Mini MBA star: Adam Cartlidge

Adam Cartlidge, senior director of customer acquisition at Farfetch

A customer-focused marketer, Adam Cartlidge emphasises the importance of insight to any effective marketing activity. He says the biggest lesson he took from the Mini MBA in Brand Management is that the marketing world is too infatuated with short-term tactics.

“We’ve all been to the marketing strategy away day, made up of dozens upon dozens of waffling pages and statements we all forget. The ability to produce a concise and actionable strategy that can operate as a continuous lighthouse in the dark, is a weapon every brand marketer needs,” he says.

Cartlidge names the simulation section of the course as a highlight. “Taking the Moon brand through a virtual five-year journey, full of twists, turns, competitor moves and NPD, and having your end grade based on your final share price was fantastic. None of the boring two-hour exams, or 10,000 word essay, just skill and competition as you take on the market,” he says.

But ultimately his favourite module was the one on brand codes. “Marketers all too often get familiar or bored with the brand they see every day and feel the necessity to change it even though it doesn’t require it. We are not the customer and our brand codes are our anchors. Repetition and consistency is good, don’t make it hard for the consumer to remember who you are, and what you stand for,” he says.

Take your skills to the next level with the Mini MBA in Brand Management. The next course, which is run by professor and Marketing Week columnist Mark Ritson, starts on 20 April. The Mini MBA in Marketing course begins on 13 April. Visit the Mini MBA website for more information and to book your place.