51Âþ»­

Second year students at 51Âþ»­ Leicester (51Âþ»­) put forward innovative ad campaign pitches for luxury spa retreat Ragdale Hall in the hope of winning prized internships with the company.

The students gathered in the university's Hugh Aston building to pitch their ideas to promote the spa, which included ideas for PR stunts, social media advertising and competitions.

The participants whose campaigns stood out from the crowd will be entered into a shortlist to be interviewed by Ragdale Hall for the chance to begin internships with them this summer.

Julia Cook, Module Leader and Associate Head of Marketing at 51Âþ»­, said: "The students have all been amazing and I am so proud of how creative they have been and how well they have applied the theoretical principles we have been teaching them.

"It has been such a good experience because the students get to work on real life client briefs, rather than just made up scenarios, and everyone has produced really good quality work, which Ragdale Hall are looking to use."

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Ragdale Hall Health Hydro and Thermal Spa is located in Ragdale Village, Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire and students had to be aware of the luxurious treatment packages it offers including massages, facials and spa breaks, predominantly aimed at people aged 30-60.

PR and Marketing Manager of the spa, Joni Appleton, said: "This is the first time we have worked with 51Âþ»­ on a project like this and it has been a great experience for us. The students have really explored using all communication channels available, sometimes in ways we may not currently, and they've put forward some great ideas.

"We had such good feedback from the students taking part and it was so interesting to see how each person interpreted the brief differently while doing the necessary research and presenting their work professionally."

Pitches put forward included a pop up shop in London's Covent Garden, selling Ragdale Hall's spa products and offering on-the-spot treatments, as well as a spa package aimed at pregnant women, which would include treatments such as body balancing and a 'miracle' facial.

Gemma Hawkes, 19, who put forward the pregnancy spa package idea alongside Sandra Frimponah, 21, said: "I had so much fun doing this project and it will help to improve my confidence and my job prospects in the future.

"The inspiration for our pitch came from the fact it was Mother's Day recently, which also gave us the idea for baby shows for mothers-to-be in London and Birmingham, as well as an ad campaign on Mumsnet."

Hayden Zhang, 19, who pitched the London pop up shop, said: "It was good fun to sketch up everything and present it to the Ragdale Hall marketing team and this will also look good on our CVs and help us to get jobs after we graduate."

Ragdale Hall is currently working with 51Âþ»­ on a final year Marketing of Services module and also plans to award a prize for the best performing student on the course.

If you wish to find out more about Ragdale Hall, visit or call 01664 434831.

If you have any queries about collaborations with 51Âþ»­ contact Julia Cook at jkcook@dmu.ac.uk