Lancaster BA Advertising and Marketing students set to work on a new social media marketing strategy for high fashion retailer Jules B as part of an ongoing research and brand consultancy assignment.

Tasked with developing a social media strategy and plan for the luxury brand, the third year undergraduate students recently met with Julian Blades, Co-owner and Founder of Jules B, along with the Head of Social, Olly Wild, and Head of Ecommerce, Tom Jeffery, at Jules B’s head office in Newcastle. Here, the students discussed their proposed research plans.

The students have a timeline with a number of milestones over the next few months, from research with focus groups to development meetings, towards the final presentation date, when they will showcase their complete campaigns to the senior management team at Jules B in April 2019.

Olly Wild, Head of Social at Jules B said: "Myself, Julian and Tom are looking forward to the results, all still to be discussed in finer detail over the coming months. We are obviously happy to help the students in any way possible. The students will be focusing on the personality of Jules B and how to maximise our social media engagement."

This assignment offers real work place value, and gives the students an insight into the client, agency relationship: the processes involved and how their research will form the basis of their respective strategies and campaigns. It also demonstrates how marketers must manage their client’s expectations, while effectively utilising the resources available to them.

Helen Chaffey, who is a Marketing Careers Coach at Lancaster University Management School, said, “As someone who spent 30 years working in the advertising industry, this is as close as you can get to experiencing what it would be like to work in an advertising agency in ‘the real world’.

“This project provides students with the opportunity to learn what it’s like to work as a team. It has also got them off campus, with store visits and consumer research in nearby Kendal and Arnside, and a visit to the Jules B Newcastle HQ to meet with Julian Blades, the Founder, and the rest of the in-house team.”