Presentation Compilation

Block Heads

Continuing a relationship that began with the Business School last year, the newly renovated LEGO Discovery Center (LDC) in Assembly Square north of Boston asked Marketing Professor Pelin Bicen if Sawyer Business School students could develop strategies for LDC’s growth.

Over the course of the fall, more than 120 students across more than 20 classes researched the industry, visited the LDC, and asked questions like how could LDC increase annual pass sales without cannibalizing daily ticket revenue? What strategies could smooth out the dramatic differences between weekend and weekday attendance? How could LDC improve renewal rates, particularly for complimentary passholders?

After a morning marathon of presentations to Suffolk judges, four finalist teams presented to LDC’s General Manager Rachel Meissner and Marketing Manager Cecelia Hennessy.

“We were thrilled with the presentations the Suffolk students shared with us on how to grow Annual Pass sales at our center,” said Hennessy. “The insightful and data driven ideas will be sure to enhance our business especially when it comes to Annual Pass sales.”

Bring On the Bookings

Located just across the street from Suffolk University, the Omni Parker Hotel has a long and storied history. Charles Dickens and John Wilkes Booth stayed there. (Some guests have even claimed to see their ghosts.) Past employees include Malcolm X and Ho Chi Minh. It is the place that created Boston cream pie and introduced the Parker House roll. But while the post-pandemic occupancy rate has improved for all of Boston’s hotels, the market is fiercely competitive.

To drive future bookings and increase awareness of the hotel in certain demographics, Parker House Marketing and Social Media Manager Reece Klein, BSBA ’22, invited the Business Research Methods class to present recommendations that would leverage digital platforms for direct bookings and enhance the hotel’s online reputation. The ultimate goal? Put the country’s oldest operating hotel at the top of people’s lists when reserving accommodations in Boston.

Business Economics major Glory Tran, Class of 2026, and her team focused on attracting wealthy empty nesters and upscale families. One of their suggestions included dialing up luxury services like gift baskets for new guests and restaurant credits for returning guests. Another idea was to create a deeper relationship between the hotel and the City of Boston by hosting cultural pop-up events.

For Tran the best part of the Omni Parker House project was simply working with her group. “I’ve always had a good group project experience here at Suffolk,” said Tran. “I’m passionate about doing well, and the group saw that passion and supported it.”

The Parker House team really liked what the students recommended—so much so that they chose two groups as the winners.

“We were thoroughly impressed by the students' recommendations,” said Klein. “Each team had at least one idea that I could see the hotel implementing, and we will seriously consider these suggestions as we enhance our guest experience in the future.”

The prize for the winning team members? A one-night stay at the Parker House—ghosts included.

Business With Purpose

At the end of each semester, Executive in Residence Professor Sonia Alleyne and Professor Aimee Williamson hold the Service Learning Showcase, which highlights the research of the Social Change and Fundraising for Nonprofits courses. To date, students have worked with 28 nonprofit partners in Greater Boston, helping them navigate an increasingly challenging environment. This fall’s clients included University partner the Boston Debate League, the Boston Education Fund, the Korean American Citizens League of New England, and the Roxbury YMCA.

Student teams—featuring names like “Social Butterflies,” “The Change Makers,” and “Ram Solutions Fundraising Group”—presented their findings in an event that included remarks from Dean Amy Zeng and Distinguished Guest Lecturer Jeff Beckwith, who will be working with the Public Administration program this academic year.

One angle some teams took was to research social enterprise revenue schemes for their clients. For the Korean American Citizens League, one idea was to provide English language learning and public speaking classes for Korean Americans to be taught by high school and college volunteers. (Business students to the core, they even ran the numbers and found the idea could provide an increase in revenue of 20%.) The Boston Debate League teams came up with the idea of hiring debate students to come into workplaces and teach public speaking skills to employees.

Other groups did research on similar nonprofits either in greater Boston or in other cities to determine what fundraising strategies and best practices they employ. Teams for the Boston Education Fund, which provides access to philanthropy and other financial resources for Boston Public Schools, researched fundraising solutions that align with the education goals of public schools; they even proposed a detailed plan for a city softball tournament fundraiser.

As Eve Bamber, Class of 2028, said in her student reflection remarks about what she learned during the course, “It’s not about being a hero, it’s about being a partner.”