Digital Marketing MA

Gemma Austin

Gemma had been working as a bid manager for over four years and, although was doing well, really wanted to be working in a more creative industry.

I made the difficult decision to quit my job and go back to University to embark on the MA Digital Marketing course at the University of Portsmouth. I graduated from Portsmouth Business School in 2011and set up the company Cotton Candy Photography with business partner and friend Philippa Parkes as part of my final year project last December. It has been life-changing; I can’t believe how fast the business has grown.

My friend, Philippa, had been planning to set up her own freelance photography business and I approached her at first to offer to design, build and market a website. However, as we’re both keen photographers and creatively quite similar we decided to go into business together instead.

Studying for the MA Digital Marketing course meant I wasn’t just setting up a business from scratch – I was using my knowledge of the design, development and implementation of digital media marketing applications – so I felt confident that I had solid foundations. The project incorporated designing an identity, building a website, establishing a brand and an online presence all through the use of various digital media marketing tools.

My tutor and I discussed the project initially with a target of five bookings for 2011. Six months on, I am working for the photography business full-time. We now have 25 bookings, and more keep rolling in!