The real-world projects in our Marketing, Communications & Sales programs

5 min read

Our Marketing, Communications & Sales programs follow a hands-on methodology that ensures our students have every resource and opportunity to learn the intricacies and trends of the ever-changing business landscape. Beyond this, the projects they take part in on this pathway provide them with the tools necessary to lead digital transformation, influencing industry leaders and their digital marketing strategies.

We take great pride in collaborating with some of the world’s biggest companies to expose our students to real-world challenges alongside top corporate executives. Here are a few of the projects that are available as part of the Marketing, Communications & Sales programs.

Projects with global leaders

Across all our programs in this area, you will get the incredible opportunity to collaborate with leading companies. In the Master in Customer Experience & Innovation, participants can work with Minsait-Indra and Fundación Tomillo for entrepreneurial, corporate client and social impact projects. Students not only benefit from the partnership with such corporations but also are exposed to the additional presence of IBM, Microsoft, Telefónica, Opinno, Propelland, Ashoka, Grupo Vips, and Starbucks.

As for the Master in Visual & Digital Media program, you will have direct contact and collaboration opportunities with Llorente & Cuenca as well as Puentes Globales and Te Veo Online, across two separate projects. The second project is supported by the JP Morgan Chase Foundation and its objective is to support community commerce and sustainable growth in small independent businesses. 

Finally, the Master in Corporate & Marketing Communication includes a final consulting project where Global PR leader Weber Shandwick selects the winner. The project focuses upon branding, marketing, PR, CSR and internal comms and includes BBVA, McDonalds, LEGO, Google, Huawei, Heineken, Ikea and many more as program collaborators.

Millward Brown and Nielsen Marketing projects

This trend of top-level partners continues into the Master in Market Research & Consumer Behavior, where students get the opportunity to work with Millward Brown and Nielsen Marketing alongside further collaboration with Telefónica. The Millward Brown marketing consulting project confronts students with a real-world marketing case assigned by Millward Brown executives.

The Nielsen Marketing research consulting project, on the other hand, lasts six weeks, and involves direct collaboration with the company to resolve a real client’s situation by discovering customer insights, conducting market research and presenting the findings to the client at the end.  

Amazon Web Services immersion and The Capstone Project

Throughout the Master in Digital Marketing, students complement the core curriculum with a number of hands-on experiences. One of the most notable is the immersive, four-day Amazon Web Services program, open to both part-time and full-time students. This is an incredible opportunity to gain real skills using one of the world’s foremost cloud computing tools. As Nicolás Casariego, IE Director of Customer Analytics Farm, says, “the main goal of this project is to immerse the group of students of our Master in Digital Marketing in a real environment with a real challenge.”

The end of the program also represents a key opportunity for practical learning thanks to the Capstone Project—or final master’s project—which encompasses their entire third term. The group project sees them develop a comprehensive marketing plan and briefing of a real brand from the Coca Cola Company. In the final stage of the project, each group then presents their brief to a jury of both Coca Cola representatives and faculty members.

Student experience and impact

The benefit of these projects in terms of both personal and professional development is substantial. As one Master in Digital Marketing student notes, these projects offer something “very unique” by “working in a real-world work setting.” Yet the impact of such projects extends beyond IE University.

The solutions and recommendations that students in this area design are frequently implemented and applied by the collaborating company. Almost half are adopted by industry leaders while the other half are partially integrated. Additionally, in some cases, students go on to work with the company that they collaborated with for their project. Lina Brinkschulte, an alum of the Master in Corporate & Marketing Communication, states that:

The projects in this pathway combined with our strong bonds with a multitude of prominent global partners ensures that our students have the most up-to-date knowledge on trends and strategies to succeed in the digital marketplace. 

Holistic hands-on methodology and learning

While these projects expose our students to real-life examples of the challenges students will face in the industry, the programs themselves follow a holistic approach. This allows them to effectively build the analytical and interpersonal skills they will need in order to thrive in the corporate setting. On top of live lectures and interactive video conferences led by faculty members, students in the Master in Digital Marketing and Master in Visual & Digital Media perform in-person debates and hands-on simulations, with face-to-face classes being available for full-time students.

The experience in these programs is further enhanced with networking opportunities, which are interspersed throughout the year.

The Master in Customer Experience & Innovation uses transversal skill-building Innolabs to look into prototyping, design thinking, creative processes and adaptive leadership. The program, along with the Master in Visual & Digital Media, is also part of the Mentor Program which elevates student experience by connecting students with alumni mentors for one year.

We are open

These projects are incredible opportunities to use real real industry tools in an environment of exploration and discovery. And we are excited to say that in the coming academic year, you will be able to make full use of our on-campus resources once again! While maintaining strict safety measures—and Liquid Learning options for exceptional cases—we are fully prepared to welcome students onto our campus and into our labs. That means for all our full-time options, you will be able to learn and connect in person to really get the most out of these hands-on experiences.