Digital Creative Internship for Marketplace AMP
Marketplace AMP launched in September 2017 with a mission to help brands in the Food & Drink, Health & Beauty, Petcare and Homeware sectors by amplifying sales on online marketplaces like Amazon and eBay by optimising their products and using advertising to help them out rank, out bid and out sell the competition.
The business approach combines market insight and intelligence, proprietary technology and contextual analysis.
The EIRA Internship scheme gave Marketplace AMP an opportunity to work with the University of Suffolk by taking on a student intern to help the business grow. With the launch of several new products including their ‘Client Dashboard Service’, ‘Alexa Skills Creations Division’ and ‘AI Heat Map Technology Service’, having an extra pair of hands to manage workload was particularly helpful.
The Challenge
With the launch of three new products, the challenge was to make sure clients are given a consistently high standard of service by responding to requests for information in order to to enhance their sales. This in turn will give Marketplae AMP a competitive advantage.
Sharing knowledge and innovative approaches is a key part of the Marketplace AMP ethos, who provide regular talks on international e-commerce tactics and opportunities for the Department of International Trade. In Spring 2019 Director Matt Anderson became an Ambassador for the Government’s ‘Exporting is Great’ campaign. In the past 12 months the business has helped clients export over £15.8 million worth of products! Due to the fast pace of their services and the high demand from their clients, the business needed a creative technical student who could quickly learn about their products and services to contribute and enhance what they deliver.
The business is proud to be based in Suffolk and want to dispel the myth that the tech corridor is only for London and Cambridge. Attracting industry experts to a more ‘remote’ less London-centric area has been a challenge that has been overcome by working closely with the University. However high-growth means that the business needed to urgently recruit up and coming individuals with a real passion for online sales and e-commerce.
The Approach
Marketplace AMP is the first Amazon specialist agency to enter into a strategic partnership with leading artificial intelligence and content optimization specialists Dragonfly AI.
One of the new products the business has just launched is a bespoke ‘Client Dashboard Service’ enabling all clients to access their online sales insights 24/7. This offers total transparency and access for clients to monitor and evaluate their online sales in real-time, thus increasing client satisfaction and empowering them to make quicker decisions on sales stock and price setting. Coupled with this, the business offers bespoke, free Market Intelligence Reports giving clients unique insights into their industry and highlighting future growth opportunities.
This year will also see the launch of Marketplace AMP’s new ‘Alexa Skills Creations Division’. With the use of smart speakers and voice assistants on a rapid rise (estimated that 40% of all UK homes will had a smart speaker by close of 2019) there’s never been a better time for their customers to invest in technology. Being one of the first to the market helps their clients claim valuable market share in a competitive space. The competitive advantage that comes with creating a skill for smart speakers is that it allows them to provide something for users that their competitors do not.The final launch aims to amplify customer sales using ‘AI Heat Map Technology Service’.
Marketplace AMP is the first Amazon specialist agency to enter into a strategic partnership with leading artificial intelligence and content optimisation specialists Dragonfly AI. The first 10 seconds of a webpage visit are critical for a consumers’ decision to stay online and make a purchase. Harnessing the latest heat map technology, the business can now analyse the ability of their clients’ product listings to grab immediate attention and provide statistical evidence highlighting which areas of their e-commerce content require optimization. Providing unique intelligence on their competitors – this service can deliver instant improvements to clients’ online listings immediately.
Robert Amarandi was the student intern chosen to work with Marketplace AMP. He discovered this opportunity through Jenni Carberry from the University of Suffolk, who advised that he look at opportunities on FutureMe Business and Management (Focused on Digital Marketing).
Robert Amarandi has written about his experiences as an intern below. He noted how keen he was to take on new projects and contribute to his personal development, including starting his own business and taking courses.
He described the main nature of his work which “focused on creating white papers in certain areas and domains that Marketplace AMP operates in. This requires detailed research of meaningful statistics that can persuade potential clients into working with us to manage their advertising and content.”
He also noted that the internship was beneficial to his own skillset, saying the company have
“..expanded significantly within this role, from research to design it has been only a growing environment with people that are really experienced and help you whenever you struggle. I am also helping the Operations Team with monthly reporting on advertising statistics and creating presentations for clients to understand how the month has performed for them. I was also responsible with creating some imagery and content for charities and I believe, and according to feedback, that I have done a good job with that.”
He said that making a positive impact on the company has really grown his confidence,
“I absolutely enjoy and love this internship, the culture at Marketplace AMP is really strong, and the team is growing which is amazing, and I am really glad and grateful to be part of this expansion and this team.”
This really summarises the positive benefits both the company and intern can have.
The Outcome
Marketplace AMP stated that the EIRA Innovation Internship has been hugely beneficial to them and they are looking to continue with the Internship programme into 2020 and beyond.
Aime Anderson, Director of the Marketplace AMP agency, said “Sourcing talent and finding the right person for our industry and agency culture is key for us here at Marketplace AMP, the University has been crucial in helping us identify talent.”
