“Every leader from every industry says digital is key, but what exactly does a leader need to know about digital marketing and technology?” asked one of my fellow MBA students last April. Despite having studied core management courses for the previous four months, I could not answer her question. That’s what initially sparked our idea to hold a student-run Digital Marketing Seminar on the HEC Paris campus.

With help from the MBA’s Luxury Club, Marketing Club and Technology Club, as well as the MBA Council, Yin Zhou and I turned our idea into reality. More than 40 students gathered in October  to catch up with the latest trends in digital marketing. Four cutting-edge speakers gave us great insights into the five pillars of a digital marketing strategy: Awareness, Acquisition, Retention, Engagement and KPIs.

The seminar included a panel discussion on the current and future status of digital marketing, led by Fran Cardells, an HEC Paris MBA alumnus and Director of Strategy at Salesforce.com. Borja Capella, a Marketing Digital Manager for L’Oréal Paris International, discussed the importance of awareness, specifically exploring how paid media, earned media and owned media work with business strategy. Marion Graeffly, former Digital Marketing Country Manager at Mars, led the KPIs discussion. Bruno Kaufmann, Cofounder and CEO of Curiosity & Partners, shared his experiences with digital transformation and brand building. Even today, he explained, the luxury industry relies heavily on printed media rather than digital because of the nature of luxury. Luxury products, by definition, cannot be easily accessible and therefore, many brands choose not to fully utilize online tools.

As an attendee, my goal was to understand the different tools used in digital marketing and to learn how to measure their effectiveness. I also wanted to gain practical knowledge about different media and their KPIs. In this sense, the day-long seminar completely fulfilled my expectations, and I’m working to make the seminar an annual event on campus.