Web Editor’s Note: This story was written for the MCOMM 3309 – News Editing & Reporting Class

This semester, WT students from the College of Business and the Sybil B. Harrington College of Fine Arts and Humanities have had the opportunity to undertake a project that allowed them to gain real world experience. They have been doing marketing research for Las Vegas performer Terry Fator, gathering information for Fator’s management team to improve the Terry Fator Show.

Dr. Nicholas Gerlich, College of Business department head and professor of Marketing, said that the door to this opportunity was opened by an existing professional relationship between his research group and the Terry Fator Show.

“This effort is the result of earlier work by Dr. Leigh Browning and Ms. Lori Westermann from the College of Fine Arts and Humanities and myself from the College of Business,” he said. “We have had a professional relationship with The Terry Fator Show for over a year now and Leigh, Lori, and I are also research collaborators and have a private consultancy.”

Senior Mass Communications student Tyler Sweeney explains the research as two different surveys to gather information to better The Terry Fator Show.

“In August and October we went to Las Vegas and surveyed people on the street and then surveyed people who were leaving from seeing The Terry Fator Show. We compared the two results and are presenting the information back to Terry Fator,” he said. “We conducted more than 400 surveys and the information gathered will help with things like media buys and how much recognition Terry receives to the different Vegas crowds.”

The group of students consists of four people, two from the College of Business and two from the Department of Communication.

Masters of Business Administration student Christie Russell said she thinks that the collaboration between students in different fields of study is very important, especially for something such as show business.

“It’s really important for our two programs to merge and work together. In the ‘real world,’ advertising teams and marketing teams will always be working together to make sure that the creative side and business side are cohesive,” she said. “I think we should work with students outside our major more often. It gives a more real world feel to projects like this.”

Terry Fator is performing his holiday-themed performances titled A Very Terry Christmas beginning Nov. 29 through Dec. 24 at the Mirage in Las Vegas, Nevada.