The initiative ran for three days throughout September, and received thousands of applicants within one week of applications opening. 

Girls in Marketing, which boasts more than 250,000 followers across multiple social media platforms, was founded by Olivia Mae Hanlon, 24, from Liverpool, and has since grown to a team of four, with another member joining soon. 

The six-figure business launched the initiative to help other women gain more experience within the marketing industry, whilst giving the opportunity to add more skills and an internship onto their CV - something that is incredibly difficult to do within the marketing industry. 

Olivia said: “Gaining extra experience, skills and internships to put on your CV is so difficult. I found this out in university, then post-graduation, too. Speaking to our community, times haven’t changed.

“The inspiration came from understanding the need for a programme that was accessible to anyone who wanted to be a part of it, then creating it and working with brands who believed in our mission to educate marketers across the world.” 

Girls in Marketing put out a waitlist for the internship programme, and had thousands of women apply within a week. With this in mind, the business knows how valuable this programme was to those who participated. 

Olivia added: “We’re so passionate about creating opportunities for women in marketing, so seeing so much interest is incredible.”

The Digital Marketing Internship Programme was a three-day virtual internship programme that aimed to help give junior to mid-level and aspiring digital marketers the chance to upskill, learn the basics of digital marketing, and add vital experience to their CV for free.

The programme provided opportunities for women to upskill in digital marketing through sessions curated with and delivered by industry-leading brands Adobe Express and monday.com. Attendees also gained access to resources and training to support their professional development and enhance their employability.

Olivia said: “The programme was designed to empower women by providing training and opportunities to put their learning into practice through tasks and activities throughout the programme. We want to encourage women to feel confident using the skills that they learn and to come away with more than just theoretical knowledge.

“Lifting up women in the marketing industry is at the centre of everything that we do and this internship programme is another way that we hope to support our community by not only providing opportunities to upskill but also creating a welcoming and inspiring cohort of marketers.”

The first day focused on the fundamentals of how to build an effective digital marketing strategy for a brand. Girls in Marketing also delivered a session with one of their partners for the programme, monday.com, diving into email marketing strategy and covering everything from copywriting for email to monitoring and tracking results.

On the second day, the Girls in Marketing team delivered sessions focused on employability and career progression. Providing opportunities for women to upskill in order to take the next step in their careers, which is a huge priority for the business, and they feel it’s important that women understand what careers actually exist in digital marketing and how to get into them.

For the third and final day of the programme the business delivered sessions on social media, brand building and content creation with Girls in Marketing’s partner Adobe Express. Attendees learnt how to curate a social media strategy from start to finish and then things will get practical by using the Adobe Express tool to create content and complete some cool tasks.

When asked why she wanted to make this initiative free for so many women, Olivia concluded: “We wanted to provide an opportunity with as few barriers as possible for women working in marketing who want to improve their digital marketing knowledge and add vital experience to their CV. 

“We see this programme as a launchpad for women to upskill in digital marketing but it’s just the beginning of the journey. We hope to be able to continue to support many of the women who participate in the programme through our Girls in Marketing membership and our other marketing courses and programmes.”