A degree in digital media and a focused approach to work placements paved the way for Maxine Bremner’s future career.
Having graduated with a BA (Hons) Digital Media Design in 2016, today Maxine is Head of Content and Outreach at Hive19, a remote link building and digital PR startup founded in 2020.
Originally from Brighton, Maxine was attracted to BU as it offered a similar seaside atmosphere and scored highly in the UK rankings for marketing and media courses. She said: “I didn’t have a clear picture of what I wanted to do for a career, but my A-levels had all been in creative subjects and I wanted something that would offer progression and develop my technical ability.
“Early on, I always wanted a university experience and digital media design felt like a great opportunity to explore my creativity further and gain the technical skills needed to build and develop my own websites, games, and apps. With the digital marketing space evolving rapidly, I was intrigued by the role different mediums have on society. I was excited by the prospect of learning how to harness emerging technologies to create products that are meaningful to people’s lives”
During her course, Maxine developed her web design skills and even created her own social media app as part of her final project. The app set out to help tackle issues around social isolation by using TV streaming to connect people who were watching the same shows and living in the same area, to enable them to chat and form connections. She said: “Completing that project was a great experience as it enabled me to bring together all that I’d learnt in terms of consumer analysis, coding, branding, design and marketing.”
Maxine made the most of the opportunity to undertake a placement year during her degree, choosing four shorter placements over the course of 12 months. She said: “The placements were the best thing I could have done in terms of realising my career goals. I managed to secure work with four different companies in and around London, Brighton and Sussex; a combination of agencies and in-house roles specialising in SEO, PR and marketing and events. It took a fair amount of organising but gave me a range of experiences and industry contacts and helped me figure out what sort of role and company would be the best fit for me once I graduated. I would highly recommend students to do a placement if they can. Aside from the exposure to the industry, it helps you get round the hurdles of securing your first graduate role, as many employers (particularly in marketing) want that combination of a degree and practical experience.”
After working in the industry and gaining experience as a PR and link building specialist, during the pandemic Maxine became Head of Content and Outreach at start-up Hive19 where she helps some of the world’s most recognisable SaaS (Software as a Service) brands build their online presence by ranking higher in Google with authoritative and relevant link building.
Maxine said: “It’s good to look back on the past 10 years and see how my university degree and experiences have brought me to what I am doing today. At Hive19 my role spans data analytics, campaign creation, growth strategy for our clients (and Hive19 as an agency) and managing a wide community of expert writers, as well as partnering publications within SaaS and Fintech. Being a start-up is demanding and has it’s challenges but is extremely rewarding and an exciting journey to be a part of.”