At the conclusion of developing a master plan for the Town of Delcambre with the UL Community Design Workshop  in the summer of 2007, Dr. Geoffrey Stewart and the UL Department of Marketing were asked to assist in the articulation of the Town’s vision into viable market strategies.  The Town/Port Steering Committee posed an interesting issue that helped frame the initial study and in turn created a multi-semester service learning project with the UL Lafayette MBA program.  After being completely devastated by Hurricane Rita, the Steering Committee presented their situation not as that of a victim, but that of a Town facing an opportunity to address declining economic conditions that have plagued their Town of nearly 50 years.  The challenge was not to simply help the Town rebound from their loss, but it was to focus on the development of marketing plans that would position it for sustainable economic development.

In the spring of 2009, Dr. Stewart’s MKTG 524 students developed marketing plans within the retail, real estate, industrial/manufacturing, and tourism industries in Delcambre.  While all of the plans were effective in helping move the Town forward, the retail environment provided an opportunity to help the Steering Committee take immediate action.  One retail development group highlighted the $11 million opportunity gap in retail spending (local dollars spent outside of the Town).  Interestingly, grocery spending alone created a $3.1 million opportunity gap and provided hard evidence of the Town’s need for a grocery store.  While the Steering understood the magnitude of the Town’s only grocery store not reopening after Hurricane Rita, the students were able to provide them with evidence that they could leverage in their pursuit of redevelopment funding.  In the days following the students’ presentations, the Steering Committee approached the Iberia Development Foundation with the data and essentially elevated the importance of Delcambre’s grocery store in the eyes of Iberia Parish officials.

Building on these initial industry marketing plans, Dr. Stewart’s current students are conducting field interviews and collecting marketing data that will impact two critical projects.  First, one group is partnering with LSU Sea Grant to develop a web-based portal that will bring local producers/shrimpers and customers together and will facilitate the distribution of product through a dockside seafood market.  The 524 students are focused on segmenting the customer market and will develop strategies for attracting target customers to a dockside seafood market where they can purchase “Fresh Louisiana Seafood” directly off the boat.  Second, further research is needed in order to facilitate retail development along the Delcambre Canal.  While the students are gathering additional market research for the grocery store development, they are also exploring opportunities to develop an elevated retail district along the Delcambre Canal Boardwalk.  Just recently, the students hosted Mike Tarantino, Iberia Industrial Development Foundation CEO, and discussed retail market segmentation and regional economic development plans.

The Town of Delcambre has been an ideal client for service learning in Marketing 524 and we are appreciative of the opportunity to bring the real world into the classroom and to, in a small way, help with their revitalization.

Geoff,

We wanted to take the time to express to you our sincerest gratitude for the work the UL Marketing Department has provided to the Redevelopment of Delcambre. Your classes have provided and are continuing to provide marketing and other studies and analysis that we have used and are continuing to use to apply for funding for infrastructure projects. We also plan to use the studies to promote private investment.

Some of the projects planned or underway for which we have utilized the studies include the Fisheries Infrastructure Program, restablishment of a supermarket and other retail stores in Delcambre, expansion of the Port of Delcambre industrial facilities, continued planning and development of recreational and tourism markets, and rehabilitation of the seafood industry in Delcambre.

We have not had sufficient funding to hire private firms to obtain the same the reports. Yet, the product your classes have generated are comparable to what could have been produced by private firms and at a greatly reduced cost. The University has not charged us for your services, but we expect we could obtain funding for future marketing projects.

We look forward to working with you and your classes. In fact, we want to expand our relationship with the Unversity for future services. Please let us hear from you on this and let's plan to meet and discuss the possibilities.

Thanks again.

The Delcambre Town/Port Steering Committee