There's good cheese and then there is great cheese: That's what Sargento Foods, a leading, family owned cheese company from Plymouth, Wis. tells us.

And that message has worked, making the company's brand strong for generations.

Sargento's success might just be connected to good product, but its success can also be attributed to good marketing, something Concordia University Wisconsin MBA-Marketing graduate Bob Peiffer has been contributing to at Sargento for more than 18 years.

"Marketing has always been an essential part of our business," Peiffer says. "That will never change. But what is transforming is how we market."

Bob Peiffer (MBA-Marketing, 2007) is Director of Creative Services in the Marketing Department at Sargento Foods in Plymouth, Wis.

Coming to Concordia 

Peiffer is the Director of Creative Services in the Marketing Department with involvement in many aspects of consumer and business-to-business marketing efforts.  His responsibilities include overseeing the development of packaging, print promotion and Web site activity at Sargento.

Admittedly, his primary focus has been on his company and his own department, helping advance the Sargento brand and product, but he was searching for an opportunity to strengthen his knowledge in both marketing and business.

He began considering an MBA program to accomplish this goal.  While traveling with a business associate (who was attending Concordia at the time), he reviewed an information packet outlining Concordia's MBA program and noticed that a degree was offered with a marketing emphasis. 

"I've always believed the longer you have worked at a job," Peiffer says, "the more important it is, the more critical it is, to stay current with the knowledge of the field that you are in. This type of MBA was my way of doing that."

Returning to school

The idea of going back to school in 2005 (he graduated from the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design with a degree in Advertising Design in 1982) was a little scary, but once he settled into the classroom environment, the experience of learning quickly shadowed any fears.

"The idea of furthering my education by obtaining a master's in an MBA was intriguing to me and is something that is encouraged and promoted by Sargento," Peiffer says. "This really was a great way for me to gain even more exposure to the field of marketing and a way to stay current."

Peiffer graduated from Concordia University Wisconsin in 2007.

The MBA experience

Several of Peiffer's coworkers had told him about the Concordia MBA.

And as Peiffer continued his own research about the program, he saw how he would fit with the smaller class sizes and how he would learn from the diverse experiences of other class members (many from Allen-Bradley, Johnson Controls and A.O. Smith Corp).

"A lot of people gave Concordia high marks," he says. "And once I was in the program I could see why: It was the curriculum, the instructors, and the students who contributed to a great learning environment."

What also sold him on the program was how the faculty and class schedule would fit around his busy work and family lives through evening classes and short eight-week terms where he could complete at least two classes each semester, if he wanted.

"What made the program so influential for me was that I quickly learned there is a real understanding for those of us in the workforce who have day jobs and that we weren't in class for four hours every, single night," he says. "The workload was challenging but manageable, and I was able to get through the program one class at a time in just over two years."

Trying-out technology

To accelerate his MBA timeline, Peiffer decided during his program to take three of his 13 courses online through Concordia, which proved to be an easy way to quickly accomplish his classes and truly make his class schedule fit into his life.

"It was great," he says. "You can blend your class schedule with those that are in a classroom and those that are online. I liked the classroom for interaction, but online was good for Accounting, Corporate Finance and Economics. I liked having options."

Using the MBA

Today, Peiffer says Concordia has given him a greater understanding of general business principles, particularly in areas outside of his primary expertise. 

"Exposure to corporate financial, economic and accounting principles have provided me with a more diverse background in business than I had prior to beginning my MBA," he says. "The marketing courses served to refresh my knowledge of advertising and marketing strategies and kept me current on the latest trends in the industry."

Now, Peiffer contributes even more to international marketing campaigns and is able to be a valuable player in conversations and decisions throughout Sargento because of his marketing emphasis and other classes.

Simply, he says, he is more well-rounded in his knowledge now than ever before.

"My marketing emphasis really helped me refresh some of my knowledge, learn knew and upcoming trends and also helped me gain an understanding of business strategies and procedures from my instructors and working closely with my peers," Peiffer says. "It really was a powerful experience."