Swinburne marketing students pitch digital platforms at Facebook

Swinburne Master of Marketing students visited Facebook’s Melbourne headquarters to present their digital marketing platforms to a group of industry-relevant panellists from Facebook and Swinburne.

Swinburne has partnered with Facebook through the Australian Graduate School of Entrepreneurship (AGSE) to co-design and co-deliver the global digital marketing unit.

Each of the four groups that presented had designed digital platforms raising awareness and support for animal welfare issues, using Facebook’s latest digital marketing strategies and audience building tools.

Master of Marketing course director, Dr Doan Nguyen, says the co-designed unit gives students the opportunity to learn about and use these Facebook tools as they would in professional roles.

“This experience allows students to gain valuable insight into the industry and see how the techniques they’ve learned in the classroom can be applied in practice,” Dr Nguyen says.

Facebook Client Manager, Phil Bonanno, says this partnership gives students the opportunity to learn the back-end of Facebook’s marketing tools and be prepared to work in an industry that is increasingly driven by what the consumer wants.

“This course helps close the gap between where consumers are and where we as marketers need to meet them,” Mr Bonanno says.

Gaining real-world experience

Team Happy Paws' Jared Ow, Shivani Malik, Zelda Mellstrom and Sheena Herath.

The group with the strongest presentation, titled ‘Happy Paws’, were named the winners of the event for their well-researched audiences and original idea on addressing pets’ happiness.

The students of ‘Happy Paws’, Sheena Herath, Zelda Mellstrom, Jared Ow, Shivani Malik, Olivia Carmichael and Julia Davies, were thrilled to have the opportunity to present at Facebook.

“This has been a really valuable experience and one that motivates me to work hard to enter this industry,” Ms Mellstrom says.

The diverse set of skills within the group allowed the students to create a strong campaign, with visually appealing design elements created by Mr Ow, who has a design undergraduate background.

“Everyone had something unique to contribute and I think that really brought the different elements of our platform together,” Mr Ow says.

The students received feedback about their platforms from Mr Bonanno, who saw great potential in the creativity of their presentations.

 “I saw a lot of amazing storytelling in these presentations. In a time when consumers demand their needs are met now, it’s important to focus on how quickly you can tell a captivating story that will compel people to engage with your brand,” Mr Bonanno says.

Ms Herath from ‘Happy Paws’ was grateful for the feedback provided by Mr Bonanno, saying it will allow her to build on what she’s learnt throughout the semester.

“Receiving insights and advice from someone in the industry I want to be in is invaluable to my learning experience,” Ms Herath says.

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