Local Clothing Boutique Benefits from Lauren Bogan's Business Savvy

Saint Joseph's Summer Scholar supports growing local business

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PHILADELPHIA, PA (06/24/2011)(readMedia)-- As a teenager in Chester Springs, Pa., SJU marketing major Lauren Bogen '13 babysat for several families in her neighborhood, including stay-at-home mom Saunde Briggs. Now a rising college junior, Bogen will work with Briggs again, this time to strengthen the brand of, and develop a marketing plan for Briggs' boutique children's clothing line, The Ellie Rose. Part of a group of 101 undergraduate participants in SJU's Summer Scholars Program, Bogen will spend 11 weeks this summer conducting research and then applying her findings to Briggs' company.

Under the mentorship of Janee Burkhalter, Ph.D., assistant professor of marketing, Bogen is exploring current marketing practices aimed at women – specifically mothers and grandmothers – and trends in children's clothing.

"It's surprising how complex marketing to this group is," says Bogen. "We're not marketing to the end customer, the child, but to the adults who care for them. And because I'm not a mother or frequently buying children's clothes, it's been interesting to be so immersed in something I know so little about."

By the end of the summer Bogen will have established an effective strategy for engaging The Ellie Rose's customers with its existing website, www.theellierose.com, by creating ways for patrons to interact with the brand. Because Briggs runs her business from her home with only an online shop, Bogen's goal is to bring customers in and foster their loyalty through brand placement and word-of-mouth. Her plans include building a blog presence to connect to the company's Facebook page and photo contests with discounts set as prizes. For Bogen, the payoff is the experience.

"This is the first project that has required me to rely entirely on my intellect without the aid of a textbook or classroom," says Bogen. "It's great to put my creativity to work."

A student in the honors program and a recipient of the SJU Presidential Scholarship, Bogen's hope is for the project to have a lasting, positive impact on The Ellie Rose.

"It would really be a crowning moment," she says.

Contact: Carolyn Steigleman '10 (M.A.), Director of Haub School of Business Communications, csteigle@sju.edu, 610-660-135