A Day in the Life: Marketing Assistant

Marketing at ICC Belfast | Waterfront Hall | Ulster Hall

My name is Georgia and I'm a Marketing Assistant at ICC Belfast | Waterfront Hall | Ulster Hall. I'm studying Business Management at Queen's University Belfast and am currently completing my 12-month placement in the Sales and Marketing Team

I’m seven months into my role and have learnt so many valuable skills so far, working alongside various departments right across the organisation from sales and marketing and customer service, to finance and HR! 

As Marketing Assistant, I work across both the conferencing and entertainment sides of the business, meaning no two days are the same. My daily tasks can include:

• Drafting and scheduling social media posts across multiple platforms including LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

• Creating infographics and branded artwork.

• Writing blog posts.

• Editing the Waterfront Hall and ICC Belfast websites.

• Raising purchase orders.

• Undertaking research projects.

• Managing our databases and reporting back in monthly meetings.

• Contributing to the BWUH Wellness Team and organising company-wide wellness initiatives.

I am the first point of contact for all ICC Belfast enquires, ranging from detailed event RFPs (Request for Proposals) to call back requests. It's really exciting to see enquires come in as it could be anything from a 3-day conference, a hybrid meeting or filming and photo shoot requests. Business events are typically booked well in advance (we even have some conferences booked in as far ahead as 2029!) and it's a great feeling to know that the work I'm doing now is contributing to future business and providing economic impact for the city for years to come. 

I’ve also had the opportunity to undertake customer service training, allowing me to provide additional support to the team during busy periods. Through this, I have learnt the importance of working as one team across the business in order to provide a world-class experience.  

Another key aspect of my role is creating content for our social media channels. I’ve created content for a range of entertainment events including our annual pantomime, Madison Beer, the Ulster Orchestra and Nathan Carter as well as the ICC Belfast channels and LinkedIn page, utilising features such as creating polls and adding presentations to help build engagement and capture attention on the newsfeed.  

I love having the opportunity to be creative and use our unique brand voice to add personality to our social media channels.

Our channels have a combined following of over 56,000 people, so it truly is fascinating to take a deep dive into the data and insights using tools like SEMRush and understand more about our audience, from what content they engage with to when they are most likely to be online. These insights help us develop our content and scheduling plans, and allow us to appeal to our key audiences.

I am also part of the BWUH Wellness Team, in which we develop monthly wellness initiatives across the organisation. One example of this was our 'October Destress Sessions' in which we organised for a massage therapist to come to our office and provide corporate chair massages to help our team relax and destress during our busy reopening period. I led on the planning and delivery of this activity, including sourcing a massage therapist, managing the bookings and liaising with the team.

As I enter the final months of my placement, I feel that I'm in a great position to head back to university and tackle final year. I've gained a mass of new skills that will help me pursue a career in marketing and PR when I graduate in 2023 and look forward to developing these over the next five months!

If you are a student or young person hoping to gain experience in the industry, I would strongly recommend applying for a placement or apprenticeship. Here are my top tips for applying and how to get the most out of your experience:

• Be yourself in your interview - be professional but show your personality.

• Ask questions - both in your interview and during your placement.

• Be confident and don’t be afraid to put your own spin on tasks.

• Be unique! This is one of ICC Belfast’s core values - find a way to stand out from the crowd.

• Lastly, enjoy your placement! It goes so quickly and before you know it, it’ll be over and you’ll be back to university for final year.

If you want to find out more about my time at ICC Belfast | Waterfront Hall | Ulster Hall or want to follow my career journey, feel free to connect and drop me a message on LinkedIn!