Brookfield Students Learn As They Create Solutions At The Corners

BROOKFIELD, WI — As The Corners of Brookfield shopping center and the Elmbrook School District searched for new ways to do things during the pandemic, they decided to partner on a program aimed at giving students at Brookfield Central and Brookfield East a chance to put their studies to the test in a real-world situation.

Chelsea Roessler, director of marketing at The Corners, said she was approached to be a business for the LAUNCH program.

"LAUNCH represents the collaboration of education, business and community, providing students with a unique, immersive experience, resulting in highly skilled, adaptable, global innovators and leaders," according to the district's website.

Roessler said students in a LAUNCH class help a business solve a problem. Given the pandemic, she said, there are numerous problems.

A shift in retail has been to focus on experiences. During the pandemic, that all gets stripped away. Retail businesses have been left to figure out: What can we do to offer a safe but effective experience?

The second problem was how to drive traffic to the center during the pandemic but also embrace "omnichannel," which looks at all the ways a customer can purchase and how a shopping center must evolve with this.

"Traditionally, a shopping center wants to push for only in-store purchases because sales are then tied to that location," Roessler said, "but we have to shift our thinking to support any path to purchase."

Roessler said two teams of three students from Brookfield East and Brookfield Central worked on traffic and experience.

"I thought this was great because we [The Corners] are in their back yard," she said.

Behind the scenes

Roessler described the experience as "magical."

Each week, students would meet virtually with Roessler for an hour. She acted as a coach, and each week they discussed different elements of her job. Roessler explained the first few weeks were laying the foundation of what she does in her role at The Corners.

The Corners brought in guest lecturers from ESPN radio and other partners, coached and strategized with the students, and supported each effort with a budget. Now the projects are just coming to fruition.

"It wasn't just about the business but learning what happens behind the scenes and what it means to be in marketing," Roessler told Patch.

The saga of the lost mug

The students learned about pivoting in business and problem-solving.

The students who focused on The Corners experience were Ali Altahat, Randy Tice and Dom Arnold.

They decided to plan a hot cocoa crawl or walk around The Corners. They were going to install a large hot cocoa mug to be installed in mid-November.

"It was the perfect opportunity, because we had to pivot," Roessler said.

The mug was ordered from France but was stuck in the Atlantic Ocean on the boat due to customs regulations.

She met with the students and asked what they thought should be done. Roessler said the students thought it might be a bad idea to have hundreds of people walking around and taking their masks off to drink hot chocolate.

"The director of LAUNCH said kids think outside of the box because they don't know what the box is," she told Patch.

The group problem-solved and came up with using QR codes and held a pop-up hot chocolate area. The students also suggested giving a voucher to visitors who were uncomfortable getting a drink during the event. The idea was that the voucher will get the person to come back later with their family.

"They would still be visiting The Corners but without all the fanfare," she said.

Roessler said the event was a huge success and that the students dressed up like reindeers.

The students from Brookfield East — Sean Veenendaal, Polina Belanovski and Ari Collins — were tasked with the traffic.

That group focused on making a holiday gift guide for visitors.

"We choose the four categories," Belanovski said. "We revolved around life right now and what people are looking for and need."

They focused on what people want to buy, such as items for winter blues, gifts for grandparents, gifts for people who are hard to please, and gifts for one's well-being.

Roessler said normally she would focus on a certain age bracket and stocking stuffers but that the students gave her a different way of thinking.

The students also took over The Corners Instagram page and posted photos to showcase products.

Life experience

Veenendaal told Patch that Roessler was their mentor and always made them feel like a team.

"She treated us like a co-worker. Like we were just as smart as her, and valued us just as much as everyone else," Veenendaal said.

Belanovski said the experience was not just about the marketing field but how to behave, dress and network in a business setting.

Collins spoke highly of LAUNCH, saying the program allows students to experience a real-life work environment.

"We get to see our work put out into the world," Collins said.