Business Commons^™

Marketing The Magic In A Nature-Based Experience: A Case Study On The Walt Disney Company, Kristen L. Byron

Recreation, Parks, and Tourism Administration

Customers focus on different values when looking for a travel experience. Experiential marketing is able to connect customers with companies and experiences that match their values, including ecotourism and nature-based experiences. The Walt Disney Company is an international brand of entertainment features and is able to provide guests with customized experiences. The purpose of this study was to examine experiential marketing techniques in relation to the Walt Disney Company’s ecotourism and nature focused experiences. The researcher used a best practices matrix on the Walt Disney Company, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and Disney’s Aulani Resort and Spa. This study found that the …

Panorama Meats/Western Grassfed Beef: Better Beef, Better You, Kelsey King, Gretchen Montague, Jasmine Singh, Danielle Wood

Case Studies in Agribusiness

Western Grasslands, Inc. started in 2001, to process and market grass-fed beef. Grass fed, though about only 1% of the US beef market, is a quickly growing market. Today, WGI markets its Panorama meat through Whole Foods and other grass-fed brands on-line.

Case Study: Double J Dairy, Jay Tevelde, Chris Reeves, Holden Smith, Bradley Braun

Case Studies in Agribusiness

The case presents the history and current operations of the Double J Dairy, a large scale (milking about 4,300 cows) dairy farm in the Central Valley of California. The case discusses continuing issues with water, labor and environmental regulations.

Underwood Ranches And Huy Fong Foods: An Exclusive Relationship, Kelsey Wright, Baylie Duncan, Sierra Withrow, Bryce Yoshimoto

Case Studies in Agribusiness

The case presents Underwood Ranches, a 3rd generation farm founded in 1867, and Huy Fong Foods, a hot sauce producer know for Sriracha. Underwood was wondering if they would go under when they approached Huy Fong, a hot sauce company named after the boat on which its found escaped Vietnam. The result was a sole supplier to an innovative specialty food producer.

Grocery Outlet Bargain Market Ii, Bryan Berry, Jack Brown, Ryan Stojanovich

Case Studies in Agribusiness

The US food retail sector is discussed, and how Grocery Bargain Markets fits within that sector. Growth and expansion plans are discussed, with emphasis on the growing Hispanic market in the Los Angeles area.

Tolosa Vineyards, Adam Cox, Thomas Niland, Jonny Pottorff, Morgan Brahms

Case Studies in Agribusiness

The case presents the history of Tolosa Vineyards and its place in the US wine industry. In particular, the case discusses how wineries replaced cattle in the Edna Valley outside San Luis Obispo, CA, and how a small (under 25,000 cases annually) winery can position its wines and marketing, with a change from distribution to hospitality.

Target: The Epic Search For Equilibrium, Delaney Ainsworth, Jonathan Galvez, Austin Ketchersid, Carson Stone

Case Studies in Agribusiness

Target's expansion into food retailing is discussed, along with market share of competitors and future growth plans.

Battle River Wilderness Retreat Brochure, Sarah W. Conway

Agricultural Education and Communication

Fly-fishing, bear photography and complete wilderness solitude—welcome to Battle River Wilderness Retreat. This small, unknown lodge in Katmai National Park is one of Alaska’s famous fishing destinations. The current brochure, which markets the lodge to the outside customers, is from the 1990s. The author is conducting a study to modify the brochure by updating the advertising pamphlet with new multimedia, personal stories, wildlife information, and the history of the lodge. The author plans to travel to the lodge in Alaska and will photograph new images for the revision, interview guests, and study the environment and surrounding wildlife. The revised brochure …

Measuring The Success Of The Emo Western States Championship Horse Show, Alison Mae Einolander

Agricultural Education and Communication

The purpose of this project was to determine whether or not the 2016 EMO Western States Championship Show was successful, and analyze if it should become an annual event. In this project, survey data and analysis pertaining to the 2016 Inaugural EMO Western States Championship Show will be found.

Using Relationship Theory To Improve Stem Outreach To Corporations: A Case Study For Starbase Los Alamitos, Mark Gibson

Journalism

The goal of this study was to improve corporate outreach efforts for an educational program called Starbase Los Alamitos. This Starbase program is part of a larger effort by the Department of Defense to improve STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education in the United States.

This study was guided by the following research question: How can STEM programs use relationship management theory to improve corporate outreach? A review of the literature was performed and this study used relationship theory to design eight questions for a four person focus group. Control and treatment websites were identified. Participants were shown the …

Photovoltaic Cooking In The Developing World, Tyler Watkins, Christopher O'Day, Omar Arriaga

Mechanical Engineering

The challenge of clean cooking is faced by hundreds of millions of people worldwide. We present a cooking technology consisting of a solar panel directly connected to an electric heater in a well-insulated chamber. Assuming continued decrease in solar panel prices, we anticipate that in a few decades Solar Electric Cooking technologies will be the most common cooking technology for the poor. Appropriate use of insulation reduces the power demand making low-power Insulated Solar Electric Cooking systems already cost competitive.

University Fundraising Through Special Events: An Application Of The Theory Of Planned Behavior, Megan Elizabeth Hobbs

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to apply the Revised Theory of Planned Behavior and EVENTQUAL models to explore (1) event qualities that significantly impact guests’ satisfaction with a university event that they attend, (2) significant factors influencing university loyalty as a result of an event, and (3) willingness to make a charitable donation to a university as a result of attending an event. An online survey was sent to attendees of an annual Cal Poly auction event between 2002 and 2016 that directly benefits Cal Poly students. The data were used to test a series of hypotheses to determine …

Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Mitchell Comstock, Michael Maggipinto, Brendan Mcintosh, Lukas Oswald

Case Studies in Agribusiness

The history of Grocery Outlet Bargain Market is presented, from its start selling government surplus canned goods in San Francisco, to its present 299 stores concentrated mostly on the west coast, but with 18 stores in Pennsylvania. The case discusses two of Grocery Outlet’s distinguishing traits: opportunistic buying and independent operators. Challenges, competition and future opportunities are presented.

Fernjo Farms Case Study, Michelle Cheda, Luis Trujillo, Lauren Ott, Andrew Lucchesi

Case Studies in Agribusiness

The history of Fernjo Farms is similar by many California dairy farms. It was started by a Portuguese immigrant from the Azores in the 1920s, who milked someone else’s cows for decades before he had saved enough to start his own farm. Today, Fernjo Farms milks 3,500 cows on three operations, and is expanding into permanent crops such as almonds and pistachios. The case explores the California dairy industry and challenges such as labor and regulations. Given current dairy costs and returns, Fernjo Dairy is considering other enterprises or moving.

Dewey Farms, Jeff Brown, Nick Vandendriesse, Joey Thomas, Lucas Zender

Case Studies in Agribusiness

Dewey Farms is a 150 year old family farming operation, located 12 miles east of Sacramento, CA. Their primary crop is pistachios, 90% of which they sell though Paramount Farms, one of the largest farm operations in the world. The case discusses the pros and cons of contracting with Paramount, and the options Dewey Farms has for the future.

Grocery Outlet Bargain Market I, Mitchell Comstock, Michael Maggipinto, Brendan Mcintosh, Lukas Oswald

Case Studies in Agribusiness

Grocery Outlet Bargain Markets has grown from a single store in San Francisco, offering low cost government surplus canned goods to 100 stores and over $1 billion in sales. The chain focuses on opportunistic buying of over runs and discontinued stock, which allows it charge low prices.

Dohi Farms, Christopher Callahan, Bryan Jimenez, Greg Moxley

Case Studies in Agribusiness

Dohi Farms is a two-generation family farm in the Central Coast of California, a major vegetable and specialty crop producing region for the US market. Major issues Dohi Farms contends with include water availability and quality, labor and changing markets.

Transparency In The Fast-Food Industry: Utilizing Mobile To Capture New Audiences, Mary Dundon

Journalism

No abstract provided.

Far West Water Ski Club Floating Dock Replacement, Jeffery L. Hadley

Construction Management

A project based senior project, the Far West Floating Dock Project included the design, procurement and construction of two 20’x 20’ floating docks for the Lake Nacimiento based nonprofit Far West Water Ski Club. Constructed of polyethylene coated floats, 4x Pressure Treated lumber, hot-dipped galvanized hardware and composite decking, the dock is designed to have a lifespan of at least 35-40 years. This case study provides an overview of the complete project delivery, beginning with the conception and research, transitioning to design and procurement, and finishing with construction and lessons learned. The overall project cost landed at $21,712.00, made possible …

Nike Pulls Away: An Analysis Of Nike's "The Jogger" Advertisement And Other Marketing Strategies, Michael Sean Dingilian

Communication Studies

Over the course of the last 3 decades, Nike has been the most dominant sports company in the world. Rival companies like Reebok, Adidas, and Under Armour have all failed to equal to match Nike's popularity amongst athletes and the public. This project is an analysis of how Nike has remained on top for so many years through commercials like "The Jogger" and other marketing strategies.

Multi-Level Analytic Network Process Model To Mitigate Supply Chain Disruptions In Disaster Recovery Planning, Martina Ursula Kroener

Master's Theses

Over the past few decades, environmental changes have led to more frequent occurrences and greater intensities of natural disasters worldwide. In terms of globally connected supply chains, this has resulted in an enormous economical loss for corporations. Therefore, Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery (BC/DR) planning and management has become essential for businesses in order to protect their critical business flow. Yet there is a lack of systematic and transparent methodologies for companies to handle this problem.

Hence, this thesis introduces a novel approach to combine consecutive steps of the Disaster Recovery Planning (DRP) process within one application. The multi-criteria decision-making …

Marketing To Millennials: Improving Relationships With Millennial Consumers Through Online Advertising And Social Media Networking, Shawna Brown

Marketing

As the influence of the millennial population continues to grow, there is an increased demand for effective marketing techniques and methods for reaching this demographic group. With the expansion of technology and growth of social media, the advertising world has experienced tremendous changes in recent years that have been supplemented by the complexity of one of the world’s largest populations: millennials. While the millennial demographic is a difficult group that present a multitude of challenges for marketers, their purchasing power and growing influence act as a promising opportunity for brands.

This study examines the degree to which brands can effectively …

Farming: From The Ground Up, Brock Becker, Max Burt, Michael Gardner

Case Studies in Agribusiness

With half of all current farmers expected to retire within 10 years and entry-level farmers decreasing 30% since 1987, it appears we need to encourage new, entry-level farmers. This case study tracks how a young farmer started his business and the decisions and issues he dealt with along the way. Decisions discussed include whether to rent or lease land, and possible crop-share arrangements, offering custom operations as a way generate revenue and obtain equipment, crop selection and using labor contractors versus in-house labor.

Beach Hut Deli Case Study, Chris Mangiola, Seth Sobottka, Lauren Yien, Megan Fox

Case Studies in Agribusiness

Beach Hut Deli Case Study describes the origin, development and growth of a quick service restaurant in Granite Bay, CA, which has now expanded to 35 locations in California, Reno, and Las Vegas with plans to expand into the Pacific Northwest. The case discusses in-house and external marketing, menu development and franchising options and issues.

Just Desserts, Daniel Dentoni, Eric Griffen, Jimmy Pallios, Zane Westmoreland

Case Studies in Agribusiness

Just Desserts started at a San Francisco café in 1974 with a premium line of hand-crafted desserts. It moved to Oakland in 2001 to increase its production, only to bankrupt in 2003. It was saved by a group of investors who hired professional, experienced manage, with Michael Mendez becoming CEO in 2012. Mendez moved into organics, revamped packaging, and has grown the company.

Talley Farms Fresh Harvest: Excellence In Everything, Brandon Berguia, Emily Ormonde, Erin Van Grouw, Lance Van Grouw

Case Studies in Agribusiness

Talley Farms is a 3rd generation produce farm in the California Central Coast. Always looking for new ways to add value to their operations, they decided to see about community supported agriculture (CSA), an idea brought to the US from Switzerland and Japan in the 1980s. A CSA has subscribers who sign up to receive a box of produce on a regular basis. Decisions for Talley included what to put in the box, how to deliver it, sources of produce and how to market.

The Big Short, Elizabeth Armon

Communication Studies

The Big Short (McKay, 2015), adapted from the non-fiction novel The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis (2010), follows three separate but parallel stories leading up to the United States housing crisis of 2008. On a macro-level, the film brilliantly depicted the creation, and the ultimate burst, of the credit and housing market bubble. However, on a micro-level the audience is given an opportunity to realize and empathize with the internal struggle that many of the main characters faced as they grappled with the fact that their financial gain from shorting the market came with the caveat …

Establishing A Brand: How To Create A Household Name For A Wine Brand Through Social Media And Image, Megan Rodrigues

Journalism

This paper was conducted as a Senior Project for the Journalism Department at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California during a 10 week quarter. This paper explores the topic of wine branding through social media and image. The research for this paper consisted of interviews with three experts that are currently working in the wine industry as well as a literature review of several articles and books that support the topic. The questions that arose about wine branding, brand recognition, social media, wine label and image during the literature review were then asked to the three experts: …

A Simulation Model For Decision Support In Business Continuity Planning, Marissa Anne Mosunich

Master's Theses

Enterprises with a global supply network are at risk of lost revenue as a result of disruptive disasters at supplier locations. Various strategies exist for addressing this risk, and a variety of types of research has been done regarding the identification, assessment and response to the risk of disruption in a supply chain network.

This thesis establishes a decision model to support Business Continuity Planning at the first-tier supplier level. The decision model incorporates discrete-event simulation of supply chain networks (through Simio software), Monte Carlo simulation, and risk index optimization. After modeling disruption vulnerability in a supply chain network, costs …