On Wednesday, 16 February 2022, the BCom Honours (Marketing Management) students boarded a bus and started their honours journey with a field trip to an unknown destination. No one knew where they were going, nor what the lecturers had in store. The only clue they had was the theme: “Say Cheese!”, and the dress code, “photo-ready!”.

The idea behind the surprise field trip was to start off the honours year with a memorable experience for the students, considering that most have not been on campus for two years. This was also a special way to celebrate the ten-year anniversary of the Department of Marketing Management’s shift to an apprentice-style honours programme.

The one-hour bus ride to the secret location gave students the opportunity to engage with one another after two years of no physical interaction. Before they knew it, they arrived at the Selfie House @ Harties, a newly established interactive entertainment experience venue, set to open its doors to the public in March 2022. Selfie House @ Harties is situated in the heart of Hartbeespoort and offers the ultimate selfie experience. They have 15 uniquely themed selfie spaces, “from a glamorous red carpet to a candy paradise to a dreamy swing amongst the clouds” providing “endless possibilities for exquisite selfies”.

Following the welcome address, the class was randomly divided into teams that made their way to the Selfie House @ Harties and explored the different selfie spaces. Rohma Hasan, one of the students, found the experience exhilarating and out of this world. “What we saw blew our minds. None of us had ever been to a selfie house before and we were very impressed with the quality and precision, each room being more unique than the previous. The Selfie House @ Harties staff had an important role in our entertainment as they were engaging, interactive, and gave us unique ideas for photos.” 

                             Thristan Pillay in the Candyland space                                   Rohma Hasan and Dr Michael Humbani

All the students used the opportunity to create content for their social media platforms. Some enjoyed capturing fun pictures, making TikToks, Instagram reels and boomerangs. Even those students who are not huge fans of taking selfies found themselves having a great time. The students also enjoyed the informal way that they were introduced to their classmates.

Although there was great fun for the students, the field trip was not all fun and games. The student teams were required to work on their first assignment, where they had to evaluate the Selfie House @ Harties service encounter.