UL and Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne are challenging high school students to help sell Louisiana to tourists.
UL Lafayette's B.I. Moody III College of Business Administration has teamed up with the lieutenant governor and the state's Bicentennial Commission to host the first "Louisiana Business Challenge, Tourism in Louisiana."
LBC urges high school student teams, made of two to four students, to develop a campaign to attract visitors to Louisiana. Competitors must use emerging free technologies, such as social media and non-traditional advertising, to promote a state or local event, historic site, festival, person or fair. Teams cannot use paid forms of media such as radio, TV or print.
"We want to celebrate Louisiana's unique culture and rich heritage by challenging our high school students to develop promotional plans that highlight local areas and our great state," said Dr. Joby John, dean of the B.I. Moody III College of Business Administration. "We want the rest of the world to be as excited as we are about our diverse cultural celebrations."
Applicants must register electronically by Oct. 30, and the deadline to submit campaigns is Jan. 16, 2012. Six regional teams will advance to the state competition at UL on March 8 and 9, 2012.
The LBC is the first of its kind. The winning team will be given a trophy, monetary awards and statewide recognition and may also be featured on the Louisiana Department of Tourism's website louisianatravel.com.
For more information and registration, visit moody.louisiana.edu and click on the LBC logo.