Parker College of Business faculty bring international speaker to students

October 26, 2020

Students in the Parker College of Business got an inside look at international luxury marketing after two faculty members arranged for a special virtual presentation from an India-based guest speaker. 

Bo Dai, Ph.D., assistant professor of marketing, and Jackie Eastman, Ph.D., professor of marketing, arranged for Sheetal Jain, Ph.D., founder and CEO of Luxe Analytics — a specialized luxury market intelligence and strategic advisory firm — to present about aspects of consumer behavior and managing luxury marketing in Indian and international markets.

“This presentation allowed our students access to a key researcher and consultant in an important emerging economy, India, who discussed a topic that many students don't get the opportunity in a typical semester to learn more about,” stated Eastman. “While Dr. Jain applied it to the luxury market, it could be utilized in a variety of marketing domains and touches on many of the underlying lessons in the marketing courses taught at the Parker College of Business.”

Jain is a luxury industry expert, management consultant and internationally published author and researcher who focuses on consumer behavior, luxury, retail and sustainability. The global luxury market is an approximately $1.5 trillion industry, and with implications in both international marketing and marketing management, is an excellent interactive virtual presentation for both sets of students.

“My biggest takeaway would be that if you are trying to introduce a luxurious good or service to the market, then you should understand who finds your product luxurious and who does not,” added Jay Woyce, a marketing student from Marietta, Georgia. 

With the pandemic disrupting traditional events, Eastman said embracing virtual events has offered students more accessibility to industry leaders than ever before. 

“It is easy to focus on what we don't have this fall semester, such as being able to walk in a room of students and feel the energy of 40 people together in a room learning,” Eastman said. “Being able to offer this presentation to students, to bring someone that would not be able to travel to Statesboro for a typical class presentation, was great. For the students, they got to meet and establish a contact with someone from another country, while for Dr. Jain, this was her first presentation to an American audience. So to be able to do something unique and special for the classes felt like a wonderful opportunity for everyone.”