition attractive to students, Mallory said.