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Wittenborg Amsterdam students consultants for a week!

As part of the Block 2 Project Week, Wittenborg Amsterdam students were asked to team up and carry out a consultancy project for The F Company, a successful digital marketing agency that provides B2B services to clients of both business and consumer-oriented companies.  

Mr. Joseph Fakayode, co-founder of the Finnish company, visited Wittenborg Amsterdam to present the background of the company and its plans to expand into the EU market. Initially looking at London for their EU Headquarters, Brexit developments have turned their heads toward Amsterdam.

The Task

Students at the Amsterdam campus were put into teams of 6 and presented with the question:  In a post-Brexit environment, how can The F Company increase the probability of succeeding in the Dutch Market?

The teams were then asked to critically analyse crucial elements that could influence the expansion strategy of The F Company, including identification of customer segments, generation of criteria for targeting and exploration of opportunities for local partnerships and alliances in preparation for post-Brexit realities.  To carry out their field research, the groups  reached out to a number of digital marketing agencies operating in The Netherlands, companies originating from team members' networks or approached otherwise. Additionally, interviews were conducted. 

The outcome

After extensive theoretical as well as field researches and brainstorming, the winning team presented the idea of utilising Online Value Proposition (OVP) as a strategy to re-position the company's exiting OVP in the Dutch market. In their conclusion, the team found that The F Company should directly copy the OVP as communicated in their home country of Finland for the Dutch market. In addition, based on field experiments with potential B2B customers, they formulated compelling arguments for redesigning the OVP to better align with Dutch (post-Brexit) markets.  

Impressed by the results, Mr. Fakayode commented that he will immediately communicate the findings to the management team and have the changes implemented.  

He further stated: 'I am very impressed by this focus on our own clients' customers. This allows us to better understand our clients' needs and it enables us to improve our marketing efforts aimed at these clients because we demonstrate understanding of their customers.'

Students' personal reflections on the Project week

One key benefit of Project Weeks is that individual students gain insights into their own strengths and weaknesses within the context of team dynamics, and into their professional interests.  

According to a second year student: 'I personally think being a leader comes naturally, due to being able to force group members to think outside of the box, and trying to add creativity to problem solving.'  

Commenting on the specific field of business consulting, one student said: 'I found out that doing research and working on an actual strategy consulting project makes me very enthusiastic. I really like it... which is a step closer to figuring out what I want in the future.'  

Another first-year student also reflected on his first Project Week experience: 'This Project week was my first one. But I can say that it was a triumph. I was delighted that I was a part of something bigger than myself.'

WUP 29/11/2018

by Rousanna Baird  

©WUAS Press