As the deadline approaches for applications for the September 2011 intake onto the MSc in InternetRetailing, the students from the first two intakes had an Experience Day in London, with c-level hosts to gain insights into mobile, gaming and publishing angles on multichannel retail. Kind hosts at Moshi Monsters, Sponge Group, Google and The Telegraph made an exciting and insightful day into a real experience. Ian Jindal outlines the day…
An important aspect of the MSc in Internet Retailing – a commercial qualification for leaders in multichannel retail and ecommerce, academically accredited – is to gain privileged, professional insights into the operation of other businesses and to reflect the learnings in improved commercial performance.
Following on the Leadership Day (where we heard from Debenhams, Lakeland, Odgers (the Headhunters) and Amazon [IR story is here]) our focus for the latest experience day was upon gaming and mobile.We’ve heard a great deal about ‘gamification’ as a form of customer engagement and reward and so decided to look at businesses that are approaching retail from the ‘edges’ or from different perspectives and consider as a group what can be learned.
As ever, our day was under the Chatham House Rule and so we cannot quote the proceedings, but we’d like to thank the following:
- Ed Relf, COO of MindCandy (creators of MoshiMonsters, the phenomenon that has 50% of the UK’s 6-12 year old children as members). Insights into their commercialisation, brand values and ambitious plans left us nearly as breathless as the thought of the slide to go between their floors!
- Alex Meisl, Chairman of SpongeGroup, a leading mobile agency, shared with us off the record the dos and donts of mobile development, referencing recent blue-chip case studies and some challenging metrics and performance approaches
- Peter Fitzgerald, Industry Director at Google UK, a long-standing supportive contributor to the multichannel debate, generously shared Google’s ‘mobile first’ approach in a pragmatic, rounded and hands-on session that bridged the R&D, the rhetoric with commercial reality and details of customer behaviour. Much, much food for thought
- Gavin Hughes, General Manager Fashion at The Telegraph, who – after a great tour of the Telegraph’s multimedia newsroom and facilities – shared with us the approach, insights and performance approach for the Telegraph’s new fashion site.
Our thanks to these four and their companies for the generosity of time and insights (as well as their tolerance of the ‘office invasion’).
In all, 14 of the MSc students attended the day (see current delegates).
Thanks again to one and all for putting the ‘experience’ into the day.
If you’re interested in the MSc programme, applications for September 2011’s intake are drawing to a close. You can register your interest without obligation and gain a little extra time to complete the forms! Details on how to apply give the full information or simply email Linda Miles via masters@econsultancy.com.
