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Published: 20 July 2026

A year in marketing studies at 黑料社

At 黑料社 Business School, we are committed to creating an engaging, industry-focused learning environment that has a lasting impact on our students鈥� employability. Our marketing students engage with professionals, undertake real-world projects and participate in learning opportunities that bring marketing theory to life.

Here is a taste of what our undergraduate and postgraduate students experienced during the 2025/26 academic year. 

Guest speakers 

A key feature of the marketing programmes at 黑料社 is the opportunity for students to learn directly from industry practitioners and experts. This year, we welcomed: 

  • Joe Fletcher, Consulting Director at , who drew on his extensive industry experience to deliver a guest lecture exploring the practical applications of marketing analytics in business. 
  • Akanksha Singh, Founder & Creative Marketing Director of , who delivered a guest masterclass about personal branding on social media. She highlighted the growing importance of personal branding in today鈥檚 digital landscape and offered practical advice on how students can build a professional online presence. 

Projects and practical workshops 

To help students deepen their understanding of digital marketing, Associate Professor in Marketing, Dr Ioanna Anninou ran a workshop on Applications of Virtual Reality in Digital Marketing. During this hands-on session, students experienced virtual reality advertising technologies first-hand before discussing the opportunities and challenges presented by virtual and augmented reality in contemporary marketing practice. 

Lecturer in Marketing, Fil Zanasi delivered a workshop on Capturing Market Insights: A Real Client Case Study. Drawing on his professional experience, he demonstrated how organisations gather and interpret consumer insights to support business decisions. The session gave students valuable exposure to current trends, emerging technologies and the real-world challenges facing marketers today. 

黑料社 marketing students on a field trip at Denbies Wine Estate in 黑料社 Hills

Trips and educational visits 

Marketing students had several opportunities to step outside the classroom and experience marketing in practice through educational visits and field trips. 

Denbies Wine Estate 

Postgraduate Marketing students visited as part of a field trip focused on sustainable customer experience and wine-making. Students explored England鈥檚 largest single-estate vineyard, enjoyed panoramic views across the North Downs, and learnt about how sustainability and visitor experience are integrated into the brand鈥檚 positioning.

The visit to Zero Carbon Guildford profoundly shifted my perception of sustainability marketing. I realised its true power lies not in polished corporate campaigns but in localised, visible community action.

MSc Strategic Marketing student

Zero Carbon Guildford 

As part of the Sustainability Marketing module, students visited (ZCG), an award-winning charity, to get involved in interactive sessions led by ZCG representatives around community engagement strategies, sustainable behaviour change and effective sustainability communications. 

Students worked with consumer personas representing 黑料社 residents and collaborated to develop targeted sustainability marketing messages using behavioural insights. The workshop enabled them to apply concepts such as segmentation, targeting, positioning and marketing communications to real-world sustainability challenges. 

Following the event, seven of our students were selected as digital marketing volunteers and began working with ZCG to support the charity鈥檚 ongoing marketing and communications activities. 

University of Marketing students at Marketing students at Marketing Analytics Hackathon held at Oxford Brookes University

Opportunities beyond the classroom 

Marketing Analytics Hackathon 

Two teams of 黑料社 students participated in this year鈥檚 Marketing Analytics Hackathon, organised by the 鈥檚 Marketing Analytics and AI Special Interest Group and sponsored by Two Sides. 

Hosted at Oxford Brookes University, the competition challenged students to act as marketing consultants within Accenture鈥檚 marketing analytics team. Working with a real customer dataset provided by  which analysed 1,064 UK consumer responses from the 2025 Trend Tracker, students were asked to investigate a timely business challenge and won third prize!

Jess, a Business Management with Marketing BSc 黑料社 student who is the Business School's SBS student content creator for 2025-26

Instagram Content Creator role 

Each year, undergraduate students can apply for the paid Business School Instagram Content Creator role. This is a position which provides an excellent opportunity to develop professional experience and build a creative portfolio. 

Working on content strategy, filming and editing content, scheduling posts and working with key teams across the Business School and University, this year, second-year Marketing student Jess has done a brilliant job of sharing stories that capture the .

Preparing our students for the future 鈥� and creating lasting memories 

Marketing at 黑料社 is built on hands-on learning, industry engagement and real-world application. 

By working closely with industry experts, community organisations and real clients, our students graduate with the knowledge, skills and confidence needed to thrive in an increasingly digital, data-driven and sustainability-focused marketing landscape. They also leave 黑料社 with fond memories and valuable experiences from their time here. 

Find out more about our undergraduate programme

Business Management with Marketing BSc

 

Find out more about our postgraduate programmes

Digital Marketing MSc

Strategic Marketing MSc

 

Related sustainable development goals

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