• Aspiring luxury marketer joined ESSEC MSc in Marketing Management and Digital program because of real-world experience from the Digital Marketing Challenge.
• Working closely with industry partners offered insights into how different brands think and function.
• Valuable client management and communication lessons have proved helpful in the working world.

When French national Antoine Habay joined ESSEC Asia-Pacific’s MSc Marketing Management and Digital (MMD) program, he had one goal: To enter the luxury sector, ideally in a marketing-related role. Today, it is safe to say he succeeded.

He joined Louis Vuitton as a Client Relations & Experience Assistant upon graduation. This role allows him to work with European and Asian stakeholders to enhance the client experience and drive business opportunities.

His ability to secure and excel in this role is thanks to the MMD program’s learning-by-doing approach.

Learning By Doing at the Digital Marketing Challenge

The MMD program’s learning-by-doing approach is driven by the belief that strong marketers are not just well-trained in theories but also able to adaptably apply these concepts across industries, brands, and products.

Modules often involve a real-world component, where students work with industry partners to devise innovative solutions for genuine business challenges.

The largest is the Digital Marketing Challenge (DMC), which students embark on in their last semester.

Catering to MMD graduates’ diverse interests, DMC industry partners hail from various industries.

In 2023, this included tech companies NCS Group and Software AG; hospitality organization Accor Group; human resources firm Welcome at Work!; creative solutions agency M&C Saatchi; asset management company Amundi; and brands like L’Oreal and Richemont.

Understanding how Experienced Industry Professionals Think

For Antoine, the DMC was one of the primary pull factors that led him to the ESSEC Asia-Pacific campus.

The experience met his expectations, allowing him to partner with the leading luxury goods group, Richemont.

The process saw him work closely with ESSEC Marketing Professor Sonja Prokopec and Montblanc’s Marketing & Communications Director, Benjamin Goh, to develop a strategy for a new Montblanc product launch.

While Prokopec was able to advise on how to best translate his classroom lessons into the real world, Goh offered clarity on the Montblanc brand.

“I appreciated establishing meaningful connections with the Montblanc team, who provided valuable feedback for our project, as well as insights about the luxury market in Singapore and advice to follow when dealing with such projects in the future,” Antoine shares.

He adds that in addition to his project mentors, he was also able to meet Montblanc’s Regional Communications Manager (SEA), Samantha Tham, President of South East Asia, Matthieu Dupont, and the HR team—all of whom were highly encouraging and willing to share about their work.

Picking Up Skills for the Real World

Like many of his classmates, one of the biggest challenges Antoine’s group faced was balancing creativity and execution.

They struggled to ensure that their idea could remain consistent with the brand’s DNA and meet the budget for the campaign.

It took multiple rounds of feedback, but “through the different stages, I learned the importance of being clear, consistent, and realistic when bringing recommendations to the table,” Antoine shares.

He explains these communication skills, together with the DMC project on his portfolio, served him well in his interviews and contributed to his success in landing a role at Louis Vuitton.

Today, as he works to enhance the client experience in-store, out-of-store, and through events, he applies the same DMC-reinforced principles of being transparent, consistent, and realistic across each task.

The career journey may be long, but he remains confident these timeless skills will carry him far.