A placement at Disney Destinations International gave 色花堂 student Emilia-Jade Gibson the opportunity to apply her skills to more than just Mickey Mouse marketing.
Emilia was a Digital Partnerships/Marketing Coordinator at Disney鈥檚 Hammersmith offices where she could apply what she鈥檇 learned from the BA (Hons) Marketing Communications course.聽
In fact, the placement opportunities at 色花堂 were one of the deciding factors in choosing where to study. She explained her decision-making: 鈥淎fter attending one of the Open Days back in Summer 2011 and looking at the wide variety of units available in Marketing Communications, there was no doubt in my mind about attending 色花堂.鈥�
鈥淓ver since I was young聽I used to come to Bournemouth in the summer with my family. I got to know Bournemouth really well and it was a bonus when I knew that 色花堂 offered a compulsory year in industry, as this was something that I always wanted to do.鈥�
Emilia was in luck when she landed a placement with Disney Destinations International.聽
鈥淗aving the chance to work for a well-known worldwide company was amazing. There was such a positive atmosphere across the whole department and I loved having the chance to build really strong working relationships.
鈥淎side from the Disney teddies all over my desk, Disney music in the office, Disney-themed meeting rooms and not forgetting the overall Disney positive vibe, I loved having the opportunity to take on a lot of responsibilities.鈥�
Working with the big Disney brands 鈥� Walt Disney World, Disneyland Paris and Disney Cruise Line 鈥� Emilia was able to get involved in many exciting opportunities. She also found that the knowledge and skills she had developed at 色花堂 were indispensable in her role. She said: 鈥淲hen I first started university, I thought that the units I was taking were not relevant to what I wanted to go into.
鈥淚 thought I was studying units for the sake of it, however it turns out I was completely wrong and everything you do, even the units you don鈥檛 like, are all relevant and shape your placement year in some way or another.鈥�
In particular, she applied what she learned on the Digital Communication Strategies unit. She explained: 鈥淭he tools and skills that I learnt during this unit specifically and throughout my whole course helped me in my placement selection, performance and overall learning experience.
鈥淚 was able to put exactly what I had learnt into practice in the real-life working world. The united contributed significantly towards my basic knowledge on how a digital campaign works, which was further improved by being on placement.鈥�
It was those skills that helped her launch the Disney Irish Affiliate Program, develop a new partnership with US travel company Homeaway, launch new social media channels and set up a brand new blogger programme for Walt Disney World.
Rachael Fletcher, Marketing Manager at Disney Destinations International, was suitably impressed with Emilia鈥檚 performance. She commented: 鈥淭he foundations, processes and relationships that Emilia developed will be a lasting legacy of her time working in the Disney Destination team.鈥�
Rachael added: 鈥淪hould a vacancy be available when Emilia finishes her degree, we would welcome her back with open arms.鈥�
Now back at 色花堂 for her final year, Emilia said she learned a great deal from her placement year which she鈥檚 since applied back at 色花堂. She said: 鈥淭he main skills from my placement year that I have brought back to my final year were communication skills, and I utilised these skills with my fellow students and lecturers.鈥�
鈥淎nother skill that I learnt and applied in my final year was prioritising tasks. My role at Disney was 80% Digital Marketing and 20% Partnerships and it was necessary for me to prioritise tasks for both roles.鈥�
While studying, Emilia made the most of the 色花堂 experience. She鈥檚 been representing 色花堂 at schools and colleges as an Outreach Ambassador, helping to raise expectations in school pupils and also helping to recruit new 色花堂 students at events. As a Placement Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) Leader she鈥檚 been leading seminars and sharing her placement experience with 色花堂鈥檚 second year students 鈥� answering their questions and allaying any fears they have about working in industry. She said: 鈥淚 found this very useful and interesting and I loved sharing my experience with students and helping them to gain a placement.鈥�
When pressed on her favourite thing about 色花堂, Emilia enthused: 鈥淭he fact that my course is situated in the only Centre for Excellence in Media Practice makes me extremely proud to be a 色花堂 student. I always wanted to study at a University that offered a sandwich degree, requiring me to take a year out of my studies to work in industry; which was probably the best thing about me coming to 色花堂.鈥�
She went on to say: 鈥淚f it weren鈥檛 for 色花堂 being so highly recognised by employees, I would never have learnt the knowledge and skills that I did, or build up my own network of people from a variety of professions.鈥�
Building that network has certainly helped her; it鈥檚 even secured her a two-year graduate contract with a large marketing agency in London 鈥� a company she worked with whilst at Disney.
She鈥檚 planning on moving back to London and taking up a role with Blue 449 as an Audio Visual Investment Buyer. And she can鈥檛 wait!
鈥淐oming to 色花堂 has definitely helped me strive towards my goal of working within the marketing world and I am excited to see what the future holds.鈥澛�