NewsBytes: Women’s Studies for Men, Curating an Experience
1) Since 2002, of the 8,724 students taking women’s studies courses at the University of Michigan (go blue), 1,124 were male. What’s going on? Here’s a quote from a male women’s studies student in an LSA Magazine article (click on the “What’s Different” article to download a PDF): “It’s almost as if someone gave me a new pair of eyeglasses and the world came into focus for the first time.” The university is seeing a trend in students, male and female, pursuing joint majors pairing women’s studies with psychology, medicine, history or German literature. How about women’s studies and business - hmmmmm?
2) An article in the May 2008 issue of Fast Company covers the curatorial approach of reinventing the hotel experience. In the piece by Danielle Sacks, Eva Ziegler, senior VP of Le Meridien (a Starwood property), says: “My role is to create unique experiences for the guest that stimulate all five senses.” Her mission has been to “court LM100’s cast of artists - painters, designers, and architects - to transform more than 50 aspects of the hotel. ” Branding consultant Steven Addis makes a crucial closing point: “…these guys are going to be perpetually curating on behalf of - not marketing at - its audience.” What are you doing on behalf of your customers?
