How the Digital Marketing Hub Gold Accelerator has helped to build digital marketing success
The popular Gold Accelerator delivered by Propel Teams is back for a second year as part of The Digital Marketing Hub, and is joined this time by the new Silver and Bronze programmes. We spoke to the team at Propel about why they think that this has been such a success, and how their delivery has improved the skills of learners from across sport and physical activity.
In 2022, CIMSPA teamed up with Propel Teams to help them scope and build a brand new learning programme in the form of a business accelerator for their Digital Marketing Hub (DMH). The Digital Marketing Hub is a free online, community-based platform delivered by CIMSPA and funded by Sport England, which is open to all people working in sport and physical activity to help them realise the impact that digital marketing can have on their club, organisation or business.
Fast forward 18-months and we have since delivered a number of learning programmes themed specifically in digital marketing to help professionals and businesses in the sports and fitness space to transform their practice.
As with all Propel projects, it has been a huge team effort and we have had invaluable input from members of the Propel Collective and wider Propel network. We’ve loved collaborating with CIMSPA and their team and we’re looking forward to creating even more of an impact in our sector with them in the months to come.
One of the key areas of development that was recognised in year one of the DMH was the need for tailored coaching, that gave individuals and organisations a simple point of focus to start with and achieve their digital marketing goals. WIth the range of participants and organisation’s across sport and physical activity and their complex needs, digital marketing often appeared to be too vast of a topic to approach.
When starting this project, we recognised that the key principles of accelerators are a great way to enhance an individual’s growth and encourage them to upskill. So, we took these principles and applied them to an innovative skills development programme, based in the growing Digital Marketing Hub, an online community of professionals from across sport and physical activity looking to improve their skills and understanding.
We knew that networks and connections are as important as content to accelerator programmes, so running our programme directly in the growing DMH was the perfect setting. We implemented dedicated coaching for those on the cohort, alongside expert driven knowledge sharing, balancing invaluable industry insights with a mentor for participants to bounce ideas off and share progress with.
Combining CIMSPA’s platform, Propel’s people and network, and these core principles resulted in the Gold Accelerator Programme.
The programme consisted of 6 consecutive weeks of expert taught sessions, in addition to 9 exclusive webinars that we delivered on topics that complemented the 6-week programme. 103 people completed the programme, forming 9 cohorts of 12, 78 of which made their final pitch to coaches and mentors at the end of the programme.
A number of individuals and organisations from within the Propel network worked with us to deliver the programme.
This included expert content delivered from the team at Seventh Element and the incredible efforts of Dr. Tobias Stone and Dr. Joe Handsaker to design the programme in full.
They crafted an accelerator that ensured community focused peer to peer learning and the cross pollination of ideas, within a learning structure that ensured accountability between fellow participants and their accelerator coach.
We saw hugely positive results across the programme. 100% of participating learners were satisfied with the interactions they had with their cohort peers and coaches, 72% were completely satisfied. 100% of learners told us that their skills and confidence increased over the course of the programmes’ 6 weeks. 69% of participants have taken action in their digital marketing as a result of the Gold Accelerator, which serves as further evidence that the DMH is making a genuine impact on businesses in our sector.
The DMH is now back online and growing after a summer break, we’ve teamed up again with CIMSPA to deliver the Gold Accelerator once again. We’re running the programme with a further three cohorts taking place between now and the end of the year.
We’re further innovating with CIMSPA in the creation of a Silver Accelerator programme. This will be even more time bound with an added focus on behaviour change, providing an alternative learning opportunity for those not quite as advanced in their digital marketing capabilities. The Silver Accelerator is built upon the same principles as the Gold, with more on demand content to further support participants during their own upskilling.
At Propel, we’re working to develop and run accelerators with other organisations in the sectors, not only to inspire and guide individuals to upskill, but also founders or start ups to accelerate the growth of their business. Across the board, we’re using the same principles and mixing in the same secret sauces as we have deployed within the Gold Accelerator Programme.
By Evan Oliver, Propel Teams
About the Digital Marketing Hub
The Digital Marketing Hub, delivered by CIMSPA, and funded by Sport England, is a free to access community-based platform with various on-demand learning pathways available to learners of all abilities. The core purpose of the Digital Marketing Hub is to help those involved in the delivery of sport and physical activity to gain the crucial skills and confidence to explore and understand the impact that digital marketing can have on their business, club, organisation, or voluntary exercises. Ultimately, leading to more participants in their communities and a more active nation.