Tag Archives: marketing

Life post-KTP: Burns Research Charity to Diesel Tuning – Richard Allin

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Blonde McIndoe1

When I began my KTP with the University of Brighton and Blond McIndoe Research Foundation, the 2 year completion date of the project seemed far away and something that I rarely considered until my final 6 months began and suddenly the reality of making the next step became that more real.

I had an idea of location and the type of work I wanted to do post KTP, but I realised my current CV was in need of a serious overhaul to reflect all the work that I had undertaken since the start of the project.

The KTP benefits log was a very helpful source of examples for this and I would have spent significantly more time trying to remember everything I had done since the start had I not managed to fill it in as part of the review meetings.

For the last 3 months of the project I was regularly job scanning, revising my CV, preparing applications and submitting them to a variety of jobs to direct employers and, unfortunately, recruitment agents who seem to hold the bulk of advertised jobs. My previous experiences with agencies had not been encouraging, and they continued to be disappointing, maintaining my suspicions that many advertised jobs do not exist and act as a CV harvesting scheme.

I had some fall back temporary employment in case I did not manage to make a straight jump from the KTP to my next job but looking back I would advise serious job hunting 6 months from the end if you know your KTP host company does not have a position for you.

Fortunately in the last 2 weeks of my project I was offered interviews from two companies that were very much at opposite ends of the scale. One, a multinational corporation in the agricultural sector and the other a small company specialising in digital diesel tuning products.

Neither role asked for a presentation, which surprised me, but I felt bringing something to show on my iPad would help me put across my skills and experiences much more effectively. I had previously undertaken lots of presentations for my KTP so it didn’t take long to put something together. I thought both interviews went well and was pleased that I could fall back on many examples of demonstrating skills and outcomes through the KTP project.

The training budget and academic support over the past 2 years had also enabled me to develop new knowledge and understanding that proved to be a key factor in securing my current role.

Shortly after being interviewed, the diesel tuning company offered me their role of Marketing Executive and I accepted before waiting for an offer from the multinational as it felt more of a natural fit for me.

Two months in I am currently focusing on planning our new website build and developing SEO strategies for our current site, but I’m also working on everything from new packaging to getting magazine features to planning events and managing the social media, and literally using the skills I developed in the KTP every day!

Blonde McIndoe2

Retail KTP boosting the charity sector – Harvey Ells

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Myself and Chris Dutton (a fellow retail academic) are three quarters of the way though our most recent retail KTP. This time, we are working with St Wilfrid’s Hospice (Eastbourne) but have previously had successful partnerships with The Seafood Restaurant (Padstow) Ltd (better known as Rick Stein’s) (Retail and Hospitality), Pordum Foods Ltd (Hot food vending) and Spring Barn Farm near Lewes (Farm Shop start-up.) final quarter is always an exciting time in these ESRC/ Innovate UK (previously TSB) funded projects as the first year is very much about implementation and systems. By comparison, in the second year we then move in to intensify the knowledge transfer components and finely tune the retail management and marketing elements. The second year also allows us to measure and reflect on the range of benefits that we can leave the organisation with and identify what each of the project partners have learned from the process.

 

Why retail needs knowledge transfer

Most owner/managers as retailers are passionate about what they do and have great ideas and ambition for growth, but at times, their entrepreneurship and drive doesn’t readily translate into mainstream retail merchandising, new product development (NPD) or marketing strategies. This is where we can provide the expertise. By combining our work experience with the academic elements, including Retail BA and MSc teaching we have found that we can help the SMEs that we work with to do things better for their customers, ultimately making more profit as a result. What is also particularly pleasing is that increasingly, the UK Government is recognising the value of a quality retail offer to the national economy whether it be from a multiple, SME or start-up business perspective. Last year there was a specific ESRC call for retail KTPs as a result.

 

Successes and achievements

These projects are not for the faint-hearted as they do require a lot of planning and if you get it wrong it can have serious consequences for the businesses you are working with. That said, because Chris and I understand the retail mind-set, talk lots about retail and love a challenge (and there are plenty!) we have never found it to be a problem. In fact, KTP gives us a real buzz, whether it be from a new initiative, a good set of sales figures or provision of a general highlight to incorporate into our teaching. We’ve achieved the top ‘A’ grade for all of our completed retail partnerships to date, this being a real achievement for the university and our course profiles. KTPs also give us raw materials to publish from which we are getting better at over time. The university also runs a yearly KTP Associates conference that allows us to network with the KTP community and update them on our activities.

 

Making a difference to the classroom

Knowledge transfer is not a consultancy exercise – it’s a mutually beneficial three-way partnership between the company, the university and the Associate. Our experience of working on KTPs has given us lots of new material to incorporate in to our teaching, even to the point where we ask students to write a case study application centred on the outline bid process, as part of our Level 5 undergraduate Retail Management in Action Module. The students find this novel pedagogic delivery which is more aligned to working in collaboration in industry to be a challenge ….but it works! Having this timetabled at the end of the second year really pulls together the content of the first 2 years of their studies in preparation either for their critical final year or their time out on placement. Our External examiners regularly highlight this as a good example of best practice.

 

 The Partnerships

The other great thing about KTP is that you get to work with a load of really interesting specialists whether it be the KTP Advisors, the University of Brighton KTP Centre or the company partners. But the most important group that we work with are the recently qualified graduate Associates, who make up the backbone of KTP. They are amazing individuals, with loads of energy and ideas – we reckon that KTP gives them the equivalent of 5 year’s mainstream retail experience condensed into a traditional 2 year KTP project. A good Associate is a key ingredient in making a project successful. Once the project is complete, they go on to do really great things, often with the company partner, which is why we always prompt our final year students to think about KTPs as their first graduate destination.

 

In Summary

It’s never been so good to get out of the office… give a KTP a try!

 

Harvey Ells, Principal Lecturer in Retail and Food Studies

 

 

 

 

 

My KTP experience – Sally Darbyshire

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PROJECT

I was a KTP Associate between 2010 and 2012 with the University of Brighton and Mooncup Ltd.  The project involved developing a new product for Mooncup and a new product development process to allow them to continue to methodically develop products, marketing campaigns and packaging after I had finished the 27 month project. As a product design engineering graduate, this job was an excellent opportunity to use my new qualification and skills in a real project within both industry and a university setting.

My project in particular included a wide multi-disciplinary team at the university because of the complexities of researching and designing the product. Mooncup, who sell an environmentally friendly alternative to disposable tampons and sanitary towels, wanted to expand their product range in order to appeal to slightly different market. The several elements involved in designing this product meant the project required a team of academics to reflect the potential areas this product could develop into, this included Textiles, Marketing, Science and Design. Between the university who could provide expertise in all of these areas, and Mooncup’s knowledge of the market and their customers, we had lots of useful and valuable information to help me deliver the project.

CHALLENGES

I uncovered a wealth of information in working with so many academics, however it also meant that time was often limited and though the meetings were very insightful, it was often hard to break down the information which would help me develop real solutions. Occasionally because of this, focus on the product and the timescale of the project became unaligned and I needed to re-focus my work. I overcame this challenge by using a project time line which helped me to see what needed to be achieved in the short and long term, broken down into manageable tasks. This challenge also helped me develop as a project manager; I began to assess more carefully when I needed information and advice from certain academics rather than communicating with them on a regular basis.

The other learning curve for me was discovering the complexities in producing a textiles product in the UK using sustainable and environmentally friendly materials. As the textiles industry in the UK has declined over the last few decades, there were a limited number of manufacturers who were able to help develop the product for larger scale manufacture. As the materials also proved difficult to source locally, which was an important aspect for Mooncup, I adapted my approach in order to find materials as close to home as possible.

BENEFITS OF KTP

The benefits of working on a KTP project for the product meant the outcome was well rounded and all options had been considered – in using the experience, insight and knowledge of the university academics and the company’s employees, the whole project was much richer than it would have been if I had been an individual working alone.

Another benefit to working on a KTP project for me was having a very generous personal development budget on top of my salary. This was hugely important for me as it gave me the opportunity to undertake training in areas I had little or no experience in.

EXPERIENCE

As a first job after graduating, I found the support from both the university and the company extremely encouraging throughout the project. Managing a 27-month project for the first time was quite a daunting task but having not only support from the project team but support also from the KTP team and advisors gave me the confidence to run the project successfully. Having regular project meetings helped me structure the product development process to ensure I was meeting deadlines.

I’m working on a few ventures at the moment; developing the family farm business and also setting up various ‘food swap’ events in Scotland. Working through the challenges and successes of the KTP project, I have gained experience which has set me up for future employment and I hope that one day soon I will be running my own business!

Sally Darbyshire, Mooncup KTP Project