On Thursday 2nd June the January MA Marketing Communications cohort visited the Tower of London as part of their Summer School Program. The main objective of this project was to provide a better understanding of how to best approach our final Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) thesis.
The trip consisted of a full days workshop at the Tower, where we first explored the 1000+ year history of this famous landmark, including the crown jewels, the royal armouries, chambers and much more.
We also took the opportunity to investigate how consumers relate to the experience and how the marketing team at the Tower manages their marketing communications, including advertising, digital marketing, public relations and sales promotions. The timing for this project couldn’t be better: the Tower of London had been recently announced one of the finalists of 2015 Art Fund Museum of the Year award, providing us with a source of material to research and work on.
On arrival we were given an introductory brief and a marketing challenge relating to The Tower of London. We were asked to present our findings towards the end of the day. Before the trip we assigned ourselves to groups to share greater insights and roles and further strengthen our teamwork capabilities. We were encouraged to research London’s tourism industry in greater depth and consider major competitors of the Tower. We were most impressed by the Yeomen Warders and the visitor aid team who were very knowledgeable and happily answered our many questions about the Tower’s blue doors and the history of the Beefeaters.
We learnt a lot throughout the engaging presentations of our classmates – including the best ways to approach our Integrated Marketing Communications thesis, how to position our brand and how to set the objectives for the future. Professors specialising in various sectors of Integrated Marketing Communications (including PR, Advertising, Digital Marketing and Branding) were on hand to advise and guide us through the process. It was a great way to prepare us for the IMC project, which is a significant part of our degree.
Senior Lecturer Anne Barker, who led the workshop, said “These marketing communications workshops are important for the students to help develop both their knowledge and skills in a very practical and applied way. Many of our students go on to work in big international communications agencies so this experience is invaluable in preparing them for that journey. Over the years we have worked on many different case studies but the Tower of London was particularly interesting this year, because of the huge success of the poppies installation ‘Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red’, which marked the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War and attracted over 5 million visitors. In addition the Tower was nominated for Museum of the Year 2015 , so there was a lot of activity around the Tower, which was exciting for the students”
The visit to the Tower was an enlightening experience and the perfect end to summer school. We are grateful to Senior Lecturer Anne Barker & Course Leader Carol Blackman and the Marketing Communications staff for the time and effort they put into the trip.
We look forward to giving our best and working together again during the next semester, particularly our final workshop for the IMC at Cambridge University in November!
By Marketing Communications students: Nadia Taha, Nesma Ahmed and Susana Byun
Latest posts by Jeni Stokes (see all)
- A Semester In London: Kerigan Medeiros And An Internship With Point Blank Music School - December 20, 2016
- A Visit To The World’s Specialist Insurance Market, Lloyd’s Of London - December 2, 2016
- Westminster Business Consultants 2016, By Managing Director Jana Skinjova - November 30, 2016