Round 1

So here I am…..a sales and marketing professional by day, student by night and a very hopeful activist/ change maker all the time in between.

Last September, I became one of the students selected for the inaugural year of DIT’s MSc Digital Marketing and Analytics. This is not a course for anyone who is not completely dedicated and ready to sacrifice personal time and energy (trust me). However, it is exactly the right place to be if you want to maximize your potential in the digital world and you are committed to being the best you can be in your chosen profession.

After just one semester, I know how to create a comprehensive digital audit on a business and develop a subsequent digital strategy. I can consult and advise on (deep breath) market trends, acquisition/retention/conversion, mobile marketing, branding, advertising, search, social, UX experience, performance, control/ measurement and driving consumer behaviour online.  With all of this information on board after only one semester, I am really looking forward to seeing what I can achieve by the time I graduate!

It was the Consumer Led Market and Research module of the course that led me to the “Accenture Leaders of Tomorrow Award”. While most of the students in the class developed their research assignments around an area of industry they work in, I developed mine around an idea that I have for a new business. Truth be told, I started the research a few years ago after my first meeting with Moses (pictured below) at an orphanage in Uganda. This story deserves a blog to itself but this little man has been the inspiration and motivation for the business idea development. Since that day, I have been working on the research but needed digital knowledge that would lend a competitive edge.  

Two research papers completed  (plus a lot of coffee, a blizzard of paper in my livingroom and many long nights of study later), I had fine-tuned my idea. At this point, I knew that I had uncovered a gap in the market and decided to act on it.

The next step was to research entrepreneurial and startup business competitions.  There are a few really good ones to choose from depending on the particular business vertical and angle that you want to apply your idea to.  I wanted to find the one that would (a) embrace new technology, (b) support women in business and (c) have considerable company expertise for guidance and mentoring.

When I was applying to study with DIT originally, I attended one of their breakfast seminars to learn more about the course content and structure. It was on that morning that David Rohan from Accenture was speaking.  David gave a great talk and the discussed the skills gap in the area of analytics that DIT was addressing. Ding ding!!…Accenture moved to the top of my list of companies to work with in the future. 

So when I found the “Accenture Leaders of Tomorrow Award” link on Twitter, I was within a few clicks of throwing my hat in the ring. The application was relatively straightforward and required a business outline giving short details on what it would do, who the target market is and what technology would be used.

A few weeks later and just before Christmas, I received notification of success in round one. It was a brilliant start to the festivities and even more reason for celebrations (as if I needed an excuse). I then had five weeks to develop a business case for round two.

This part of the process was to coincide with an assignment for our analytics module, an exam and a trade conference.  Time to put the pedal to the metal!!!