Students attend International Study tour to Belgium

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Second year marketing students recently attended an international study tour to Belgium where they visited Coca-Cola's manufacturing and distribution plant in Antwerp.

During a tour of the factory, students were given insight into the company's marketing, business operations, supply chain management and environmental impact management - including the use of sustainable packaging and re-cycled water in cleaning returned bottles and cans.  A number of interactive activities also highlighted the importance of strong brand values in supporting the building and research of new products. 

As well as the visit to Coca-Cola, students were set the task of producing an experiential marketing video and blog post that both effectively promoted Antwerp as a tourist destination.  This project encouraged them to apply the principles of experiential and location marketing and also provided an opportunity to develop digital literacy and creative writing skills, both of which have been identified as important requirements by external employers.    

To help students understand the value of the knowledge and skills being developed in the task, Becs Jeffery - Owner of Fi and Becs Design and Marketing, was asked to judge the film and blog pieces.

Becs commented, "I was delighted to be a judge for the Antwerp video and blog writing competition and become part of such a forward-thinking and practical experience for the students. I was very impressed by the work that the teams produced, in particular the winning team who developed a modern, stylish and excellently executed video about Antwerp and wrote a fantastic blog article.

Having met the winning students, I was impressed by their enthusiasm and awareness of the marketing industry and trends. The amount of pre-planning that went into their work was evident and this showed in the final pieces they submitted. The blog article was excellently written and wouldn’t look out of place on a commercial travel blog. What a fantastic project giving the students the chance to learn and develop applicable skills that may become vital in their future marketing roles!"