One of the minors that is offered at the Academy for Leisure is “Storytelling and Consumer Experiences”. In this article I will explain the content and the current projects that we are doing.
Changes
Since the start of this academic year there were many changes throughout the entire NHTV regarding minors and graduating. The minors changed in length which make it easier to do, for example, a minor at a different school. Furthermore they have also changed the content of graduation, this will be discussed in a later article. The changes have also affected the Attractions and Theme Parks Management track. In earlier years there was a specific theme park minor. This minor is replaced with the broader Storytelling and Consumer Experiences minor. Fortunately, the projects and commissioners that were connected to the old minor have agreed to continue with the new minor.
Content
The minor Storytelling and Consumer Experiences can be divided into three parts. Two parts are theory based and one part is a project for a commissioner. We started this year with a course in consumer behavior which consisted of three lectures and three workshops. Throughout these classes we have learned about the power of marketing and influencing the unconscious. The second theoretical parts consisted also of three lectures and three workshops and they were focused on customer relationship management. Throughout the classes we focused on the theory and practical side of CRM. The theoretical part of this minor will be tested in one overall exam.
The third part of this minor is practical and related to a real life case. The current minor students are working in groups on six projects. Three projects are not theme park related (the minor is a broad minor which is also available for non-ATPM students) which are: the 50Th anniversary of the NHTV, 3FM Serious Request and Ahoy Rotterdam. The other three projects are theme park related and are all commissioned by Europa-Park. The three projects are focused on marketing and Imagineering.
Broad minor
Next to the minor Storytelling and Consumer Behavior it is mandatory for all Academy for Leisure students to follow a second broad leisure minor. This minor is focused on research and the different fields of leisure. This minor consists of eight lectures and a bootcamp week in January.