At Northstone, we're always keen to support emerging talent and create opportunities for students to apply their learning in a real-world setting. That's why we recently teamed up with Lancaster University to give a group of MSc Marketing students the chance to tackle a live commercial challenge at our Breacla development in Lancaster.
Working alongside our Marketing and PR team, students from Lancaster University Management School were asked to develop their own marketing strategy for Breacla. Drawing on the knowledge gained during their studies, they explored ways to increase demand, attract more qualified visitors to our on-site Huddle, strengthen our presence across key media channels, and enhance the customer journey from initial enquiry through to reservation.
With Breacla already live and homes available for sale, the project gave students the opportunity to apply their academic learning to a genuine business challenge. The teams analysed target audiences, assessed the local market and competition, reviewed the customer journey and developed strategic recommendations, which they later presented back to Northstone.
As part of the project, the students visited Breacla to gain first-hand experience of the development and a better understanding of the homes, location and customer offer before continuing their work remotely.
Reflecting on the experience, student participant Namit Sharan said:
"Today marked the conclusion of our consultancy engagement with Northstone, culminating in the presentation of our final recommendations. The project offered an invaluable opportunity to work through a live commercial challenge, test our thinking against real business context, and shape recommendations with commercial and strategic relevance and we are very grateful to Northstone for the opportunity and their time."
Anita Jolley, Sales and Marketing Director at Northstone, added:
"The collaboration reflects Northstone's commitment to working with emerging marketing talent and we were able to give students the opportunity to work on a live project within a commercial organisation, which is a rare opportunity we were keen to support. The students really did put in a lot of effort and we wish them all well in their future careers."
About Breacla
Located on Scotforth Road in Lancaster, Breacla is our 70-home development offering a range of thoughtfully designed homes in a well-connected location close to Lancaster University.
The collaboration was a rewarding experience for everyone involved, and we're grateful to the students for the enthusiasm, creativity and hard work they brought to the project. We look forward to seeing where their careers take them next.