Post by Lara Lauter

And just like that, the first year of my Master’s at HM Business School is officially in the books! 🎓 Deciding to leave a corporate job I genuinely loved was a risk. But looking back at these past 12 months, it was so worth it. At HM, the focus is on bridging the gap between academia and the real business world. Not only did we work on very diverse projects with industry leaders, but I also got a level-up (or 10) in my project management skills. Here are some highlights of what we did: 🇦🇪 FORRS: We developed a market entry strategy for their SaaS products in the UAE. When our group drew our 8th choice out of 8 target markets, we were laughing nervously! But after deep research, we built a two-phased strategic plan that is ready to act on. ♻️ MackSmaTec GmbH: We designed a circular product for this traditional SME. The learning: Price and availability are the key arguments for circular products. During our pitch, the client actually saved the domain name we proposed for the product on the spot! 🤖 Allianz: We designed a relevant insurance product including a campaign and website for Gen Z. Using input from 100 qualitative interviews, we trained AI personas to act like our target customer segment. Testing our ideas against these custom AI segments was incredibly cool. 🚁 Airbus Helicopters: We explored how AI can optimize the sales process and boost Generative Engine Optimization. The biggest lesson: AI is everywhere, but it can't build trust—that remains the sales rep's job. 💧 VKB & SURU Water: We came up with a strategy to market SURU’s App to communal clients of VKB to spot micro-leaking early and reduce the risk of costly water damages. Our „safe through the holiday“ campaign was especially well received by VKB and SURU employees. 👟 Adidas: We researched how female Gen Z customers perceive Adidas vs. Adidas Originals (spoiler: they see them as basically the same). We found that Adidas needs differentiation strategies focused on emotion and identity rather than just awareness. (Psst... we’re working on publishing this as an academic paper!) And that’s not even everything! We also visited Salesforce where they showed us how Agentic AI works using a massive LEGO model and Telefónica Deutschland came to showcase real multichannel marketing in action. On paper, that’s 60 ECTS. But personally, this year gave me so much more. I gained incredible friendships. To my team Giulia Pallotti, Katja Goritzki, Magdalena Artner, Sophie Thalhauser and My Linh Nguyen) - you are absolute legends. Thank you for the endless hours of deep thinking and motivation 🚀 Stepping out of my comfort zone also gave me the space to focus on my small business, leading to its most successful year yet since I founded it 5 years ago (ironically, with €0 spent on marketing!) Now, I'm packing my bags for the next chapter: A SEMESTER ABROAD IN SOUTH KOREA! 🇰🇷 SolBridge International School of Business, I can't wait to see you! ✈️ #hm #master #marketing