Students from Bournemouth University are set to compete against teams throughout the world as they take on the Google Online Marketing Challenge.
Final year students within the Faculty of Management will be working on live briefs with local companies to run a digital marketing campaign on their behalf. This year, BU students will be working with organisations such as Bournemouth Jazz Festival, Dorset’s Coastal Activity Park and Marlins Hotel.
The Google Online Marketing Challenge is a global competition involving 100,000 students and professors from almost 100 countries. The prize for the global winner is a one-week trip to Google’s HQ in California.
12 teams from BU, comprising students on events-, tourism- and hospitality-related courses, will work together as a part of the digital marketing unit. Other organisations that will benefit from the students’ work include Solomon Solicitors, ATS Security and Amelia Grace Rainbow Fund.
Dr Philip Alford leads the digital marketing unit at BU and is co-ordinating the 12 student teams as they take on the Google project. He said, “This initiative is an example of Fusion in action: it’s a digital marketing project that reflects the digital SME focus of my research together with the professional practice element.
“This is a live project where the students receive $250 to run Adwords campaigns for their client. It’s a highly measurable form of marketing where the team can track the impact of the work they’ve done for the client.”
The students will be heavily involved with the organisations they are working for, putting their education into practice, as Philip continues, “Students meet with the clients – put a digital marketing plan together for the company and run it live as a part of the Pay Per Click marketing campaign.”
The competition starts on Monday 1 February and will also be supported by Ben Swatridge of PPC-Active (http://ppc-active.co.uk/), an expert in pay-per-click marketing.
