Rounding off a design degree with digital marketing & an iGaming career launch. Meet Manuel.
Wrapping up the last year of a degree and working on a thesis is more than enough to keep most people busy. And yet, Manuel Vassallo decided to start the Professional Diploma in Digital Marketing while juggling his MCAST studies and a part-time job. The motivation? This design student wanted to turn his love for social media marketing into a career. The result? He is now a Paid Social Coordinator at Betsson Group. This is how he got there.
I’ve been working at Betsson Group for almost a year now, and I love it here. It’s a very interesting and fun role which demands a creative and dynamic approach. I use the insights I gained from my ICE Malta diploma, coupled with my Masters, on a daily basis. It was a personal goal of mine to work in digital marketing in the iGaming industry, and my decision to enrol for the digital marketing course contributed to this.
There is a great demand for this skill set both within and beyond the iGaming industry, considering how fundamental digital is. Everyone can do with some knowledge of digital marketing. It’s a varied career with plenty of opportunities and room to grow, and it lends itself well to freelancing too.
I’ve always had an interest in marketing and social media. When I started doing some freelance work growing social media pages, I realised just how much I was enjoying it, so I decided to turn my tinkering into a career. Looking back, enrolling for the Professional Diploma in Digital Marketing was one of the best decisions I’ve ever taken. It was a very rewarding experience and it helped me stand out, even though I already had a degree in a different field.
The course covers the entire spectrum, so you can then choose to specialise in what interests you the most, like I did. Because I followed up with a Masters, I’m in a position to compare and I can say that the diploma already gives you all you need to get going. That’s a major plus, because not everyone’s got the time for a longer commitment. This way, you get the right amount of depth and detail but in a manageable timeframe.
Digital marketing was a super useful addition to my background in design. The two interlink very well. It’s no use having a strong creative without having a great digital marketing strategy to capitalise on it, and vice versa. Knowing the two disciplines is extremely helpful, and I think designers should go for the Professional Diploma in Digital Marketing to cover these fundamentals. That way, you see the bigger picture instead of just working in a vacuum, so if you’re designing a creative asset for a specific target audience, you know exactly how and where they’re going to see it, for example. That’s a very important insight to gain.
The flexibility of the online delivery and the lesson recordings was very helpful because I started this course while working on my thesis for the last year of my interactive media degree. I also had a part-time job, so it was as busy as it gets. I also chose ICE Malta because I felt the courses on offer are tailored to industry needs. For me, it was important to get a practical approach to learning that aligned the theory with the skills you actually need on the job. In fact, after a lesson, I would sometimes go try out a concept or a tool on one of my freelancing projects.
I remember how Mario’s story had particularly inspired me too. Seeing someone achieve such a massive career change into tech encouraged me to take up digital marketing, even though I had quite a lot on my plate already. I encourage others out there not to give up and to just go for it. It can be done and there’s nothing to lose.
I use the insights I gained from my ICE Malta diploma on a daily basis. It was a personal goal of mine to work in the iGaming industry & my decision to enrol for the digital marketing course contributed to this.
MANUEL VASSALLO
Paid Social Coordinator
