The project was run as a client-consultant scenario by Dr Nihar Amoncar in collaboration with Martyn Rowling from the Business Clinic.
Marriners Yarn (a unit of Shaws Direct) approached the Business clinic to explore the opportunities in developing a E-commerce platform for sale of Marriners yarn. During stage one of the project, Mr Shaw Senior (owner of Shaws Direct) and the E-commerce manager of Marriners delivered the project requirement to MSc Marketing and PR students, the project was developed into an assessment for the Brands and Reputation module.
The students then carried out independent research on the organization and explored avenues for developing a E-commerce platform by exploring social media channels to be engaged with and provided a blueprint to develop an effective online marketing (digital marketing) strategy.
The students produced a 5000 word project report which were submitted to Marriners for action, recommendations included developing events in care homes to using testimonials and youtube videos to attract new segments into knitting (particularly targeting the younger population).