Erin Campbell
2026 Saltire Scholar
Marketing Intern, Individually Designed Homes
Marketing Management, Edinburgh Napier University
I’m Erin, a recent BA (Hons) Marketing Management graduate from Edinburgh Napier University. I first applied for Saltire Scholars in third year and didn’t get through. Looking back, I think I wrote more what I thought they wanted to hear, rather than reflecting honestly on myself and how hard I’d worked to get to where I am. This taught me that sharing what you actually feel is more valuable than just saying what you think sounds impressive.
I applied because of the programme’s focus on backing Scottish students. So many marketing graduate schemes are based in England, and while the international placements sounded exciting, what I really wanted was to build my career in Scotland. I felt like taking an internship close to home would give me the best practical experience and most relevant skills to do so.
In June I joined Individually Designed Homes (IDH), which is a bespoke home building company based in Edinburgh. I was happy to get a 12 week marketing internship here – despite knowing nothing about construction! I chose them because I felt their client focused approach would be a good fit for me with my experience in customer service, and I liked how well they knew and understood their target market.
From week one I was helping with real tasks, not just busywork. I worked on SEO and AI optimisation research, creating case studies, website editing, online and phone surveys, and building a lead generation campaign. I got the chance to apply the strategies I’d been studying for years, like consumer behaviour, market research, and campaign planning. I enjoyed helping on content days, filming live and completed client projects to highlight on the website and social media.
I also had the opportunity to work on the exciting project of the rebrand of Ryze to Ninja Kidz Action Parks UK. This was a huge collaboration between the US YouTuber family Ninja Kidz to open their first UK parks in Edinburgh and Dundee. I designed signs and marketing materials for both parks, ran the newsletters, supported VIP ticket sales through an SMS and email campaign, and wrote and sent the press releases to media in both cities. Seeing the designs I’d made up in the parks, and the VIP grand opening tickets selling out, was really rewarding.
I’m so grateful to the team at IDH for being so welcoming, and to my manager Rory for allowing me to work on so many great projects. I’m also happy to share that I’ll be staying on at IDH following my internship, now as their Junior Marketing Executive!
To anyone considering applying – do it! It’s so important to push yourself out of your comfort zone and allow yourself to grow. I’ve always been a more introverted and shy person, but I feel that through this process I’ve been able to have more confidence in myself and my abilities. Having the support from the Saltire Scholars team behind me as I started my first marketing role was so helpful, and I’m so grateful to them for connecting me to this opportunity.
