MTSU students visit Tanger Outlets Nashville for inside look at retail marketing

ANTIOCH, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee State University marketing students recently visited Tanger Outlets Nashville, not to get a jump-start on their summer wardrobes, but to get an insider view of retail marketing from working professionals.

Dr. Gaia Rancati, assistant professor, marketing — Dr. Gaia Rancati

Assistant professor of marketing Gaia Rancati’s Retailing and E-commerce class visited the property April 14 to meet with Nashville area Tanger managers and the regional director of field marketing and MTSU alumna Mackenzie Reagan, a 2016 organizational communication graduate.

Students heard about the process of choosing Antioch as an outlet location and the impact community-focused marketing campaigns have on attracting visitors to the area.

The class aims to give an overview of the strategies used in retailing with a focus on digital strategies. Rancati’s class provides students the chance to apply skills and theories learned in the first half of the semester to field trips and projects during the second half.

Marketing students from Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tenn., take a group photo in front of signage at Tanger Outlets Nashville on April 14 during a class field trip to learn about the ins and outs of retail marketing. The group, led by assistant professor Gaia Rancati, third from left, heard from marketing professionals at the outlet location in Antioch, Tenn., including Tanger Nashville General Manager Rachel Fives, center, MTSU alumna Mackenzie Reagan, regional director of field marketing, center right, and Marketing Manager Emily Stott, far right. (MTSU photo by Jordan Reining)

“The Tanger Visit is important because these are retail students. They will benefit from lectures in the retail space, they will acquire practical knowledge, and they will develop connections useful for their career,” said Rancati.

Accompanied by Rancati and research assistant Mayowa Isiolaotan, students were welcomed to the outlet mall with tote bags.

The visit to the outlet mall was intended to give students a look at different aspects of the work the Tanger team does, including trade areas, customer demographics, and brand and restaurant choices.

Students from a Retailing and E-commerce class at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tenn., ask questions following a presentation by staffers from Tanger Outlets Nashville on April 14 during a field trip to the outlet in Antioch, Tenn., to learn about the ins and outs of retail marketing. (MTSU photo by Jordan Reining)

At the end of the presentation, students were able to ask the team questions about the outlet and marketing. The class was released and free to explore the more than 60 retail stores at the outlet. They were encouraged to pay attention to the flyers and advertisements placed around the outlet and in individual stores.

Jae Chen, a senior marketing major, attended the field trip, getting the opportunity to see how class material translates to real-world scenarios.

“It’s a lot of information that I just like don’t really read in textbooks. It’s very hands-on, it’s very experience-based,” said Chen.

After being released to explore the outlet, many students spoke in small groups to the marketing team to ask last-minute questions.

Reagan said her experience at MTSU led her to Tanger, allowing her to speak to students in the same position she was once in.

“When I was at MTSU, I took an event marketing class and we had actual people from Nashville — I think it was like the event and marketing manager from one of the Hilton’s downtown that came and spoke to us while I was at MTSU.” said Reagan, “And it was really cool, kind of that full circle for me to now be living and working in Nashville … to come back and give back to a school that gave so much to me is really cool.”

MTSU’s Department of Marketing is housed within the Jones College of Business. Learn more at https://marketing.mtsu.edu.

—Jordan Reining (Jordan.Reining@mtsu.edu)