Academy 2025 Cohort
Ellie Watkin
DEGREE
Birmingham City University | BA Digital Marketing
"Crafting a career built on Strategy, Connection and Consistency"
About ellie
Tell us about your academic journey and what led you to Academy?
My journey to digital marketing began in secondary school when I was studying business studies, here I found marketing to be my favourite element of the course. Then in my first year of sixth form I decided to do a week's work experience in a digital marketing agency local to me which I found so eye opening and interesting that it cemented the fact I wanted to do digital marketing at university. I started studying Digital Marketing in 2023 at Birmingham City University and I am now coming up to finishing in August! I was led to the Academy through people I had met at marketing socials such as Social Circle in Birmingham, I decided to pursue the Academy to gain more experience in the area of marketing I want to work in and to find out more about agency life.
What sparked your interest in the creative marketing industry?
I’ve always enjoyed stories and learning about human behaviour theory in sociology, and I love that digital marketing uses data and insights to craft campaigns that can have such detailed storylines that connect with real people in meaningful ways. I love that it combines both analytical and creative thinking.
What made you choose to build your career in Birmingham's creative scene?
I chose Birmingham due to the nature of the course I was able to do at BCU, the course I am studying is 2 years and is all coursework based this means we are able to immerse ourselves in every brief we are given and get really hands on with conducting research, strategising and creating campaigns.
Outside of university I have always been a frequent visitor to Birmingham and I love the city due to its music scene, shopping selection, easy commute to other towns/cities and green spaces just outside the center.
What's been your most valuable experience during the programme so far?
My most valuable experience at the academy so far has been my mentor session I have had with a member of the digital team. During this session I was able to really get to grips with how all the areas of digital work together and understand the different platforms used to measure search. I hope to be able to build on thai in my final week of The Academy during digital week and gain more valuable experience for me to take forward into a future job.
Where do you see yourself in 2-3 years?
In 2-3 years I hope to be working in a performance based role in a digital marketing agency in either Shrewsbury or Birmingham.
Which areas of marketing are you most passionate about?
I am most passionate about performance marketing as this is something that has interested me in all digital marketing work experience I have done. I am working to develop my skills further in this area by doing online courses.
Share something interesting or unexpected about yourself.
I have 12 years experience of dancing in ballroom and latin where I have participated in 3 variety shows in my local theatre!
Real client brief
academy experience
Throughout the programme I have been working on a brief based on the student accommodation company Yugo. They want to communicate how they support students sustainably and encourage students to have a sustainable mindset.
We need to show this via multiple channels to a Generation Z audience and their parents.
Favourite experience
academy highlights
I've really enjoyed gaining experience in all areas of marketing and how each week flows into the next so easily during the programme. Firstly we started in client services, I really enjoyed learning about this role as I had never really heard of it before this so I was able to discover something new. Next we moved onto creative and began the ideation stage of our campaign. I really enjoyed this area of creative and being able to see the methods used to create campaign ideas and being able to bounce ideas off of each other in our groups. After this we proceeded into social where we began to ideate and create short form videos to advertise our campaign idea. Next we moved into PR to start developing a PR campaign and learning the ins and outs of press releases which I really enjoyed. And finally we will be moving onto digital to understand the data behind our social campaigns.
Academy Experience
KEY SKILLS MASTERED
Over my weeks at Tribera I have been able to develop more skills in Sprout Social, content calendars, Gantt charts, Google Sheets, Press Releases, Timing sheets and Google Analytics.
Where do you see yourself next?
ready for...
I am open to junior/executive roles within digital/performance marketing such as SEO, PPC and Paid Media.
OR
Social media junior/executive roles focused on social optimisation, creative strategy, reporting and building social calendars.