The Alliance Manchester Business School’s full-time MBA program is structured to cultivate future business leaders. At its core lies a strong emphasis on experiential learning in real-life business challenges. Find out how a recent collaboration between AMBS MBA students and the LADbible Group unlocked valuable new insights for both parties.
The International Business Consultancy Project (IBP) is a critical course element of the Alliance Manchester Business School (AMBS) full-time MBA program. It offers the chance for students to apply their academic learnings to real-life business challenges and gain hands-on experience.
However, the IBP is more than just a course requirement; in a world of internationalization, it is a strategic initiative to equip students with the skills necessary to navigate the complexities of global business. As part of a team, students will undertake a piece of professional consultancy for a live client. The project will utilize and challenge students’ global outlook and connect them to senior executives from diverse organizations, allowing them to network with global business leaders. This opportunity to blend theory and practice provides them with unique insights into the complexities of international business.
LADbible Group is one of the recent live clients that collaborated with AMBS students through the International Business Consultancy Project.
Since its inception in 2012, LADbible Group has emerged as one of the most influential digital content publishers globally. The group has a global reach with offices in the UK, Ireland, and Australia. The company strongly focuses on creating engaging content and sharing news with young audiences across multiple platforms, including Facebook, TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, and YouTube. Its brands include GAMINGbible, SPORTbible, Tyla, UNILAD, and CONTENTbible, reaching up to 69 million monthly users across their websites. Today, their global reach and influence rival those of media giants.
The partnership between AMBS and LADbible is especially relevant to navigating today’s global business challenges. LADbible’s rapid growth and innovative content strategies continually rely on the latest market trends and industry insights. As companies increasingly rely on digital platforms and social media channels to engage with their audiences, understanding the intricacies of this industry becomes essential for aspiring business leaders.
The LADbible consultancy project allowed AMBS MBA students to engage directly with international digital publishing trends and challenges.
LADbible was keen to work with an AMBS team to develop a strategy for diversifying its generational and geographical audience.
LADbible’s M&A lead, Luke Greasley, explains, “Generationally, we are thinking about how we can tap into Gen Alpha. We have a massive Gen Z and Millennial reach, but Gen Alpha is an area that we’re looking to move into. And then geographically, we’re looking at the Middle East and APAC and where we can create content that is more aligned with those areas of the globe.” (01:03)
In their collaboration with LADbible, AMBS MBA students were tasked with analyzing strategies, examining market trends, and proposing actionable solutions aligned with the company’s objectives. In addition to research and analysis, the students needed to manage stakeholder expectations and give recommendations to their clients.
Project team member Chunhao Quan stresses, “It is more than just a research project. We needed to develop an actionable strategic market entry plan based on the data we collected, analyze the data, and come up with a solution and recommendation for our client.” (01:22)
The AMBS MBA team rose to the challenge. It delivered a well-rounded strategy aligned with LADbible’s goals and offered actionable insights to help LADbible connect with new, diverse audiences.
AMBS students from India, China, Trinidad and Tobago, Germany, and Dubai worked together in this IBP team. The broad range of skills, perspectives, and geographical backgrounds within the team was vital to the project’s success.
The team approached the challenge from multiple angles by combining their unique strengths and cultural insights. With India and UAE as the target countries, their team was able to leverage their experiences and networks to create an effective strategy. Team member Vandana Ramkhelawan, from Trinidad and Tobago, confirms, “With our diverse work experience and skills, we were able to melt everything together and produce a really good project.” (03:19)
Working in an international and diverse team provides an opportunity for growth. It enriches your problem-solving skills and prepares you for a global business environment. It fosters cross-cultural understanding, enhances creativity and interdisciplinary thinking, and builds the ability to collaborate effectively with people from varied backgrounds. Such skills are vital in today’s interconnected and globalized world.
As audience preferences evolve and competition intensifies, companies like LADbible must continuously innovate to maintain their edge. This project resulted in strategic recommendations from the IBP team that LADbible could implement to optimize its strategy. The AMBS student team successfully delivered practical, actionable solutions to global business challenges.
LADbible’s Luke Greasley says, “We’d definitely collaborate with the MBA students at Alliance Manchester Business School again. They were able to pivot and fill a void where time, capabilities, and actual technical capabilities were solved with their support, and we were able to get conclusions from the project that were fantastic.” (03:30)
This successful IBP delivered impactful results for LADbible and provided AMBS MBA students with a transformative learning experience that will shape their careers. The insights gained from this project highlight the invaluable hands-on approach reflected in the AMBS MBA program.
The collaboration between AMBS MBA students and LADbible exemplifies the value of learning by doing. The students’ skills and knowledge were tested for a high-profile, live client in a real-world business setting. The project broadened their global outlook and allowed them to network with business leaders.
Working on a live consultancy project with LADbible gave each team member invaluable lessons that will support their future careers. Team member Ravij Bhatia emphasizes, “It gave me important exposure to how general social media advertising works and how companies make revenue through social media advertising.” (02:35)
His colleague Chuanhao Quan highlighted, “Having worked on this project, I’ve learned how to manage different stakeholders’ expectations. In my future career, I think I will know how to approach this kind of situation when I encounter it.” (01:56)
The hands-on experience, networking contacts, and real-world outcomes gained from the International Business Project make the AMBS MBA unique.
The IBP element distinguishes the AMBS MBA from other programs, showcasing the school’s commitment to developing well-rounded business leaders through hands-on learning.
Experiential learning deepens knowledge by applying theoretical learning in real-world scenarios. This learning-by-doing method will also help you identify areas of opportunity and possible knowledge gaps you need to fill. Working for a client can offer invaluable opportunities to gain work experience and network with established business professionals, giving graduates a distinct advantage in the job market.
For more information about the Alliance Manchester Business School, contact one of their student ambassadors or read our previous articles to learn more.
