Sion Scott-Wilson is a Senior Lecturer at UWE Bristol, a former creative director in the advertising industry and an award-nominated novelist. His interests are in the use and application of narrative principles in commercial communication.
Having worked with many of the world’s best-known brands, Sion brings a wealth of experience to all aspects of global marketing communications campaigns within the educational setting.
Initiated by Sion and supported by Tom Perou, a member of the Digital Learning Team (DLT) in the College of Business and Law (CBL), this post-graduate case study was deployed within the Creative Marketing Methods module of the MA: Marketing Communications programme.
During this case study, a cohort of more than 30 students was afforded the opportunity to develop their digital skills through practice-based learning. Adobe Creative Campus tools were used during the rollout.
The problem
Many students studying marketing lack practical experience and confidence in applying their skills, which can hinder their career prospects. While theoretical knowledge is important, oftentimes there exists a gap between academic learning and the real-world demands of the marketing industry. Being able to design coursework with assessments that bridge this gap, we argue, provides students with key hands-on experience.
Furthermore, by availing access to industry-standard tools like Adobe Express we afford ourselves the opportunity also, of building student confidence in solving problems while demonstrating their understanding of core marketing concepts.
The solution
The Creative Marketing Methods course was specifically designed to bridge the gap between theory and practice. The ambition for this course has always been to provide students with hands-on, authentic learning experiences. Drawing on extensive industry experience, the curriculum integrates marketing concepts with practical applications using industry-standard tools.
A key component of this approach is an authentic assessment called The Hollywood Brief. This three-week project looked to place students within the role of creative agency. Thereafter, it looked to challenge them into developing a full promotional campaign for a film that has yet to be released. Students selected a film from the last decade within a specific genre and, once decided, they were challenged to create new promotional materials, including a billboard advertisement and a piece of electronic collateral (a trailer or video). This ensured students applied core, curriculum concepts whilst producing high-quality, portfolio-ready work samples.
Worth noting, is that this project-based module is structured to support students from a wide range of backgrounds – a fundamentally important criteria considered during planning. Throughout deployment, the course actively blended weekly lectures with practical workshops. A first week informal assessment, helped identify individual support needs and follow-up workshops ensured personalised, one-to-one guidance. Each of the students involved where supported by an academic, subject matter expert, and a member of the Digital Learning Team – who provided specialist training and support. This was especially important due to the incorporation of Adobe Creative Cloud tools. The ambition then, as mentioned, was to embed industry-standard software into the problem-solving approach for the course to ensure students graduated with confidence in the skills many employers currently value.
Key outcomes
Implementing the module in this way has led to several key outcomes:
- Enhanced creative confidence and storytelling ability: The hands-on brief allowed students to develop their ability to translate marketing theory into compelling visual and narrative campaigns.
- Mastery of an integrated digital workflow: Students gained practical experience with Adobe Creative Cloud tools, learning how to seamlessly integrate different applications.
- Employability-boosting skills: The authentic nature of the assessment developed key soft skills, such as time management and problem-solving, which are highly valued by employers in the creative industries.
Ultimately, the success of the Creative Marketing Methods course lies in its commitment to a practice-based approach and the use of professional, industry-standard tools. By embedding the Adobe Creative Cloud suite throughout the curriculum, students were given a clear pathway to develop their skills and confidence. This method goes beyond connecting theory to real-world practice; it empowers students to produce portfolio-ready work and master the tools they will encounter in the workplace. As a result, the course ensured that its graduates were not only skilled and creative, but also highly employable.
Feedback from staff and students
Broadly speaking, within the School of Business, there has been a notable increase in student satisfaction with the quality of teaching (up 2 percentage points to 90%) and assessments (up 4 percentage points to 82%). There has been a notable increase in active student users from 56 to 1,909 and a jump in accessed files from 239 to 8,954 in just one year. The work being done in School of Business, wherein Marketing resides, has situated the School as the second-biggest user of Express, behind the School of Arts.
“It’s all about meeting students where they are and helping them build up their skills, step by step.”
Sion Scott-Wilson, Senior Lecturer
“The ability to create isn’t just about ‘thinking outside the box’—it’s the critical skill of seeing a new box entirely.”
Clay Johnson, Digital Learning Manager (College of Business and Law)
“The simplicity of Express allows me bring ideas to life creatively, without losing any depth.”
Aniq Yusoff, UWE Student
Challenges and lessons learned
While implementing a new teaching methodology can present challenges, this case study’s hurdles were limited to administrative issues concerning training and support. These proved negligible. Ultimately, the project’s success was demonstrated by the following key outcomes:
- Enhanced creative confidence and storytelling ability: Students showed a marked increase in their creative confidence, developing a stronger ability to translate ideas into compelling narratives.
- Production of portfolio-ready artifacts: The project culminated in the creation of polished, professional-grade marketing materials (such as billboards, videos, and storyboards) that students can now use to build their professional portfolios.
- Mastery of an integrated digital workflow: Students gained a practical mastery of Adobe Creative Cloud tools, learning how to seamlessly integrate different applications to streamline their creative process.
- Development of authentic work samples: The hands-on nature of the assessments resulted in a collection of genuine, high-quality work samples that directly showcase students’ skills. This significantly boosts their employability.
Next steps
Building on the success of the Creative Marketing Methods module, a few key next steps are planned to further enhance the student experience and demonstrate the course’s long-term value:
- Scaling the model: We will explore opportunities to apply the successful “Hollywood Brief” model to other modules within the university, particularly those focused on practical skills and authentic assessment.
- Enhancing industry connections: Plans are in place to formalise and expand relationships with creative agencies and industry professionals, providing students with even more direct feedback and mentorship opportunities.
- Measuring long-term impact: We will look to implement a system for tracking the career outcomes of graduates from the module to gather data on the long-term impact of the skills they have gained.
Conclusion
The Creative Marketing Methods module successfully bridges the critical gap between academic theory and real-world practice. By immersing students in a problem-solving, practice-based learning model, the course empowers them to not only apply core marketing concepts but also to gain invaluable hands-on experience using professional, industry-standard tools. The authentic “Hollywood Brief” assessment ensures that students build confidence and graduate with tangible, portfolio-ready work that directly enhances their employability. Ultimately, this case study stands as a powerful example of how innovative course design and a commitment to authentic assessment can transform academic learning into a direct and impactful pathway to career success.
Should you wish to connect and find out more about this work in greater detail, please do reach out to: Sion.Scott-Wilson@uwe.ac.uk (Academic Team) or tom.perou@uwe.ac.uk (Digital Learning Team).