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Careers, Employability and Student Enterprise

Enterprise Marketing Scheme

Enterprise Marketing Scheme

Are you currently running a business? Do you have a gap in marketing skills and resource?

Or are you a marketing student looking to build your real-world experience of working with businesses to build your freelance portfolio or improve your future employability?
If you meet either one of these criteria, the Enterprise Marketing Scheme (EMS) could be the perfect opportunity for you this summer.

The UoS Santander Enterprise Marketing Scheme (EMS) has been designed to facilitate real-world collaboration and skill development between student-led businesses (student-founders) and students with marketing expertise. Student-led businesses can apply for up to £1,000 worth of marketing support, that will be delivered by the marketing students. Selected marketing students will receive funding in the form of an equity-free prize, to deliver an agreed scope of work for the selected businesses, in a defined number of hours. This scheme is generously supported by Santander.

The Enterprise Marketing Scheme provides essential access to marketing expertise, advice and recommendations to student-led businesses, where the student-founders may not have internal knowledge, capacity, or expertise, to generate opportunities for growing their businesses. The scheme is designed to support a broad range of early-stage businesses and social enterprises. At a minimum, eligible student-led business must be able to provide strong evidence of customer validation, ideally through paying customer traction. They must also have valid business insurance in place.

The Enterprise Marketing Scheme provides the opportunity for marketing students to gain real world experience of working with, and marketing for, small businesses; develop their marketing and client relationship skills; and build valuable credentials to include on their CV and LinkedIn profile. Ultimately, the Scheme allows marketing students to increase their future employability prospects. Eligible marketing students are not required to have previous real-world business experience. However, at a minimum they must be able to provide evidence of personal drive, initiative and self-motivation, as well as a strong performance track record in their studies.

The expected time commitment per marketing student is estimated to be either 35 or 70 hours, which may be spread out over the 8 weeks (15 July to 13 September). International students must ensure they work within their visa restrictions.

Applications for the Summer 2024 Enterprise Marketing Scheme are now Open.
Applications will close at midnight on Sunday 30 June 2024.
Key Dates:

We strongly recommend all those interested in applying read ALL the information on the website in full.

If you are either a student-led business or a marketing student interested in applying for the Enterprise Marketing Scheme , please make sure you book a 1:1 appointment with a member of the Student Enterprise team. This will give your application the best chance of success! Click here to book an appointment

If you have any questions, please contact the Student Enterprise Team by emailing studententerprise@soton.ac.uk .

Scheme Overview

Student-led businesses can apply for £1,000 worth of marketing resource to deliver specific marketing projects (please see 'Marketing Projects List' section below), to support the development of their businesses. The funding will be administered to the marketing student that delivers the project, to cover their time working on the project. The business will not directly receive funding, however the business will benefit from the marketing expertise, resource and support delivered by the marketing student.

Student-led businesses will select from a list of pre-defined marketing projects that they would like the marketing student to advise / deliver on (see 'Marketing Projects List' section below). Each project in the predefined list has an approximate value associated with it, based on an estimate of the number of hours expected to deliver the project and the standard hourly student pay determined by the UoS.

Marketing students will apply to be part of a potential ‘talent pool’ to deliver the marketing projects for the student-led businesses. Short-listed marketing students within the ‘talent pool’ will be matched with short-listed student-led businesses and a chemistry meeting will be facilitated by the Student Enterprise Team to confirm fit. If all parties are happy to proceed with the project, the project will be approved, and initial funding will be released. Final funding payments will be dependent on the completion of a final meeting and impact statement by the business and marketing student.

Marketing Projects List

Project Type Example Deliverables

Estimated Value

Hours/£

Marketing Strategy – desk research
  • Competitor analysis
  • Market analysis
  • Brand objectives, positioning, & value proposition evaluation
  • Target customer personas
  • Marketing channels analysis
  • Provide recommendations
~35 hours /£500
Marketing Strategy – primary research
  • Design interview approach
  • Conduct interviews
  • Write up interview outcomes
  • Provide recommendations
~35 hours /£500
Brand strategy
  • Conduct market research, write up analysis
  • Make suggestions for logo, colour palette, fonts and imagery
  • Brand strapline / Value proposition
  • Tone of Voice
  • Suggest design / content mock-ups
~70 hours /£1000
Social Media Strategy - approach
  • Social Media evaluation (of founder’s current offer vs competitors / industry)
  • Social Media strategy
  • Social media plan with recommendations
~35 hours /£500
Social Media - evaluation, management & content
  • Social Media evaluation (of founder’s current offer vs competitors / industry)
  • Social Media strategy
  • Social media plan with recommendations
  • Mockups of copy & images
~70 hours /£1000
Website – review & strategy
  • Website evaluation (of founder’s current offer vs competitors / industry)
  • Website / e-commerce strategy
  • Website plan with recommendations
~35 hours /£500
Website - design
  • Website design brief
  • Website design document
  • Wire frames
  • Basic website build (if relevant)
  • Implementation plan and recommendations
~70 hours /£1000
Promotion - Press & PR
  • Evaluation of role and potential value of PR
  • Press list (e.g. networks, media sources, associations, key influencers)
  • PR plan
  • Mock up outreach emails / content
~70 hours /£1000
Copywriting & content management (ideal for more established offer)
  • Evaluation of current activities
  • Recommendations for content / design / mockups (e.g. blogs, newsletters, social media copy, email campaigns)
  • Implementation plan and recommendations
~70 hours /£1000
SEO Website Optimization (ideal for more established offer)
  • Evaluation of current performance vs most immediate competitors
  • Key words analysis
  • Proposed strategy, plan and implementation recommendations
~35 hours /£500

The estimated value of each project type has been calculated based on an estimated number of hours to deliver the project and the current standard UoS student pay. i.e. 70 hours @£14.30 is approximately £1000).

Eligibility

Marketing Students:

  • The scheme is open to any current or recently graduated marketing student (2024).
  • International Marketing Students are eligible to apply for the scheme, however they are responsible for ensuring they do not exceed work restrictions of their visa Please visit the government website for further guidance on what you legally can and cannot do when studying on a general Student Visa: https://www.gov.uk/student-visa
  • Eligible marketing students are not required to have previous real-world business experience. However, at a minimum they must be able to provide evidence of personal drive, initiative and self-motivation, as well as a strong performance track record in their studies.


Student-Led Businesses:

  • Current UoS students and those who have graduated within the last 36 months, who are currently running a UK registered business (includes UK limited companies and UK sole traders), are eligible to apply for marketing support for their business via the scheme.
  • At a minimum, eligible student-led business must be able to provide strong evidence of customer validation, ideally through paying customer traction.
  • Eligible student-led businesses must have valid business insurance in place.

Application Process

Stage 1:

  • Marketing Students must complete an application form here demonstrating their skills and experience and suitability to work with student-led businesses.
  • Student-led businesses must complete an application form here demonstrating evidence of business viability and what the potential impact of marketing support could have on their business development and growth.
  • Applications will be short listed based on the application form.

Stage 2:

  • Short-listed businesses will be matched with short-listed marketing students by the student enterprise team.
  • A meeting will be held between the matched business and marketing student to establish a mutual fit and working relationship.
  • If all parties are happy to proceed, the project will be approved for funding.

Funding

  • Businesses can apply for up to a maximum of £1000 worth of marketing support to deliver specific, pre-defined marketing projects (please see 'Marketing Projects List' section). This could include either two smaller projects worth £500 each, or one larger project worth £1000. It is possible that 2 different marketing students could work for the same business delivering 2 smaller projects of £500 value.
  • The prize funding will be administered to the marketing student that delivers the project for the business and not to the business itself.
  • Marketing Students can apply to work on projects up to a value of £1000 per marketing student. This might include the delivery of 1 or 2 smaller projects worth £500, or a larger project worth £1000. Each marketing student can only work for one business (i.e. one marketing student cannot work for multiple businesses on different projects)
  • Successful Marketing Student applicants will be expected to deliver the approved marketing project/s, for the student-led business within the approximate time estimated. Any additional hours will need to be mutually agreed between the business and the marketing student but will not be funded.
  • Payments will be processed in 3 tranches: £300 (after the kick-off meeting); £300 (after midpoint review meeting); £400 (after project completion meeting)
  • The initial payment will be initiated after completion of the ‘Project Kick off Meeting’.
  • The final payment will be dependent on completion on the allocated hours, delivery of final meeting and receipt of an ‘Impact Statement’ from the student and business.

Project Oversight

Project oversight will be provided by both Student Enterprise and the Dept of Digital & Data Driven Marketing in Southampton Business School, with dedicated people from each side. The project will begin and end with a joint meeting, involving the Student Enterprise Team, the business and the marketing student. There will also be a mid-project check-in. In addition, both the business and the marketing student will be required to complete a weekly status report.

  • Joint Kick-Off Meeting: joint meeting between Student Enterprise Team, the Marketing Student and the Business to agree the scope of work to be delivered and ways of working.
  • Weekly Email check in: Both Student & Business will be asked to complete a shorts MS form on a weekly basis summarizing status of the project (i.e. work completed this week, plans for next week, any issues of challenges currently faced).
  • Mid Project Check In: The Marketing School will hold a brief online check-in meeting with the marketing students, and separately the Student Enterprise Team will do so with the businesses.
  • Final Project Meeting: a joint meeting between Student Enterprise Team, Marketing Students and Businesses to discuss the process, deliverables and outcomes of the project.
  • End of project evaluation (Impact Statements): both the marketing students and the businesses  will be required to complete an end of project evaluation form, to complete the project and trigger the final payment.
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