Smart Talking with Tourism & Marketing Student Natalie Rowan

In this week’s Smart Talking we chat to Natalie Rowan, Tourism & Marketing Student at Edinburgh Napier University.

Hi Natalie, welcome to Smart Talking. Please tell us about yourself and what you are studying.

Natalie: Hello, and thanks for having me! I’m 23 and studying a BA(Hons) Tourism and marketing management degree at Edinburgh Napier. It took me a while (and a false start elsewhere) to figure out what I really wanted to do, but I’m settled now and absolutely love my degree. I’ve just gone into 4th year which is a bit nerve-wracking but I’m excited to complete my studies and start applying what I’ve learned in the real world; I just have to tackle my dissertation first!

Students have an easy or difficult time of it nowadays – discuss! What’s your experience of being an undergraduate student in Scotland right now?

Natalie: I think being an undergrad is fairly easy; it’s being a graduate that’s difficult! I’ve been very lucky; my course is fully funded by the Scottish Government and really well supported by the academic staff, so for me I’d say it’s definitely been easy. I’ve also had relevant part time work to give me experience and fund my studies, so I’ve stayed away from student loans..until this year. Having studied at another institution that wasn’t quite so supportive I’d say it has a lot to do with the environment and what’s on offer within it, as well as the student’s decision to USE what’s on offer. I’ve tried to make the most of it because the graduate job market is shrinking; I think finding a job will be the hardest part so I’m trying to equip myself as best I can.

Which areas of the marketing or advertising industry particularly interest you and why?

Natalie: I’m really interested in consumer behaviour and the psychology behind purchase decisions. I read an article years ago about a clothing company who changed the colour scheme of their stores, right down to the carpets, and sales went through the roof. I was fascinated by it and had so many questions. It’s so interesting to find out what makes people tick and how this can be manipulated by advertising and marketing campaigns. In a somewhat related way I’m also interested in segmentation and positioning as a method of understanding the consumer, and developing appropriate marketing strategies. It’s one of the first things I learned at university, and is what piqued my interest in marketing and convinced me to do joint Honours.

Social media and digital: what’s your experience to date? Both as a student and from a personal perspective.

Natalie: Personally, I am a huge social media enthusiast; it’s opened so many doors and I’ve made some wonderful friends. In fact, I’m visiting Sweden next month to meet with friends I made via Twitter! It’s such a valuable resource and for me, is the best medium for keeping up to date with news, events and what my favourite companies are up to. I rarely google anything nowadays, I ask my social networks as they have real, often first-hand experience.

It’s also great to see how many businesses are taking up digital marketing and customer service. You can ask questions of them in an informal setting and it really allows them to get to know their customers (albeit virtually) and build relationships. There are many businesses in Edinburgh I’ve become a customer of because of my interaction with them online, and if I’ve ever had a problem, social media has provided a great platform to discuss and correct it without anyone getting upset or offended.

As a student it’s a vital networking tool which I think will prove invaluable in the coming year as I graduate and start looking for opportunities. I try to attend the local tweet-ups for networking and I’m working on improving my LinkedIn and Kiltr profiles to the same end. I’ve also noticed that many job adverts specify that experience is needed in social media/digital, so I’m trying to build up a good body of knowledge and experience both personally and professionally to help me stand out from the crowd.

In terms of work and any work experience you have had to date, has any of this work informed your understanding of marketing or helped you make choices in terms of what you want or don’t want to do in the future?

Natalie: Oh absolutely, I’ve just completed a 6-month work placement as part of my degree in a visitor attraction. I had the opportunity to work with the marketing and events officer and it was a real eye-opener. I didn’t realise the true extent of her role (she is the entire marketing department), and how much of it is dependent on budget. There are so many things she’d like to try, new distribution channels and workshops for example, but doesn’t have the funds to do so. During my placement she was responsible for launching a new website and re-branding the attraction; a mammoth task she had to tackle with only the web designer/brand designer to help! That’s a whole area I hadn’t considered would be the marketing officer’s responsibility, so it’s a much wider scope than I gave it credit for. Prior to my placement I thought I’d quite like to continue working in the attraction sector. Post placement, I know it’s definitely what I want to do, and can specify visitor attraction marketing as my desired role.

And finally, how do you feel about our Scottish tourism industry? What do you think we do well and what could we do better?

Natalie: I love working in the Scottish tourism industry; we’ve got a great product to sell with beautiful scenery and legendary Scottish hospitality and I’ve yet to meet a colleague or visitor who disagrees – it’s such a friendly industry. We’re so good at making people feel welcome, going beyond the call of duty to help out and engaging them with some of our witty banter, although I perhaps shouldn’t encourage visitors to try haggis hunting…

Having worked in an attraction, it’s become clear that while we’re great at attracting the international visitor, the domestic visitor is a much harder nut to crack. I’m guilty of it myself; I live on Edinburgh’s doorstep but there are many attractions and museums I haven’t visited…and there’s no reason for it! I suppose that when I think of taking a holiday I automatically think of leaving the immediate area, but particularly in the current climate it makes sense to use what’s on offer locally.

Perhaps part of the problem is the infrastructure and transport links; I live 20 minutes from the city centre by car, but if I take a bus it’s an hour. In that time I could be at the airport and off to sunnier climes! We’re competing with other European cities for the British holiday market and it boggles my mind that it can be easier to get to the continent than north of the border.

Many thanks for Smart Talking with us, Natalie, and all the best with the studying!

Follow Natalie on Twitter