The LSE Digital Marketing Strategy & Analytics Career Accelerator culminates in a transformative Employer Project – a six-week live business project designed to bridge theoretical knowledge with real-world application. During this period, learners collaborate in teams to tackle a real business challenge presented by an industry partner. This immersive experience allows learners to engage in end-to-end problem-solving, from initial project scoping to delivering final presentations, thereby gaining invaluable insights into the dynamics of working together to solve real industry problems. 

For the 2024 cohort, the Employer Project was a partnership with Lean, a leading full-service digital marketing agency. Learners were tasked with designing a Q4 digital marketing strategy for Rugs-Direct.com, a prominent home décor platform. From crafting data-driven recommendations to aligning marketing strategies with business goals, learners tackled challenges that mirrored the complexities of the real-world job market.

This project wasn’t just an academic exercise, it was an invaluable opportunity to collaborate, innovate, and step into the shoes of a digital marketing professional. The results? Learners gained not only practical expertise but also the confidence to solve problems, make strategic decisions, and deliver business value in their future careers. For anyone considering the Career Accelerator, this project illustrates the kind of confidence, career readiness, and impact you could achieve.

The brief: A real-world challenge

Lean provided learners with a comprehensive brief outlining Rugs-Direct.com’s key marketing challenges, including:

• Achieving a Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) of $13 across platforms, leveraging an $18-million Q4 marketing budget.
• Aligning marketing objectives with a broader goal of increasing revenue by 30% while improving customer acquisition.
• Strategically navigating the competitive landscape during Black Friday’s high-demand period.

Learners were required to deliver:

1. A business context analysis and market research.
2. Persona development with actionable insights.
3. A data-driven, comprehensive marketing strategy addressing channel-specific objectives for Google and Meta platforms.
4. A live group presentation summarising their recommendations for Lean’s leadership team.

This dynamic brief ensured learners were exposed to the real-world stakes and complexities professionals encounter daily.

Approach: From research to strategy

Learners approached the project with rigour and creativity, following a structured methodology:

1. Initial research and hypothesis: Teams analysed publicly available data and provided metrics to explore trends, competitive positioning, and consumer behaviours. Personas were then defined based on these insights.
2. Strategy development: Each team formulated channel-specific strategies, recommended budget allocations, and proposed innovative solutions to drive Black Friday sales.
3. Presentation: Strategies were presented live to Lean’s team, who offered constructive feedback to help refine and strengthen the recommendations.

A few standout learners excelled in their approach by demonstrating the ability to translate complex hypotheses into actionable strategies, effectively mirroring the challenges faced by professional marketers. They achieved this by:

• Leveraging data-driven insights to justify budget reallocations.
• Connecting personas to specific ad strategies and landing page designs.
• Demonstrating a clear understanding of attribution models and platform-specific performance metrics.

Outcomes: Bridging the gap between academia and industry

The Employer Project offered a transformative learning experience. According to Gabriela Lazova, Lean’s CEO, learners demonstrated:

• Preparedness: “These were all beginners in the field, but the level of preparation and the data-driven approaches they demonstrated were above what I would expect from someone starting out.” 
• Problem-solving skills: Learners tackled complex scenarios such as balancing ROAS targets with revenue growth objectives.
• Actionable insights: The learner’s ability to connect personas to ads and landing pages showcased a nuanced understanding of strategy execution. Gabriela said, “What stood out was their ability to connect hypotheses about personas with actionable outputs, integrating this into ads, landing pages, and strategies tied to real industry trends.”

Impact on Lean and Rugs-Direct.com

While the project primarily aimed to benefit learners, it also provided value to Lean:

• Fresh perspectives: Gabriela noted that several tools and strategies proposed by the learners had the potential to inspire Lean’s own practices.
• Real-world relevance: The learners’ strategies aligned closely with Lean’s approach, reinforcing the real-world applicability of the project.

Reflections from learners

Learners reflected on how the project provided a deep dive into real-world complexities and how it prepared them for the workforce by simulating challenges that marketers face daily. For example:

“By working with an actual company, it provides a better understanding of the real market and how to apply my knowledge in practical scenarios, ultimately increasing opportunities for employment after the programme. While doing an apprenticeship with my previous company’s marketing team, I noticed that everything I learned in the course was directly applicable to my daily projects. So when my job came in August, they asked me to do a mini-campaign, including email, social media and SEO. I immediately knew what to do with a strategy, and trust me, I would never have been able to do it before.” – Sofia Stefou, Career Accelerator Graduate. Changed careers from employer branding and recruitment to marketing executive.

“We all worked in a cross-functional team. This was a new experience for me working with someone based in Luxembourg and another based in Lithuania, which was great. We also had to present to the employer the strategy we had done. You have to engage and give innovative ideas, so all of this experience is huge in a programme that is only six months.” – Mohamad Hakim, Career Accelerator Graduate. Advanced his career as a Communications Officer.

Key takeaways and advice

For aspiring digital marketers, hands-on projects can provide potential employers with evidence of your skills and assure leaders that you’re prepared to lead strategic initiatives.

The Employer Project with Lean was a proving ground for LSE’s digital marketing learners, showcasing their ability to rise to real-world challenges and deliver exceptional results. The learners’ data-driven strategies and innovative solutions weren’t just a testament to their hard work – they exemplified the qualities that drive success in the industry.

By fostering a culture of collaboration, critical thinking, and real-world application, the LSE Digital Marketing Strategy & Analytics Career Accelerator equips learners with more than just technical skills. It instills the confidence, adaptability, and strategic mindset needed to thrive in competitive, evolving markets. Whether your goal is to pivot into a new career, secure a promotion, or build expertise that makes you indispensable in your role, this programme provides the foundation for transformative growth.

If you’re interested in learning more about the Career Accelerator, book a call with one of the Enrolment Advisors. Our advisors are experts who can answer your questions about the curriculum, programme structure, and support systems, and will share examples of the career successes our graduates have achieved.