De Montfort University marketing student Aimee pitching her ideas to senior marketing and data professionals from Costa Coffee
Advertising and Marketing student Aimee discovered a love for creative data, completed a placement at Unilever and secured a three-year grad role for after uni – all before her final year of study.
Aimee arrived here at De Montfort University with a clear ambition: to build a career in marketing and create work that made a big impact. What she didn’t yet know was how much our university would shape, refine and accelerate that ambition.
“I originally imagined myself in a more creative role” she explains. “However, exploring modules like Digital Marketing and Media and Market Analysis and Strategy made me realise that I’m much more interested in the strategy and creative data side of marketing. The shift in my goals made it important for me to communicate my interests to others – you never know how people might be able to support you.”
In her first year, a visit from the Placements team became a turning point. Hearing about the opportunities and seeing what previous students had gone on to achieve made her realise that the career she imagined was not just a distant goal, it was something she could actually reach. For the first time, working in the marketing industry felt like a real possibility.
Another major milestone came when a lecturer encouraged her to apply for the DMA Creative Data Academy 2024. Aimee was accepted and travelled to London, where she visited agencies and pitched ideas to senior marketing and data professionals from brands such as Costa and The Coca-Cola Company. The experience confirmed what she wanted for her future: a career in creative data and strategic marketing.
A year of professional achievement
While on her placement year, Aimee worked across two global brands – Radiant and DIG (Persil in the UK) – getting hands-on experience in brand strategy, performance analysis and campaign delivery. She independently delivered validated concepts for new product benefit spaces, commissioned research briefs, managed concept testing across multiple international markets and produced detailed monthly brand performance dashboards. She also contributed to social-first campaigns and cultural activation projects, helping to deliver work designed to stand out in highly competitive markets.
One of her standout projects was Varzenal (a major cultural and football campaign and content series), where she created and managed a SharePoint action-tracking system that gave teams real-time visibility of updates, responsibilities and progress. And alongside her day job, she volunteered for Dove Day – delivering body confidence workshops in primary schools.
Throughout the process, the Careers and Placements teams were a constant source of support, helping with applications, mock interviews and any concerns she had along the way. For Aimee, completing a placement was never just about adding experience to her CV. It was about making the most of every opportunity university could offer and making sure she graduated ready for industry.
A graduate role before final year
The impact of her placement experience was extraordinary.
Before she’d even started her final year at university, Aimee secured a place on the Unilever Future Leaders Programme. The three-year graduate role will rotate across Customer Development, UK Marketing and Global Marketing, giving her the opportunity to develop across some of the most important areas of the business. With Unilever being one of the world’s largest advertisers, the programme offers the kind of exposure and experience she once only imagined.
Looking back, Aimee sees her journey as a series of opportunities that De Montfort University helped her recognise and take: “I wouldn’t have been able to achieve this without the growth in confidence, skills and experience that my managers and placement provided.” From the Placement team’s presentation in her first year to securing a graduate role with one of the world’s largest advertisers, the university provided the teaching, support, industry connections and experiences that transformed her long-held ambition into a career already underway before her graduation.