One of the most enjoyable aspects of Strategy is the task of communicating a wide variety of concepts to a wide range of people, all of whom have different levels of familiarity with the topic at hand.
In mid-July, this was really put to the test as I was asked to help Santander with their three-day ‘Accelerator’ course for promising young entrepreneurs. I was to run a talk and workshop on strategic marketing, touching on subjects like rules for building brands, data and insight, and of course media planning.
The finalists were all immensely bright and ambitious, and had a really broad spectrum of experience with marketing: some were just starting out, and some were practically experts! Putting together a session to appeal to everyone was an enjoyable challenge.
Just to hedge my bets, I also drafted letters containing customised advice for each of the 18 attending businesses, giving my candid opinion on opportunities and areas of focus specifically for their brand and marketing efforts.
Happily, even without these missives the feedback was that the session “was by far the best of the day,” and I’ve already received several follow-up emails!
Matt Hutnell, Director at Santander Universities, got in touch with his own take:
“Last week 18 amazing student and graduate led start-ups took part in over 20 masterclasses and workshops from sector leading organisations as part of the 2017 Santander Universities Entrepreneurship Awards.
Phillip delivered a session on strategic marketing for start-ups that challenged the way the group of entrepreneurs thought about their brand and online presence. The personal review for each business that Phillip provided was an excellent addition to the session and reinforces exactly why we see such a valuable partner in iProspect”
All in all, it was a pleasure to talk to so many smart people doing brilliant things. I’ve little doubt that the room contained some of the big names of the future. One day we’ll probably all end up working for them.
