Freshmen Visit Cirque du Soleil

“Listen more than you speak and ask more questions than you can answer,” was the advice Heather Reilly, company manager of OVO at Cirque du Soleil, gave to more than 70 University of Maryland freshmen during a presentation on Aug. 27, 2017, at the Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore, Md.

The required excursion was part of the curriculum for the course, “How Do Innovators Think?” taught by Mark Wellman, clinical professor of management and organization and director of the Business, Society & the Economy (BSE) College Park Scholars Program. The students met with Reilly for one hour prior to attending a performance of the show to learn all about the business side of a show like Cirque du Soleil.

According to Wellman, “Cirque is one of the case studies used during class discussions of a Blue Ocean strategy. Cirque is considered one of the most successful entertainment companies in the world, a cross between a vibrant acrobatic show and a compelling narrative musical framework that captivated audiences since 1984. The Cirque De Soleil case study will be used later in the class to show how this company with its unique hybrid of music, dance and acrobatics has created a new category of live entertainment. In the process, it has been a global marketing, management and financial commercial success. Despite a long-term decline in the circus industry, Cirque du Soleil significantly increased revenue by reinventing the circus. Cirque was able to create new customer demand by challenging the conventional assumptions about how to compete in the global business environment. Cirque successfully innovated by shifting the buyer group from children (end-users of the traditional circus) to adults (purchasers of the traditional circus), drawing upon the distinctive strengths of other alternative industries, such as the theater, Broadway shows and the opera, to offer a different type of entertainment to more mature and higher spending customers. Cirque is also a great example of using creativity as a competitive advantage.”

Reilly explained that in addition to the performers for each show, Cirque offers job opportunities in a multitude of fields: finance and budgeting, operations, management, marketing, logistics, and research analysts – to name just a few. She said, “We learned we cannot do a show by ourselves – we must develop relationships. We used to be very secretive about what we do, but now we have busted open our doors and keep looking around because there is so much to learn from out there.”

A lively Q&A session followed and then the students were treated to 90 minutes of the high-energy, colorful show. BMGT289: How Do Innovator’s Think? is the first of several three-credit courses required for every BSE student to take in order to earn a Scholars Citation. A fun-filled way to begin learning the day before the first day of classes!

College Park Scholars is a by-invitation-only program that provides intellectual challenge and vibrant community for engaged and academically talented freshmen and sophomores. Learn more about College Park Scholars. The Business, Society and the Economy program, is sponsored by the Robert H. Smith School of Business. To learn more about BSE, click here.

- Claudia Donnelly, Smith Undergrad Program