Imperial College Business School students get hands-on with Gen AI through Brandtech pilot

Business school integrates real-world generative AI tools into strategic marketing training

Imperial College Business School has launched a pilot program to give MSc Strategic Marketing students hands-on experience using Pencil, a generative AI platform used by brands such as Unilever and Diageo. The collaboration with The Brandtech Group aims to build students’ capabilities in AI-driven marketing and address a growing industry talent gap.

The Brandtech Group is a digital marketing and technology company that develops AI-powered solutions for brand storytelling. Its platform, Pencil, uses aggregated AI models from partners such as OpenAI, Google, Adobe, and StabilityAI to support campaign creation—from concept testing through to media activation—across platforms including TikTok and YouTube.

Training students to meet shifting industry demands

As part of the pilot, students will receive training in how to use Pencil to develop real campaigns for Unilever brand Knorr. They will engage in live exercises that mirror agency workflows, including ideation, content generation, predictive performance analysis, and cross-channel execution.

Julie Lewis, Senior Teaching Fellow in Marketing at Imperial College Business School, says: “We’re very excited to be working with the Brandtech Group, Pencil and Unilever on this innovative and experiential teaching and learning pilot. Hearing from expert industry speakers will enable our students to develop their understanding of important issues, including sustainability, bias and responsible use of AI in Marketing, and it will help them to create AI marketing campaigns in an ethical way.

In addition, being trained on how to use the Pencil platform to use AI to create marketing campaigns and to respond to a brief and pitch their ideas to Unilever helps our students to develop sought after skills in Marketing and AI, as well as how to work as a team and communicate effectively.”

Students will present their campaigns to Unilever and receive an official Pencil accreditation badge on LinkedIn upon completion of the program. The badge is intended to improve their visibility to employers seeking AI-literate talent.

Closing the AI skills gap in marketing education

AI training is increasingly becoming a priority for academic institutions looking to align curricula with real-world workforce demands. According to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report, AI and big data are expected to be among the most in-demand skills across all industries through 2027. The pilot is designed to ensure that graduates are equipped to meet these evolving expectations by building fluency with the same tools used in agency and in-house marketing environments.

Rebecca Sykes, Partner and Head of Emerging Technologies at The Brandtech Group, says: “Gen AI is dramatically changing the way brands create content and engage with their audiences. Understanding and being able to operate the key tools is a vital skill that all marketers now need. We’re thrilled to partner with Imperial College Business School to play a pivotal role in the upskilling of students to equip them with new skills and help them stand out in the industry.”

Industry integration and platform capabilities

Pencil has been used to create more than two million ads across 5,000 brands, powering over $2.5 billion in media spend. Its backend integrates leading models such as GPT-4o, Google Veo 2, Adobe Firefly, and DALL·E 3. Students in the Imperial pilot will be exposed to these technologies as part of their training.

The program also includes expert sessions on the future of AI in marketing, sustainable and responsible AI use, and bias in algorithmic decision-making.

Olivia Kirby, Head of Digital and PR Strategy at Unilever, says: “We’re delighted to be supporting The Brandtech Group and Imperial College Business School with this immersive programme. We’re already seeing how generative AI is rapidly changing the industry — the speed of change is extraordinary. The entire marketing industry is looking for people who can leverage this ever-evolving technology to transform their marketing. This is a great initiative that will help equip these students with invaluable skills.”