Over the course of six weeks, five teams of students on Scotland’s first practice-based Digital Marketing Masters’ degree were mentored by five Aberdeen digital agencies to work to a brief set by Aberdeen International Airport.
The brief was to help raise awareness of the multitude of leisure destinations on offer and promote the convenience of choosing your local airport.
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The partnership between the airport, Robert Gordon University (RGU) and agencies Weber Shandwick, Wired Studio, Genoa Black, Border Digital, and Neil Weightman Digital Media, saw the 22 students develop a digital PR campaign culminating in a live pitch to a panel consisting of Aberdeen International Airport’s senior managers.
Ideas pitched included a Top Gear-inspired race to the destination from the airport, and a campaign that took a Doric-speaking lamb on holiday, making friends in Corfu and Faro (‘Foos yer doos?’).
The winning team – Belinda Babin, Fiona Murray, Lauren Mitchell and Lucas Belickas – impressed the panel with their influencer campaign around the tag line ‘The World at your Doorstep’. To mark their success they were presented with a certificate and vouchers by Jon Matthews, Aberdeen International Airport’s Head of Finance & Commercial.
Jason Stewart, the airport’s E-Commerce Manager, said: “It’s been a real pleasure seeing the creative concepts from the student teams. We have been very impressed with the level of understanding of our brief and standard of the campaigns presented on the day. It has certainly given us inspiration for future marketing campaigns.”
RGU’s MSc Digital Marketing was launched in 2014 with the aim of creating a talent pool of digital marketing graduates wishing to pursue a career in this growing industry. Much of the assessment is based on live client projects, and students work in a mock digital agency running The Digital Scot.
Dr Simone Kurtzke, a former industry professional turned lecturer, said: “Working with industry partners has been central to our programme’s success, as it allows students to get hands-on experience of digital marketing and develop a portfolio of real world experience as they study. The project with Aberdeen International Airport has been exceptional in delivering value for everyone involved, as it has allowed our students and the five mentoring agencies to rally around a cause we all really care about – to help drive growth for Aberdeen and the North East.”
