Academy 2026 Cohort
Ben Skelton
DEGREE
Digital Marketing | Birmingham City University
"Create Art Not Content"
About Ben
What was the route that brought you to Academy by Tribera?
I’ve always taken creative subjects, so a degree in marketing felt like it was the logical next step for me. It was a fantastic opportunity to learn the theory and the creative process in an academic environment, but - come the end of the degree - I wanted to see how these would apply in an industry setting.
Outside of university work, I run my own automotive-inspired clothing brand, and the skills that I learn from the academy can be applied to growing and improving that.
What is it about the creative marketing world that genuinely pulls you in?
I’ve always taken creative subjects, so a degree in marketing felt like it was the logical next step for me. It was a fantastic opportunity to learn the theory and the creative process in an academic environment, but - come the end of the degree - I wanted to see how these would apply in an industry setting.
Outside of university work, I run my own automotive-inspired clothing brand, and the skills that I learn from the academy can be applied to growing and improving that.
Why do you want to build your career here in Birmingham?
I would say that Birmingham is such a creative city in its own right, whilst also sitting between the other powerhouses of Manchester and London. As a result, you sort of have access to multiple creative pools in one place.
Where do you want your career to head over the next couple of years?
In the vaguest sense, I’d describe my ideal job title as “Making Things”. In reality that looks like creative and production roles, working on briefs that can be stretched and accommodate out-of-the-box thinking - likely in the fashion industry, or somewhere of similar scope.
What is something about you that has nothing to do with marketing?
I’m very passionate about F1, and cars in general - which inspires the designs and content for my clothing brand. If I were to think of something really niche that nobody else is likely to say it would probably be that I’ve always been quite nerdy on Greek mythology - which is obviously crucial to marketing.
How has working with AI changed the way you think and work?
working with ai
AI is an important element of my workflow, but it’s never visible in my final output. Throughout the research and planning phases of a project, it is greatly valued in it’s data analysis and idea iteration capabilities - especially with mocking up content prior to shoots.
Concept testing is also a key area, with constant access to custom personas - driven directly off of key research insights - being a lifesaver when you don’t have a group of your audience members for AB testing, for example.
Where do you think you will thrive?
strengths and focus
Within the academy, as with outside of it, I’d say that my strengths lie very much with the creative and production sections, where we planned and executed content briefs. They’ve always been the areas that interest me most. Alongside these, I’d also mention the areas we’ve covered with analytics, as it’s shown me how I can use these to back up my creative ideas.
Which technical and professional skills have you sharpened during the programme?
KEY SKILLS MASTERED
Following on from the previous question, the data analysis and tools for doing so, such as GA4 and Google Data Studio, have been the areas that I feel I’ve improved the most at. They’re tools that we’ve never covered in depth within the university course, so seeing how they’re used in industry has been super important.
What kinds of roles and responsibilities are you now ready to take on?
ready for
The Tribera Academy has given me the confidence to pursue roles in areas such as design, production and creative, as I feel that over the last 4 weeks I’ve greatly improved my ability within them.