Simbound

From Studying to Working: The Story of My Internship

noreply@simbound.com (Iulia Pentek) — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

From Studying to Working: The Story of My Internship

Have you ever wondered if college projects really matter in the “real world”? For me, the answer came in the form of a digital simulation and an email that changed the course of my career.

1. The Opportunity That Arose in the Classroom

It all started on a typical day at college, during my Digital Marketing & Analytics class. At the time, I was already thinking about my next steps and looking for opportunities, like many students are. But once the class began, I made a conscious effort to set those thoughts aside and focus on what was in front of me. Looking back, that small decision—to be fully present and to do the work properly, even when it seemed like just another class—made all the difference.

In that very first session, our professor (Andra Diaconescu) introduced us to a platform called Simbound. She explained that we would use this simulation to put theory into practice, turning digital marketing concepts into real strategic decisions.

At first, it started as academic curiosity. But as we moved into the seminars and split into teams, competing for the best results in the virtual marketplace, I began to engage with it more seriously. As I explored the interface and saw how my decisions influenced the outcomes, I realized that Simbound wasn’t just a learning tool—it was a window into how the industry really works.

2. The Competition: Where Things Got Real

Toward the end of the semester, the challenge emerged: The Simbound Digital Marketing Competition - Winter 25 Edition. At first, my expectations were modest. Like many others, I was aiming for a decent result, maybe a top 5 finish and a certificate. But once the competition started, everything changed.

Unlike the teamwork during the semester, in the competition I was on my own. The pace suddenly became much faster. Rounds followed one another every two days, motivating me to analyze the data quickly and adjust the campaigns in a timely manner. I revisited the FAQ section countless times, trying to understand every detail. That period was an intense “crash course” in digital strategy. The last changes or additions were on January 10, 2026—the “final call.”

3. The “Aha!” Moment: The Results and the Surprise Offer

On January 14, I received the email I will never forget. My name was in 3rd place, receiving a Special Mention. I was amazed and extremely proud that my work had been recognized at such a high level. But the big surprise was yet to come.

Shortly after the official announcement, I was contacted for an online meeting to discuss a potential internship. It wasn’t the typical recruitment process, with CVs sent into the void and weeks of waiting. My performance in the simulation had already demonstrated what I could do.

In a way, the competition itself had become the most relevant interview I could have asked for.

4. Projects: "Global Voices" and Beyond

I officially started my job on the first working day of February 2026. One of my first major projects was testing and implementing the company’s new translation software. I named it “Global Voices,” a title that reflects Simbound’s ambition to be accessible anywhere in the world, as well as our intention to amplify voices that are often overlooked or unheard. Through my contribution to this program, the simulation begins to “speak your language.”

My role extended far beyond linguistics. While translating content from English to Romanian, I was primarily testing the workflow of a software innovation. I was surprised to learn that a website can be built in just two weeks, a discovery that opened my eyes to the efficiency of modern development. Later, I wrote and published an article directly through a Headless CMS—my first experience working “behind the scenes” of a professional platform.

As the internship progressed, I continued to take on various tasks that had a positive impact on the team’s operations. I contributed to the launch of our new website interface by transferring information from the old website to the new one. To support the “Global Voices” initiative, I created a comprehensive user guide for new participants and designed an official brochure. In addition, I conducted several rounds of testing for the simulation web application to ensure optimal performance.

These responsibilities, spread out over the course of my 60-day journey, made me feel deeply involved in the company’s mission.

Seeing my work published—and later seeing my name and photo on the team’s official page—gave me a real sense of belonging and a clear perspective on how my contributions met the team’s evolving needs.

5. Team Culture and Remote Work: A Lesson in Unity and Quality

Although I worked fully remotely, communication was flawless. I discovered a small but extremely close-knit team, where professionalism is evident in the promptness of responses and mutual support.

One of the most important moments was meeting the team in Cluj at the end of February. It confirmed something I had already felt behind the screens, there are people who truly value quality. There were times when I feared I wouldn’t deliver fast enough. I learned that it’s more important to deliver something well-done, even if it takes more time than something quick and superficial. This culture of quality and understanding helped me overcome moments of uncertainty.

6. Lessons Learned and a New Beginning

Looking back on these 60 days, the lessons go beyond the realm of digital marketing. I learned:

The importance of initiative: If I hadn’t entered the competition out of a desire to learn more, this entire experience—including the internship and everything that followed—wouldn’t have happened.
Technical adaptability: Learning to use new tools and systems is not optional, it’s essential.
The value of the team: A good mentor, like the one I had, who guided without seeking credit—and responsive colleagues can accelerate learning more than any theoretical course.

I am extremely grateful for this experience and for the patience with which I was guided.

Final Thought

If there’s one essential lesson from this journey, it’s this: doing things the right way—carefully, with integrity and attention to quality—always pays off in the long run. Results may not come instantly, but when they do, they are meaningful and lasting.

This experience showed me that when you commit to doing things well, you don’t just meet expectations, create opportunities, build trust, and open doors you didn’t even know existed.

And the best news? My collaboration with Simbound continues! I’m officially transitioning from intern to full-time employee, ready to take the projects we’ve started to the next level.

If you’re a student reading this, my advice is simple: treat every simulation or course project as a real opportunity. Do the work properly, even when no one seems to be watching. Because sometimes, the difference between a simple assignment and a life-changing opportunity is exactly that extra effort.

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The Growth of Simbound Competitions

noreply@simbound.com (Iulia Pentek) — Fri, 20 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The Growth of Simbound Competitions

In recent years, the way we learn digital marketing has changed radically. It’s no longer enough just to read; you must be in the thick of the action. This is where Simbound competitions come in, having seen impressive growth, evolving from simple classroom exercises to large-scale international events.

I spoke with Louis Havriliuc (CEO of Simbound) and Tristan Seulliet (Digital Marketing Teacher & Simbound France Representative) to trace the journey “from then to now” and to understand the vision that transforms a simple business game into a launchpad for successful careers. The result is a conversation about innovation, academic rigor, and the passion for seeing theory transformed into measurable results.

1. The Process: From Individual to Team Spirit

Q: Then vs. Now: Looking back at the first competitions, what is the most significant improvement (technical or strategic) that changed the way the Simbound Competition works?

Louis: The Resource allocation is set to increase each year as we are always experimenting using new formats and conditions, so no two competitions are the same. Each competition is more complex to manage than the previous one, not only because of the change but also because of the requirement of staff which work on ongoing projects. The reward is that we get immense pleasure in helping students compete and learn at the same time and seeing teachers and other students on the sidelines cheering them on towards success is something very special.

Tristan: The most important development was the transition from an individual game to a team competition with fixed deadlines. This change has greatly increased the level of engagement; by working in teams, students are much more motivated by their professors.

We’ve also learned that motivation doesn’t come from monetary prizes or books, but from the quality of the experience and the desire to learn and win. We reduced the number of rounds to maintain a brisk pace and optimized the learning path. Now we have a much smoother start, allowing everyone to get into the rhythm before tackling the toughest challenges.

2. Immersion and the Thrill of Competition

Q: Growth factor: Have these improvements led to a noticeable increase in the number of participants or better engagement rates over the years?

Louis: Engagement metrics are increasing - from number of decisions to questions being asked by students, to number of participants. Most students who compete find themselves fully immersed in the competition and treat this like a real project - e.g. by carefully selecting their team members and setting up complex strategies early on. Some of them have previous experience in playing the game, which gives them an edge over those completely new to the format. We always strive to create a level playing field, ensuring that success is earned by merit alone. We do this by discouraging cheating, spotting unusual patterns such as automatization of decisions etc.

Tristan: Absolutely. We have seen a steady and accelerated increase in participants each year. growing from around 40 in 2023, 45 in 2024, and 50 in 2025, to a record 90 participants in 2026. This clear upward trend is a testament to the new format's appeal.

Beyond just numbers, the engagement within the simulation has increased significantly. A key indicator is the volume of strategic decisions made by participants. We are currently only in Round 2 of the competition, yet some teams have already made more decisions than some players did during the entire competition in previous years. This level of engagement confirms that the new format is far more immersive and motivating for everyone involved.

3. Branding for Universities

Q: Community loyalty: We see many universities returning year after year with new student cohorts. What do you think makes these institutions return to the Simbound competition experience?

Louis: I think most schools are attracted by the novelty of the concept, some will show up for the potential exposure and maybe a few are drawn in by the fact that they can have part of their students play the simulation at no cost. Universities are essential partners in all the competitions we are currently carrying out. I noticed that the degree of involvement of a competing team's coordinator in a school paves the way to success for the teams they enroll. This is a demanding activity on both teams but also on coaches. We do have very good teams coming year after year from the same schools, where the culture is oriented towards performance and accountability.

Tristan: I believe universities return because Simbound offers them a “turnkey” educational project that puts their curriculum in a dynamic light. This year we proposed a new approach to schools: the competition is a form of free publicity for them. When a team wins, the school can show the whole world that it has competitive and well-prepared students—it’s an excellent method of institutional branding.

In addition, teachers appreciate that they receive a fully organized project without having to put in extra work on the structure. There is also a clear financial advantage: participation is free. Essentially, institutions gain access to top-tier software and a major event at zero cost, making participation an extremely logical decision for any coordinator.

4. Global Horizons and Enhanced Realism

Q: The Future: As we focus on growth, what is the “next big thing” or “next level” feature you’re eager to introduce in future competitions?

Louis: This is always difficult to predict, however right now we are looking to expanding access to participants and seeking bold brands eager to be part of this innovative learning approach through sponsorship opportunities. So, you can expect more competitors, more realism and even some new categories within each competition.

Tristan: Our approach is based on a model of continuous optimization, retaining the elements that have proven effective in strengthening the community and visual communication. To better meet the needs of the academic community, our future strategy calls for expanding the competition schedule, thereby offering greater flexibility in relation to the exam periods and internship schedules of our partner universities.

Conclusion

Bring the future of marketing to your classroom. Offer your students a 'turnkey' professional experience that puts your institution on the global map of digital excellence. It’s free, it’s high-impact, and it’s ready for your cohort.

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Change the way your learners interact with information. Offer them a memorable experience and take control of performance with intelligent monitoring tools.

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Search Engine Advertising PPC & AIO Simulations

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Search Engine Advertising PPC & AIO Simulations

The original search engine advertising simulator for education remains the perfect introduction to the world of Search Engine Marketing.

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Watch Your Students Become SEA Experts

The Search Advertising simulation brings together multiple ad formats into the already familiar hands-on learning experience that's easy both on time and on budget.

Search Ads Campaigns

A comprehensive search engine marketing simulation which replicates Search, Display and A/B testing in a secure, game-like medium. Participants compete for virtual customers through a series of budget and targeting decisions within the easy to navigate search engine advertising emulation. The platform allows users to refine advertising operations against real-world search engine data to enhance traffic and ROAS (ROMI) by controlling their virtual brand's visibility and capability for drawing in conversions.

Shopping Ad Campaigns

Use product meta data in promotional feeds with control over exposure and execution of dynamic pricing strategies and time-based promotions. Benchmark key campaign elements against competitors in a real-time simulated platform. AI-driven recommendations and personalized reports allow uncovering the drivers between ROAS with opportunities to unlock additional advertising budget by meeting specific game bonus conditions.

A/B Tests

The simulation offers a simple, user-friendly A/B ad testing facility that allows you to track the evolution of all your campaign creative versions and set up different ad targeting methods whilst using data to guide decision-making.

Smart Troubleshooting

Campaign performance and setup are analyzed automatically, with recommendations on what to improve. Students get instant dashboard insights to identify and fix issues — freeing up class time for discussing results rather than explaining how the simulation works.

Used as Part of Courses in

Designed to integrate seamlessly into a wide range of university programs and learning objectives.

Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising
Digital Media Planning
Performance Marketing
Data-Driven Decision Making
Digital Advertising Strategies
Marketing ROI & Analytics
Online Sales Management

Ad Spending Practice without Cost or Complexity

Our immersive and competitive game-like environment rewards good strategy and encourages constant improvement.

Risk-Tolerant Experiential Learning

The simulation creates a "safe-to-fail" environment where every decision—good or bad—is framed as a learning opportunity. By removing the fear of losing real money, students are encouraged to experiment with bold strategies, reinforcing best practices through direct consequence and reflection.

Mastery of the Full Campaign Lifecycle

Unlike static exercises, this platform allows students to manage the entire lifecycle of a paid search campaign. From initial setup to data-driven optimization and long-term monitoring, learners acquire a holistic understanding of how search advertising integrates with broader online marketing operations.

AI-Guided Skill Development

The pedagogy is enhanced by AI features specifically built for learning rather than just execution. The system monitors individual performance, identifies specific strengths and weaknesses, and provides automatically generated recommendations, ensuring that each student improves with every iteration.

Data-Driven Decision Making and Awareness

By working with realistic conversion rates (average 2.55%) and brand awareness metrics, students develop the analytical skills needed to justify marketing spend. The simulation teaches them to navigate complex variables—like creative updates and multi-source data—turning overwhelming information into actionable strategic insights.

See the Simulation in Action

Follow a short presentation of the content of the Search Engine Advertising Simulation. This saves time by showing all the major components of the SEA simulation. The simulation is enhanced by an educational video, a written guidebook and in-class instruction.

Common Questions Answered

Everything instructors ask before adopting the Search Advertising Simulation.

Do students need prior experience with paid search advertising to use the simulation?

No prior experience is required. The simulation is designed to guide learners through the full paid campaign lifecycle — from setup and optimization to monitoring and reporting. Every decision, including the wrong ones, leads to a learning outcome, making it suitable for both beginners and students with some existing knowledge of search marketing.

What types of campaigns can students run in the simulation?

Students can manage search advertising campaigns, shopping ads, display campaigns, and A/B tests, all within a secure and realistic environment. They can also work on SEO, adjust product pricing, run timed promotions, and track conversions — giving them exposure to the full breadth of search engine marketing operations in a single platform.

How does AI support the learning experience in this simulation?

The simulation incorporates AI-powered analytics that generate personalized insights based on each learner's decisions and performance. Students receive tailored recommendations on how to improve their campaigns, while instructors benefit from automated reports that reduce the need to monitor every individual decision manually.

How much time does it take to set up and run the simulation for a course?

Setup is minimal. The simulation is highly customizable and can be adapted to fit a short module or extended to a full semester with just a few clicks. Automated insights and in-platform feedback further reduce the instructor's workload, allowing class time to be spent on discussion and strategy.

How are students assessed on their performance?

Simulation results are tracked through a user-friendly dashboard covering all active campaigns, with detailed data on conversions, ROAS, and budget allocation. Instructors have access to personalized reports for each student, making it straightforward to evaluate both the quality of strategic decisions and the ability to interpret and act on campaign data.

Can the SEA simulation be used alongside other Simbound modules?

Yes. The SEA simulation integrates seamlessly with Simbound's website, analytics, and shopping feed modules, reflecting how paid search operates within a broader digital marketing ecosystem. This interconnected setup helps students understand how search advertising results support and spill over to other marketing channels rather than functioning in isolation.

Simplify delivery of your SEA course

Expose students to practical learning with the latest search engine marketing simulations. Minimal setup, multiple customization options, and immediate actionable feedback make this a welcome addition to any search advertising or paid media course. The expected result is a richer learning experience and higher participant satisfaction.

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Bringing Marketing Practice Into Classrooms since 2012

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Bringing Marketing Practice Into Classrooms since 2012

Simbound is the initial digital marketing simulation platform built for higher education. We give students the tools to learn SEO, advertising, email, social media, and more — by actually doing it.

Found in 6 countries

The best way to learn marketing is to actually do it — to make decisions that matter, in a world that responds.

Not a textbook replacement

Simbound is built alongside educators, not instead of them. It strengthens the curriculum you've already crafted — giving students a place to apply theory the moment they learn it.

Risk-free, not consequence-free

Every campaign has consequences. Budgets deplete, competitors adapt, markets shift. Students learn from what works and what doesn't — without real-world stakes.

Confidence over compliance

We don't train students to follow instructions. We give them an environment where curiosity leads to strategy, and where graduates enter the workforce ready to think — not just execute.

From Idea to Global Impact

2012 Initial Client Simulation

A basic simulation is built to explain to a client of a marketing agency how digital marketing works.

2013 Scaling the Simulation

We draw people from all corners of the world to try the simulation out.

2015 100 Global Universities

On track to working with 100 universities worldwide.

2017 Second-Generation Launch

The second-generation platform called Simbound Sense, is starting to take shape.

2018 Prestigious Recognition Earned

Simbound is declared the best startup in Europe for the Edtech category by Finnova and the European Commission.

2020 Third-Generation Development

Work on the 3rd generation Digital Marketing Simulation platform begins.

2024 Advanced Suite Launch

There are six digital marketing simulations available, all integrated. Three are AI-powered.

What We Stand For

Three principles that guide our journey and every simulation we build.

Education

We believe that well-designed education can solve the world's most pressing problems. Our commitment to developing interactive, modern tools for learners of all backgrounds is what allows us to persevere. We are inspired by the talent of students and interns worldwide, and we strive to be the ultimate partner for those working to achieve their dreams.

Technology

We use technology to empower future leaders, not to dictate their priorities. While we recognize the immense power of digital marketing, we are also aware of the risks of its misuse. We provide the tools for critical thinking and informed decision-making, ensuring that we always put people and their real-world needs first.

Impact

We care about more than just profit; we invest in a better world. From promoting eco-friendly online learning to being an equal opportunity employer for young professionals, our governance is rooted in ethics. We understand that digital marketing isn't just about websites—it’s about the power to highlight causes that can truly help society.

What Makes Us Different

Built specifically for higher education, Simbound goes beyond generic marketing tools to deliver a rich environment for learning.

Realistic Simulations

Every channel — SEO, SEM, Email, Social, Affiliates — is modelled on real-world mechanics, giving students an authentic decision-making experience without any risk or expense.

AI-Enhanced Learning

Integrated AI tools provide content suggestions, performance insights, and adaptive difficulty so every student learns at their optimal pace. AI is also used by teachers.

Comprehensive Analytics

Easy to navigate dashboards and exportable reports let instructors track progress, compare teams, and seamlessly integrate simulation results into course assessment workflows.

Trusted Expertise

The solution chosen by educators and independent learners for years — and still their favorite. Our specialist team is independent, attentive, and ready to deliver no matter the complexity involved.

The People Behind Simbound

A passionate team of educators, engineers, and marketers united by one goal — making experiential learning accessible to every university.

Tristan Seulliet — Simbound France

Aurel Tumurug — Developer

Alin Chedea — CTO

Mark Zielonka — Simbound Canada

Varun Patil — Simbound India

Louis Havriliuc — CEO & Founder

Fabio Sandes — Simbound Portugal

Iulia Pentek — Operations

Trusted by Educators Worldwide

Everything went very well for the Paris and Lille courses. The students were once again delighted with the experience. It continues to be a pleasure to run this session, which mixes stress, decision making, timing and gaming, and always delights!Romain Baert Skema Business School France

Simbound is a useful tool in our Digital Marketing class. It provides students with a risk-free environment to apply concepts such as PPC ads, landing page creation, and email marketing. The Simbound Team are very supportive and provide quick and prompt help, which is essential for teaching a large cohort.Dionysius Ang University of Leeds Business School

Following the usage of the simulation we have found that student engagement increased as did the quality of the summative assessments and overall student knowledge.Rohim Mohammed Lecturer in Digital Marketing - University College Birmingham

Common Questions

Everything you need to know about who we are and how to work with us.

What exactly is Simbound?

Simbound is the pioneering digital marketing simulation platform designed for higher education. It lets students practise SEO, search advertising, email marketing, social media, community management, and affiliate marketing in a realistic, risk-free competitive environment.

Who is behind Simbound?

Simbound was founded by a team of marketing professionals and technologists passionate about education and simulations. Today the team includes educators, engineers, and data scientists working from Europe and beyond.

How do universities get started?

It starts with requesting access credentials and a personalized tutorial. Our team walks you through the platform, helps map simulations to your syllabus, and supports you through the first semester. Most instructors are up and running within a few days.

Where can I learn more or schedule a demo?

Visit our Request a Demo page or reach out directly at contact@simbound.com. We offer personalised walkthroughs and pilot programs so you can experience the platform before committing.

Website Creation & Analytics Simulation

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Website Creation & Analytics Simulation

The comprehensive, ready-to-use website simulation solution for the education sector, complete with a full suite of content management, reporting, and analytics tools.

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Train Students into Content Operations Mastery

The all-in-one website simulation that acts as a foundational experience in the mastery of digital marketing content creation complete with content on SEO , AIO and e-Commerce.

Website Builder

Simbound’s Web Page Builder is an intuitive, no-code publishing platform designed to help students and educators create professional-grade websites effortlessly. By utilizing drag-and-drop functionality and ready-made templates, it allows learners to focus on strategy and creativity rather than technical setup. The tool allows for hours of practice to be had in branding, lead generation, and SEO decision-making. Immediate and constructive feedback keeps students motivated and engaged.

Online Retail Simulation

The Simbound E-Commerce Module transforms theoretical economics and management knowledge into a dynamic digital learning experience in which students manage virtual shops and have to make strategic marketing decisions on product portfolios and pricing. By analyzing real-time shopping metrics and customer flow data, learners will learn to identify conversion bottlenecks and to optimize the buyer’s journey from initial entry to checkout.

Web Analytics & SEO

Simbound’s Website simulation Analytics trains students into data-driven decision-making by providing a 360-degree view of website performance and user engagement. Through conversion tracking and detailed visitor behavior monitoring, learners discover how technical setup drives business outcomes — all while experimenting with content creation and optimization techniques. The platform features easy-to-navigate reports paired with actionable insights and tips, making raw data easy to understand and enabling next steps for planning and execution.

This is a Customizable Simulation

Train students to dynamically interpret moving website metrics and link them to business results. Synchronize the simulation to real-world events to generate traffic spikes, seasonal trends, and algorithm shifts—as this sharpens analytical skills and resilience in face of changes. Foster critical thinking by allowing comparison across website pages, campaigns, and timeframes and prepare learners so they can adapt to wide scale fluctuations effectively.

Used as Part of Courses in

Designed to integrate seamlessly into a wide range of university programs and learning objectives.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Web Design & Development
Digital Analytics & UX
Content Marketing Strategy
Information Architecture
Digital Business Models
Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)
E-Commerce Systems

The Website Editor that is Built for the Classroom

From an AI assistant to performance check-ups and reporting, every feature is designed with educators and students in mind.

Experiential Methodology

Simbound places active learning at its core by providing learning activities that unfold in a true-to-life with the help of an intuitive content management system that replicates solutions used by companies and professionals. By creating and managing a website within a simulated environment, abstract concepts of digital marketing and content management transform into concrete skills that students will make use of within their future jobs.

Spark Strategic Thinking

The platform eliminates technical difficulties and long setup times to allow focus on actual decision-making and learning. Students learn to collect, interpret, and act upon analytical data, developing their ability to make informed strategic choices in any professional context. The platform reflects true market conditions, where strategic choices in layout, design, and accessibility have a measurable impact on success.

Reflection and Iterative Feedback

The pedagogical nature of the simulation supports the constant review of one's own work. The system provides recommendations at every step and allows for rapid iterations, enabling students to experiment (A/B testing) and quickly understand what works, accelerating the learning curve through immediate feedback. With Simbound, this process is accelerated, helping learners achieve their goals more quickly.

Preparation for the Real-World Work Environment

By generating various market conditions and encouraging professional standards (such as accessibility, page and linking structure, product placement) this immersive simulation helps teach modern retail operations, strategy, A/B testing and online consumer behavior — all within a risk-free, fun and competitive environment.

See the Simulation in Action

Take on the role of a digital strategist assigned to improve this e-commerce store's conversion rate. Use the editor to fix mistakes and follow the interactive checklist for specific task details to see exactly how students interact with the web part of the platform.

Common Questions Answered

Essential knowledge on the Website & SEO simulation.

Do students need prior web development experience?

No. Our pedagogical CMS is designed for beginners. Students learn HTML/SEO concepts through a guided interface — no coding required. Advanced students can optionally export and edit source code for deeper learning.

How much time does it take to initially set up a website in Simbound?

Adding a basic website takes 20 minutes, whilst a multi-market website can take up to 2 hours.

Do you provide ready-made websites?

Yes, this speeds up the initial stage of the learning activity by allowing an immediate focus on analytical data.

How does the simulated search engine work?

Simbound has developed a proprietary algorithm that evaluates 20+ on-page and off-page SEO signals. Rankings update each simulation round based on student actions, creating a realistic but controlled environment for experimentation.

Can I customize the simulation for my course?

Yes. Instructors can configure the number of rounds, enable or disable AI tools, select multiple keyword markets, adjust difficulty, and choose which metrics to emphasize. The simulation adapts from introductory marketing courses to advanced digital strategy programs.

How many students can participate at once?

Each simulation instance supports up to 16 teams. Students can work in teams of 2–5 or individually. Multiple sections can run simultaneously with separate simulation instances and settings.

What learning outcomes does this simulation support?

The website simulation follows standard digital marketing learning objectives: understanding websites, conducting audience analysis and defining a unique value proposal, writing optimized content, performing technical audits, interpreting analytics data, and developing competitive SEO strategies.

Is there an AI content generation component?

Yes. The AI writing assistant is an optional module that instructors can enable. It teaches students to use AI as a content tool — including prompt engineering, editing AI output, and understanding the role of AI in modern SEO workflows.

Ready to Improve Learning with our simulation?

Simbound empowers learners with a safe and modern website simulation technology built for education. Participants stand to explore the ever-evolving world of online marketing strategy —all with their own created assets in a dynamic, risk-free learning environment.

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Email Marketing Simulation

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Email Marketing Simulation

A realistic and simple to use Email marketing simulation software for your course

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An Email Mistake Turned into a Lesson

A fun and engaging Email Marketing simulation to build high-converting campaigns, manage subscriber behavior, and optimize integrated communication strategies.

Multiple Email Campaigns

Set up and track multiple campaigns, follow-ups, and sequenced messages tailored to virtual audience behavior. A powerful content editor lets students enrich emails with media, product information, and promotions, while integrated AI tools continuously assess their copy and suggest improvements.

Templates fit for every purpose

Seven ready-made templates cover everything from product launches and promotions to ESG communications and affiliate recruitment, streamlining content creation so students can focus on results. Pricing decisions add another layer of realism, with adjustable product prices and timed promotions tied directly to profitability goals.

Integrated Email Marketing

Target multiple audiences based on their interests, then convert more contacts through follow-ups and sequenced campaigns that adapt to response and engagement level. An integrated approach ties email activity to affiliate partnerships, community growth, and ESG initiatives for a truly connected marketing experience.

Used as Part of Courses in

Designed to integrate seamlessly into a wide range of university programs and learning objectives.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
Direct & Database Marketing
Marketing Automation
Customer Life-Cycle Management
Copywriting for Digital Media
Retention & Loyalty Strategies
Permission Marketing
Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC)

Let's Make Emails Great Again

Email marketing often gets an unfair reputation — one that educators are uniquely placed to help reshape.

Segmentation and Personalization

The simulation teaches the "science" of email marketing by requiring students to manage diverse contact lists. Learners practice core strategies such as highly targeted communication and audience segmentation, moving beyond "batch and blast" methods to understand how relevance drives results.

Advanced Workflow Automation

Students go beyond simple messaging to master email automation. By using the simulation to drive customer acquisition and improve lifetime value, they learn how to design automated workflows that trigger the right message at the right time—a critical skill for modern digital marketing roles.

Iterative Optimization through A/B Testing

The pedagogical model encourages a competitive and interactive approach where students set up A/B tests to compare different creatives and strategies. By interpreting real-time metrics and comparing their work with peers, they learn to refine their tactics based on evidence and objective performance data.

InstilI Ethical Standards and Teach Best Practices

The simulation instills professional discipline by focusing on critical industry standards such as opt-in techniques, spam reduction, and accessibility. Furthermore, it incorporates modern themes like ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) and Sustainability, ensuring students learn to communicate responsibly in a mature digital landscape.

See the Simulation in Action

Save time with this brief overview of the Email Marketing Simulation. Browse through the main functions of the Email simulation without needing to register an account.

Common Questions Answered

Everything instructors ask before adopting the Email Simulation.

Is any prior email marketing experience required to use the simulation?

No prior experience is needed. The simulation is designed to be intuitive and accessible, making it suitable for both introductory and advanced digital marketing courses. Students learn through doing, with AI-powered recommendations and in-platform feedback guiding them along the way.

What types of campaigns can students run in the simulation?

Students can set up and manage multiple email campaigns, including follow-ups and sequenced messages based on virtual audience behavior. Using seven ready-made content templates, they can run campaigns for product launches, promotions, brand awareness, ESG communications, affiliate recruitment, and community engagement — covering the full range of real-world email marketing use cases.

How does this simulation prepare students for the workplace?

The simulation replicates industry-standard tools, including lead capture and opt-in forms, a rich content editor, audience targeting, automation workflows, and performance dashboards. Students graduate with hands-on experience managing campaigns, interpreting key metrics, and applying best practices around opt-in techniques and spam reduction — skills that are directly applicable from day one in a professional setting.

Can the email simulation be used alongside other Simbound modules?

Yes. The Email simulation is fully integrated with Simbound's website, analytics, affiliate, and community modules, allowing instructors to deliver a comprehensive digital marketing course where students experience how email fits within a broader, interconnected marketing strategy.

How are students assessed on their performance?

Student work is tracked through detailed reporting dashboards that capture campaign performance across key metrics such as open rates, engagement, purchases, conversions, and unsubscribe rates. Results can be compared across the class, and campaign outputs can also be added to students' digital skills portfolios or CVs, adding real value beyond the course itself.

Enrich your course delivery on Email Marketing

Email remains a vital component of operations across industry. It is vital for professionals in a variety of business sectors to gain experience and become proficient in the latest technological tools. Transform your email marketing course experience into one that is engaging and memorable.

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Affiliate Marketing Simulation

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Affiliate Marketing Simulation

Expand your course to cover Referral Marketing with this first of its kind performance marketing simulation from Simbound

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Encourage Students To Surpass Boundaries

The Affiliate simulation teaches how profitable online marketing networks function and how they drive new customer acquisition through strategic partner incentives.

Enter Affiliate Marketing

Launch multiple campaigns, each with their own targeting and conditions and track their performance across time. This allows to tap into new audiences and entice new customer types with custom made offers designed with affiliate marketing partners.

Track Conversions

Manage Performance: Assign conversions to each of your affiliate partners and obtain statistics on the best performing affiliate websites. Provide performance based payment in the form of a commission and bonus prizes to your top affiliate commercial partners in the simulation.

Expand Presence

Provide your top affiliate partners with an additional budget to help them expand their reach and presence and consolidate your partnership while you diversify your backlink profile with new and creative content pointing back to your brand's website in the simulation.

Used as Part of Courses in

Designed to integrate seamlessly into a wide range of university programs and learning objectives.

Affiliate Marketing & Networks
Partnership & Channel Management
Growth Hacking Techniques
Entrepreneurial Marketing
Sales Force Management
Business Development Strategies
Digital Ecosystems & Platforms
Performance-Based Advertising

Bring Performance To your Teaching

Affiliate marketing is everywhere, yet few consumers truly understand how it works. Give your students the clarity — and the hands-on experience — to change that.

Understanding Performance-Based Marketing

The simulation introduces students to the results-driven models in digital marketing. By setting up campaigns, managing partner relationships, and rewarding top performers with commissions and bonuses, learners develop a concrete understanding of how performance-based payment structures work and why they are increasingly central to modern e-commerce strategy.

Driving Traffic and Visibility Through External Partners

Students experience firsthand how affiliate partnerships can expand a brand's reach beyond its own channels — generating inbound content, boosting website visibility, and attracting more targeted traffic. This teaches an important lesson about leverage in marketing: that coordinating external partners effectively can deliver results that owned channels alone cannot.

Sales Attribution and Strategic Decision-Making

A key learning outcome of the simulation is the ability to select and apply sales attribution models — a skill that is both technically demanding and strategically significant. By experimenting with different attribution approaches, students learn how credit is assigned across a customer journey and how those decisions directly influence budget allocation and campaign optimization.

Placing Affiliate in the Broader Marketing Ecosystem

The Affiliate simulation integrates with the website, email, and community modules, showing students how affiliate marketing feeds into and supports a wider, more complex digital strategy. This holistic view helps learners appreciate the interconnected nature of digital channels and prepares them to think and operate as well-rounded marketing leaders.

See the Simulation in Action

Learn more about the Simbound Affiliate Marketing Simulation. No registration required.

Common Questions Answered

Everything instructors ask before adopting the Affiliate Simulation.

What is affiliate marketing and why is it worth teaching in a simulation?

Affiliate marketing is one of the fastest-growing and most performance-driven channels in digital marketing, yet it is often underrepresented in traditional curricula. The simulation gives students direct exposure to how affiliate networks operate, how partners are recruited and managed, and how commission structures are designed — all in a risk-free environment where the consequences of decisions are immediate and visible.

What can students actually do within the affiliate simulation?

Students set up and manage an affiliate program by recruiting partners, assigning commissions, and rewarding top performers with bonuses. They also select sales attribution models, monitor inbound traffic generated by affiliates, and assess the overall contribution of the affiliate channel to their virtual brand's revenue and visibility.

How does the simulation handle sales attribution, and why does it matter pedagogically?

Attribution is one of the most complex and debated topics in digital marketing, and the simulation brings it to life by requiring students to actively choose and apply attribution settings. This hands-on approach helps learners understand how credit is assigned across a customer journey and how those choices ripple through budget decisions and campaign performance — a nuance that is difficult to convey through theory alone.

How does the affiliate simulation connect to the rest of the Simbound platform?

The Affiliate simulation integrates with the website, email, and community modules, meaning students can observe how affiliate activity drives traffic, supports email list growth, and feeds into broader marketing initiatives. This interconnected setup reinforces the idea that affiliate marketing does not operate in a silo but is a strategic component of a coordinated digital marketing effort.

How is student performance tracked and assessed in the affiliate simulation?

Performance is tracked through detailed reporting that captures key affiliate metrics including traffic generated, conversions attributed, commission costs, and overall return on investment. Instructors can use these reports to evaluate how well students understand the balance between incentivizing partners and maintaining profitability — one of the central strategic tensions in real-world affiliate management.

Content that helps Connect the Dots

Your digital marketing course is set to become the ultimate comprehensive learning experience with the addition of this affiliate marketing simulation. Engage participants through interactive content and track their progress with real learner engagement data.

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Social Media Marketing Simulation

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Social Media Marketing Simulation

Teach social media marketing principles in a realistic environment without the overstimulation

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Social Media Simulations For Networked Learning

From social listening and brand engagement to launching targeted social ads, learners master the art of online audience building and data-driven social media strategy.

Build Social Media Presence

Build your follower base by posting regular updates that attract new audiences and grow brand awareness over time. Maximize engagement by communicating consistently across multiple platforms, improving brand perception and unlocking cross-promotion opportunities. Meanwhile, social listening tools let students monitor competitor activity and enhance their own positioning strategies in response.

Communicate like a PRO

Announce product launches, promotions, ESG initiatives, and new content to keep your virtual audience informed and engaged. Highly engaged prospects can be directed to your website and other properties, mirroring real-world content discovery — and occasionally, a post may even go viral. Paid visibility options let students maximize their marketing budget, testing new initiatives for swift market adoption while driving measurable engagement.

Use Social Media Ads

Build and refine your own unique target audience using a flexible segmentation system, then manage social advertising campaigns across multiple goals — from maximizing conversions to acquiring new leads — with A/B testing built in. Comprehensive analytics across products, audience segments, and financial indicators tie it all together.

Used as Part of Courses in

Designed to integrate seamlessly into a wide range of university programs and learning objectives.

Social Media Strategy
Digital Brand Management
Content Strategy & Creation
Influencer Marketing
Digital Consumer Insights
Social Media Analytics
Creative Advertising & Visual Strategy
Viral Marketing & Trends

Set up a medium for Social Learning

Our fast-paced, highly-interactive transforms social media marketing education one course at a time.

Building a Brand Presence from the Ground Up

Students experience the full cycle of growing a social media presence — posting consistently, gaining followers, increasing engagement, and improving brand perception across multiple platforms. This mirrors the real discipline required in professional social media management, helping learners understand that presence is built incrementally through strategic, sustained effort.

Strategic Communication and Content Discovery

The simulation challenges students to craft and time communications across a range of initiatives — from product launches and promotions to ESG messaging and content marketing. With posts capable of going viral and driving traffic to interconnected properties, learners gain a realistic appreciation of how content discovery works and how social media feeds into a broader digital marketing ecosystem.

Hands-On Experience with Social Advertising

Students manage social ad campaigns with real objectives — maximizing conversions, boosting engagement, or acquiring leads — while running A/B tests and experimenting with audience segmentation. This practical exposure to paid social advertising prepares them for one of the most in-demand skill sets in modern marketing.

Data-Driven Decision Making and Competitive Awareness

Through analytical reports covering products, audience segments, and financials, students learn to ground their decisions in data rather than instinct. The addition of social listening tools — allowing them to monitor competitor activity and adjust their own positioning — rounds out the experience with a dimension of strategic thinking that is often absent from traditional coursework.

See the Simulation in Action

Discover the key features of the Social Media Marketing simulation from Simbound in this dynamic, interactive demonstration.

Common Questions Answered

Everything instructors ask before adopting the Social Media Simulation.

Is any prior social media marketing experience required to use the simulation?

No prior experience is needed. The simulation is designed to be approachable for beginners while still offering enough depth to challenge more advanced students. Whether used in an introductory digital marketing course or a dedicated social media module, learners can get started quickly and build confidence through hands-on practice.

What social media activities can students carry out in the simulation?

Students can grow a follower base, manage brand engagement across multiple platforms, boost post visibility, launch advertising campaigns, and monitor competitor activity through social listening. The simulation covers both organic and paid social media strategies, giving learners a well-rounded experience that reflects the realities of the profession.

How does the paid advertising component work?

Students build custom target audiences, set campaign objectives — such as maximizing conversions, increasing conversion value, or acquiring new leads — and run A/B tests to compare performance. This mirrors the core workflow of real social advertising platforms, helping students develop practical skills that are directly transferable to tools they will encounter in the workplace.

How does the simulation connect to other areas of digital marketing?

The Social simulation is part of Simbound's integrated suite, meaning student activity on social media can drive traffic to their virtual website and connect with other channels such as email and community management. This interconnected setup helps students understand how social media functions as part of a broader, coordinated marketing strategy rather than in isolation.

How do instructors monitor and assess student performance?

The platform provides analytical reports covering products, audience segments, and financial outcomes, giving instructors clear visibility into each team's decisions and results. Performance can be tracked across the class, making it straightforward to assess both the quality of strategic thinking and the ability to interpret and act on data.

Can the simulation be adapted to different course sizes and industries?

Yes. The simulation is flexible enough to fit courses of varying sizes and lengths, and can be tailored to reflect different industries and market conditions. This makes it a versatile teaching companion whether you are running a short workshop, a semester-long course, or anything in between.

Put the spotlight on your Social Marketing course

The social media simulation by Simbound is a fun and easy way to spark conversation and learning on all of the important marketing principles in a modern and secure learning environment. You can adapt the simulation to fit various courses and industries/markets, making it the perfect teaching companion.

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Community Management

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Community Management

Online brand community management simulation. Enhance the digital marketing lessons with an exercise in creativity and gamification of online members and their interaction with brands.

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A Simulation Exercise That Morphs Into a Real Community

Drive brand loyalty through community management: activate 18+ built-in gamification techniques, recruit real person managers and optimize product placement

Multiple communities

Multiple communities: Gain experience in managing a number of online brand communities, each with its own unique dynamics and preferences. Align to business goals: Develop communities and align them with concrete marketing and business objectives, while monitoring the impact on your profitability. Gamification: Utilize more than 18 unique gamification techniques to engage virtual members and increase membership.

Managers

Develop New Skills: Participants to the simulation will act as community managers which gain new skills while managing communities and contributing to their growth. Recruit New Managers: Additional community managers can be recruited from inside the team or from other teams based on their skills and preferences. Collaboration: The simulation is designed to instill a sense of collaboration by utilizing fictitious resources that encourage participants to engage with one another and gain new insights.

Community Strategy

Choose the best Strategic approach for your evolving communities and brand and build your community manager profile to better serve the needs of each specific community type. Make community management a priority by creating a unique product placement strategy and linking this back to your main website and getting members involved in your campaigns and posts.

Used as Part of Courses in

Designed to integrate seamlessly into a wide range of university programs and learning objectives.

Online Community Building
Public Relations (PR) & Reputation
Crisis Management & Communication
Consumer Behavior & Psychology
Brand Advocacy & Evangelism
Social Media Ethics & Governance
Group Dynamics & Leadership
Customer Support & Experience (CX)

Your Classroom is already a community

We provide the tools for learners to interact, discuss, and collaborate — letting learning happen naturally through immersion.

Real-World Community Management Experience

Place learners in the role of community managers overseeing multiple online brand communities, each with its own dynamics and audience preferences. This mirrors the complexity of real professional environments, helping students build practical skills in managing, growing, and sustaining digital communities — skills that are increasingly in demand across marketing roles.

Connecting Community Strategy to Business Outcomes

Students are challenged to develop communities with concrete marketing and business objectives in mind, while tracking the impact of their decisions on profitability. This bridges the gap between creative community-building and measurable business performance, reinforcing the idea that effective community management is a strategic, results-driven discipline.

Gamification as Both a Tool and a Teaching Method

With over 18 gamification techniques available, learners don't just study engagement strategies — they apply them directly. By using rewards, games, and interactive mechanics to activate virtual members, students gain firsthand insight into how gamification drives participation and loyalty, making the concept tangible rather than theoretical.

Collaboration and Team Dynamics

The simulation is designed to foster collaboration, with participants able to recruit and work alongside other community managers drawn from within or outside their team. This encourages peer learning, shared decision-making, and a deeper understanding of how cross-functional teams operate — competencies that are essential in any modern marketing environment.

See the Simulation in Action

Quickly browse through some of the concepts included in the Community Management Simulation, a highly interactive and collaborative learning environment to decide if this is the right fit with your course.

Common Questions Answered

Everything instructors ask before adopting the Community Simulation.

What prior knowledge do students need before using the simulation?

No prior experience with community management tools is required. The simulation is built to be intuitive and accessible, making it suitable for introductory digital marketing courses as well as more advanced programs. Students learn by doing, so the platform itself helps reduce the learning curve.

How does the simulation fit into my existing course structure?

The Community Management simulation works well as a standalone activity or as a complement to lectures and case studies on digital marketing, brand strategy, or consumer behavior. Its flexible format means it can be deployed as a short exercise or run across multiple weeks as an ongoing project, depending on your course design.

How do I monitor student progress and assess performance?

The platform includes built-in reporting and analytics tools that give you visibility into each team's decisions and outcomes. The Grader tool allows you to track performance and engagement across multiple course instances simultaneously, making assessment straightforward even with large cohorts.

Is there support available if I or my students run into issues?

Yes. Simbound provides instructor support to help with onboarding and any technical questions that arise. Students also benefit from instant in-platform feedback and actionable tips, which reduces the number of questions directed at the instructor and allows class time to be spent on discussion and reflection rather than troubleshooting.

What learning outcomes does this simulation support?

Students can learn how to manage multiple brand communities with tailored strategies, align community growth with business goals, apply gamification techniques to drive engagement, integrate brand content authentically, collaborate within team structures, and interpret performance data to refine decisions over time.

Is there an AI content generation component?

No. The AI only assesses the community posts and provides recommendations on how to tailor content to each community audience.

Launch a new community right within your course

The first of its kind online brand community management simulation is an innovative addition to digital marketing education programs. It offers a unique opportunity to learn about community management and product placement strategies through a variety of community types and gamification features.

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From Theory to Practice with Experiential Learning

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

From Theory to Practice with Experiential Learning

Simbound is the original high-fidelity simulation suite for the modern marketing era — proven to deliver exceptional results to diverse education settings worldwide.

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Explore our Simulations

Total Digital Marketing Simulation Solution

An integrated learning platform that hosts 6 interconnected simulations designed to help you construct a realistic representation of the full digital marketing spectrum. Our best-in-class simulations will allow you to teach your Digital Marketing course like never before.

1. Website & SEO

The only simulation that enables learners to build true-to-life feature-rich websites using a proprietary CMS that holds pre-made page templates, and taps into generative AI for rapid content creation. Get ready to master essential online content publishing skills including SEO, GEO, WCAG accessibility, as well as practice cross-channel promotions across multiple language markets. The platform intuitively provides automated technical check-ups and displays industry standard performance metrics to help identify and implement key improvements.

2. Search Advertising

This simulation allows you to set up and optimize PPC campaigns by managing a virtual budget and leveraging industry-standard metrics. You will master key tasks such as keyword research, A/B testing, and ad retargeting across dynamic content formats. The platform provides data-rich dashboards and generative AI recommendations to help you analyze reports and refine your advertising strategy.

3. Email Marketing

This module allows you to configure personalized marketing newsletters and track essential performance metrics like CTR, conversions, and profit. You will use generative AI to automate A/B testing and enhance content design, aiming to boost engagement and customer intimacy. Furthermore, the simulation covers community management and the integration of ESG initiatives to strengthen your brand’s connection with its audience.

4. Social Media Marketing

A dynamic environment to master both organic and paid social media strategies by tailoring messaging to diverse audience groups. You will focus on nurturing audiences while competing with other learners for followers and views. The fast-paced nature of the simulation allows constructing brand presence and obtaining real-time business results in a realistic social network setting.

5. Brand Community

This collaborative, game-like simulation allows you to lead an online brand by building one of four specialized owned brand community types, ranging from Support to Market Insight communities. You will use gamificationy and recruit peers as community managers to boost membership and brand affinity. The focus is on driving engagement for key initiatives while uncovering market trends in a realistic, interactive environment.

6. Affiliate Marketing

This performance marketing simulation focuses on maximizing business results by driving targeted traffic and building social proof through affiliate marketing. Manage commission structures, reward top performers, and select sales attribution models to scale ROI. By outsourcing specific marketing activities, learners leverage a broader skill set to enhance overall strategy and stay ahead of the competition.

Used as Part of Courses in

Our solution fits seamlessly into university programs and various learning formats—both undergraduate and postgraduate studies, short applicative workshops, and as part of international exchanges such as Erasmus+ or Fulbright.

Digital Marketing
Web Design & Development
E-Commerce & Online Business
Entrepreneurship & Innovation
Digital Marketing & E-Commerce
Retail Management & Sales Strategy
Consumer Behavior & Market Research
Entrepreneurship & Business Simulation

Go Beyond Theory

For more than 14 years Simbound has led the way in experiential learning, empowering learners everywhere with real-world marketing skills.

Enable Learning by Doing

Learners apply marketing theory in a realistic environment and make strategic decisions while seeing the impact of their choices. Gaining hands-on experience and improving confidence has never been easier.

AI-Augmented Simulations

Thoughtfully integrated AI tools enhance the educational experience by delivering insights in seconds and provide tailored recommendations—supporting each individual learning journey.

Learning Analytics

Replace cluttered dashboards with real-time, data-driven insights for smarter learning management.

Functional Simulations

A fully integrated, intricately crafted learning environment that fosters student engagement and boosts satisfaction for both learners and educators.

Data Privacy by Design

Built for GDPR compliance from the ground up — with multiple layers of data privacy and the smallest possible personal data footprint required to run the simulations.

Trusted Expertise

How It Works

Request a Demo

Schedule a walkthrough with our team. We'll show you how easy Simbound can fit into your curriculum and how it helps reach learning objectives with ease.

Self-Service Option

Create and monitor a simulation environment in minutes. Choose marketing channels, set rules, and invite your students. No prior training needed.

Students Enroll & Learn

Students enter the risk-free, competitive training arena and manage campaigns, analyze data, and make strategic decisions independently.

Monitor & Evaluate Learning

Advanced reports driven by AI can help you monitor progress and integrate results into your grading or assessment.

Why Professors Have Already Chosen Simbound

Simbound is a useful tool in our Digital Marketing class. It provides students with a risk-free environment to apply concepts such as PPC ads, landing page creation, and email marketing. The Simbound Team are very supportive and provide quick and prompt help, which is essential for teaching a large cohort.Dionysius Ang University of Leeds Business School

Everything went very well for the Paris and Lille courses. The students were once again delighted with the experience. It continues to be a pleasure to run this session, which mixes stress, decision making, timing and gaming, and always delights!Romain Baert Skema Business School France

The Simbound simulation platform provided our students with a unique opportunity to apply theoretical knowledge in a practical, risk free environment. Students were immersed in a dynamic, interactive world where they could make real time decisions and witness the consequences of their actions.Arash Valipour Lecturer in Marketing - Queen Mary University of London

All of the students in my course appreciated the simulation and the insights resulting from using it.Daniel Hoppe Duale Hochschule Gera-Eisenach Cooperative University Germany

Following the usage of the simulation we have found that student engagement increased as did the quality of the summative assessments and overall student knowledge.Rohim Mohammed University College Birmingham

Simbound is a powerful tool that allows students to apply digital marketing concepts learned in the classroom to a 'real-world' risk-free environment. Thank you to the Simbound team for being a supportive partner throughout the journey!Catherine Stafford Communications Department - Denver Uni.

Thoughtful Innovation

Simbound is committed to solid Environmental, Social, and Governance principles making it the ideal choice for modern marketing education.

Environmental

Our Zero-footprint digital simulations learning replaces resource-heavy physical marketing supplies. Our EU housed optimized infrastructure minimizes energy consumption. We travel less than 15.000Km each year for business. We partner with low-carbon suppliers.

Social

Improving marketing education using modern accessibility and teaching standards with impact across 80+ countries is a live testament to our commitment. Ever since 2012, we have been supporting educators in teaching ethical business practice and responsible digital advertising to their students.

Governance

Transparent data practices, GDPR compliance and academic integrity built straight into the fabric of the initial platform of its kind. We build for learning outcomes, not for engagement. We use AI only when it leads to efficiency in education.

Frequently Asked Questions

What you'll need to know before getting started

1. What is Simbound, and what is its primary purpose?

This is the initial online marketing teaching platform of its kind, designed to support a wide range of digital marketing and advertising courses. Within Simbound Instructors and students explore real-world digital marketing strategies and tactics—all in a risk-free, simulated environment. The platform eliminates risk such as: financial, technical, compatibility and brand image, allowing for learning to flourish without the real-world consequences.

2. What are key Simbound features?

Simbound is a ready-to-use generative simulation platform, offering educational content, course tools, and teaching materials for courses of any scale. Instructors can adjust simulation parameters in real time and use AI to interpret course activity data. Participants practice website management, search engine advertising, email marketing, social media, community management, and affiliate marketing—all within a single, interconnected learning application.

3. What are learning takeaways of using Simbound?

Participants master the principles of digital marketing personalization and gain hands-on experience with online advertising systems. They learn to develop, implement, and measure digital marketing strategies, manage multi-channel campaigns, and analyze industry-standard advertising metrics.

The platform is a game-like environment, complete with real-time feedback and peer benchmarking which motivates learners to push boundaries and deepen their understanding whilst setting high goals for their learning.

4. How are real-world marketing scenarios simulated?

Learning activities center on promoting and selling products across multiple online marketplaces and distribution channels using realistic market data. Participants navigate content scenarios—which are fully adjustable for course complexity and duration—with control over virtual budgets and simulated consumer behavior.

5. What skills will participants stand to gain?

Using Simbound, participants develop practical, in-demand skills in:

Digital Marketing Strategy: Planning, Executing, and Optimizing Multi-channel Campaigns.
Online Advertising: Managing Paid Search, Social Media Ads, and Display Networks.
Performance Analysis: Interpreting Key Metrics and Using Data to Refine Strategy.
Personalization & Targeting: Crafting Tailored Marketing Aimed at Different Audiences.
Team Collaboration: Working in a Simulated Agency or In-house environments.
Budget Management: Allocating Virtual Funds and measuring ROAS (ROMI)
Content & Channel Management: Overseeing Websites, Email, Social media, and Affiliate programs.

Participants also strengthen cross-functional, industry-sought skills such as data analysis, managing complexity, leadership, collaboration, and critical thinking—valued in modern professional settings.

6. What assistance is provided to instructors?

Instructors have complete flexibility to set up and monitor simulation course instances according to their own schedule with no input required from the Simbound Team. The platform is designed to support instructors in providing highly personalized insights and feedback by examining each individual's learner performance. Instructors can set up learning tasks and periodically assess students using ready-made adaptive tests.

7. Does the simulation support Teams?

The platform provides native support for both individual learners and team-based collaboration to take place in a digital project sandbox that mirrors real-world work environments for a truly immersive and enjoyable experience.

8. How do learners typically collaborate within a team?

Participants assign and track tasks to members of their teams, manage search and social advertising campaigns using a shared budget and set up community spaces together.

Co-Opetition allows comparison of results and rankings to that of other teams or participants. The simulation was designed to encourage collaboration among peers, similar to what would be expected in a real-life work environment on a commercial digital project.

9. Can I use Simbound as an individual leaerner without an instructor?

Yes! Sign up for one of our open enrollment courses, which are offered multiple times a year. To sign up, click the "Sign-up" button and check off the "I am not a student" box. You will be asked to choose a plan and will be given a few platform credits to try out the simulation. If you find that you need support you can access the AI Chatbot or contact the Simbound support service.

10. What tools and content are available for participants in the simulation environment?

Participants have access to a digital marketing planner for strategic planning, several website management and tracking tools for optimizing their online assets and products. Digital marketing asset performance is monitored through an Analytics dashboard and is enhanced by a realistic email marketing campaign simulation and a simulated social media presence. Furthermore, the integration of online community spaces and an affiliate marketing campaign manager establishes a cohesive, realistic environment that instructs learners to approach digital marketing in a systematic, empirical manner, emphasizing the collection of data.

11. Can learners use competitive analysis?

The Co-Opetition section of the simulation shows participants how they're doing compared to their peers. It provides traffic data, results, and comparative analysis, as well as rankings alongside team market share. This information helps participants make better strategic decisions and encourages them to form strategic alliances and partnerships, like hiring community managers who are outside their team.

12 How to stay informed on simulation updates?

Instructors and learners receive updates on changes to the simulation conditions through their dashboards. Also, the simulation guides offer detailed information on the features and sections of the simulation. New software updates are announced regularly through a designated information widget.

Ready to Transform Your Classroom?

Join a growing list of satisfied partners and universities using Simbound. See how our modern AI-powered simulations engage students like never before.

Request a Free Demo

Simbound Global Voices: New Languages Added

noreply@simbound.com (Iulia Pentek) — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Simbound Global Voices: New Languages Added

The world of digital marketing is, by definition, global. However, the process of learning and internalizing complex business concepts and terms is always more effective in the beginning when it happens in one’s native language.

Simbound is providing educational business simulations and is taking a bold step in internationalization by announcing the start of the localization process for by adding new languages such as Hungarian, Dutch, Croatian (due later this year) and Portuguese (Brazilian) (coming soon).

This initiative is not just a simple software translation project; it is a new breed of learning through which the platform aims to become accessible to every student, regardless of their corner of the world.

🗣️ A Global Translation: Digital Marketing Spoken in Your Language

The fundamental goal of the Simbound team is to eliminate any linguistic barrier in the path of high-performance education. Our vision is to build a truly inclusive community where top-tier digital marketing knowledge is accessible to everyone, regardless of their native tongue. For far too many years the platform has been available only in English and a few other languages.

By introducing Hungarian and Dutch into the Simbound ecosystem, and with Croatian arriving later this year and Portuguese (Brazilian) coming soon this year, we are paving the way for thousands of students to experience our modern Website, Search Ads, or Email Marketing simulations in a much more intuitive way. Learning becomes effortless when terminology is no longer an obstacle but a familiar working tool.

🏗️ Collaboration is underway: The First Terms Have Been Translated!

Collaborations with universities in Hungary and the Netherlands are already in full swing, while the Croatian localization is scheduled to join the lineup later this year.

The first teams of students and professors have started working within the "Global Voices" program, transforming the platform from one that was exclusively in English into a linguistically adapted tool. These languages will begin to exist within the Simbound simulation as the local community contributes to their continued refinement.

Several languages such as Spanish and Romanian are already integrated into the simulation and require only a final push, with a few yet still (such as French, German) having very few terms left to be reviewed.

🌟 Expanding Our Horizons

Looking ahead, we are excited to open doors to educators from new regions. If you represent a learning institution in these areas, we want to hear from you:

Middle East & Turkey: We are looking for universities/professors/students to bring Simbound to the Arabic-speaking world and also to Turkey. Learning digital marketing in Arabic or Turkish can unlock new potential in these fast-growing digital economies.
India: With its vast educational landscape, we aim to offer simulations in languages such as Hindi, Bengali, or Marathi to ensure students can master global concepts through a local lens.
New European Partnerships: We are ready to expand on our strong presence in Europe and are actively seeking collaborators for:

Italian (Italiano) 🇮🇹
Polish (Polerować) 🇵🇱
Swedish (Svensk) 🇸🇪
Norwegian (Norsk) 🇳🇴
Danish (Dansk) 🇩🇰

📈 Progressive Benefits for Universities: More Effort leads to More Resources

Simbound proposes a first-of-its-kind partnership model based on meritocracy and collaboration. We know that educational budgets are limited, which is why we have turned translation into a valuable currency. The program is designed to be "win-win," where benefits grow exponentially as the work progresses:

💰 Premium Access without Financial Costs: A university that chooses to get actively involved can save money. The value of licenses for a large group of students is significant, and through the Global Voices program, this financial barrier is taken down.
🔐 Unlocking Modules through Collective Effort: The system is simple—the more you translate, the more benefits you receive in class. Every milestone of 300 terms translated or validated brings a new simulation round or an additional round (such as Social Media or Affiliate Marketing).
🎓Practical Experience for Students: Involved students take on the role of "Translators." This is not just an administrative task, but a full-fledged software localization project that they can include in their CVs as evidence of involvement in an international EdTech project.
🏆 Academic Recognition for Professors: Coordinating professors act as "Reviewers," being the ones who guarantee the academic accuracy of the terms. They will be officially mentioned on the Simbound website as strategic partners in the platform's linguistic expansion.

🌍 Current Simulation Environments: Ready-to-Use Markets

While the Global Voices program allows you to build custom scenarios, Simbound already features several markets such as France, Canada, Spain and Colombia each with their own consumer trends and preferences that are ready for your students to interact with in their own language. These environments are designed to reflect real-world economic conditions:

Localized Demand: Each market is pre-configured with realistic consumer demand levels based on regional search data.
Consumer Behavior: Calibrated buyer patterns that match how people actually shop in each region.
Ongoing Refinement: We are constantly updating these markets with the help of our commercial and academic partners to ensure they stay accurate and rewarding.

By adjusting specific conditions, you transform a global tool into a precise local laboratory for your students.

🚀 Don't Wait Any Longer: Bring Simbound to Your Country!

If you are a professor, a faculty administrator, or an enthusiastic student who considers this program relevant to your institution, our message is simple: Don't wait any longer! The new localization into Hungarian, Dutch, and Croatian is proof that the program works and that there is a real demand for locally adapted learning. If your language is not yet translated, or if you want to speed up the process for one of the three mentioned languages, now is the time to act.

We invite you to request a Free Demo to start your official collaboration. To help us process your request accurately, please fill out the demo form and include a message clearly stating:

The University and Faculty you represent.
The language you wish to translate (Important!)
The mention of the term "Global Voices" to prioritize your request.

Simbound is ready to provide you with all necessary modern infrastructure—made up of cutting-edge AI technology for carrying out translations, an intuitive content editing platform and all the required support to later integrate the simulation into your curriculum. The sooner we start, the sooner your students can benefit from free licenses and a superior learning experience so what are you waiting for? Let's advance education together, on a global scale!

Unlock Access For your Class

Access modern educational simulation software, at no cost.

Join Global Voices

How to Use Simbound for Free: 3 Methods for Premium Access

noreply@simbound.com (Iulia Pentek) — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

How to Use Simbound for Free: 3 Methods for Premium Access

Are you looking to bring Simbound digital marketing simulations into your classroom, but find that the budget is a barrier? At Simbound, we believe that world-class education must be accessible to anyone with a desire to learn.

Method 1: The "Simbound Global Voices" Program: Translate and Learn for Free

Whether you are a professor seeking an interactive teaching method or a student eager to experiment with the latest Digital Marketing tactics, we have good news. There are several ways to unlock the platform without reaching for your wallet.

Trade 10 minutes per hour for free licenses.

This is our newest and most innovative program. It is an alternative licensing method where the collective effort of a class transforms directly into simulation access.

How does it work? (It’s simpler than you think!)

No professional experience required: You don't need to be a professional translator. We use AI technology to generate basic suggestions, and your role is to refine them to fit the local context.

Allocate 10 minutes of class time: During lessons, dedicate approximately 10 minutes to translating marketing terms and discussing their applicability in the local market.

Main Roles: Students will act as Translators (proposing relevant terms), while the professor acts as the Reviewer (validating the quality of the adaptation).

Immediate Rewards: For every 300 terms translated or reviewed to your language, we unlock a new module or a free round of simulation for the entire class.

Financial Impact: For a group of 50 students, the value of this program could reach up to €2,250.00. This is a massive opportunity to provide value to your institution at no financial cost with just a bit of time and goodwill.

Why is it worth getting involved?

✔️ You get Free Access to a world-leading simulation platform used in tens of countries.

✔️ You generate Real Discussions about local business terminology (e.g., what do "bounce rate" or "conversion" mean in your specific market?).

✔️ You provide Practical Involvement for students, who get to see how an international platform is built.

✔️ You can get Official Recognition: Professors who complete the translation of both the platform and the teaching and student guidebooks will be officially mentioned on the Simbound website.

Method 2: Participate in Periodic Competitions

If you enjoy a good challenge and you would want to prove your skills against experts from around the world, why not participate in the Simbound Digital Marketing Competition or its French counterpart: The Simbound Masters

What can you win? Besides free access for the duration of the competition, you stand to win small prizes such as vouchers or free software licenses for your school and most importantly you gain international recognition through Marketing Squads.
Who is it for? Anyone who wants to put their skills to work in a simulated environment, whether these are students or seasoned specialists.

Method 3: Individual Subscription Plans (For Self-Learners)

Even if you’re not currently enrolled in an academic program, you can still unlock the full potential of the Simbound platform through self-paced learning and hands-on practice.

Available Subscription Plans

FREE: 25 credits and access to the Website simulation.

STUDY: 100 credits (+10 upon renewal), simulations for Website, Search Ads, and Community.

CUSTOM: Minimum 200 credits, access to all 6 modules (Email, Social Media, Affiliate, etc.).

All results obtained can be shared on your LinkedIn profile or added to your CV, giving you a competitive edge in the job market.

Closing Remarks

It's time to to bring the future of digital marketing into your classroom. Whether you enroll for the Global Voices program, you sign up for one of the competitions, or choose to go with your own individual account, our mission is to help you become an expert in digital marketing.

Are you Ready to transform learning at your school?

Get started now by requesting your translator account credentials 👉Request demo

To expedite your application, please include the message "Global Voices" in your request, along with the language you wish to provide translations for.

FAQ

Q: How long does it take to translate 300 terms?

A: (Example) If you have a class of 30 students and each translates 10 terms (which takes under 10 minutes thanks to AI assistance), you have already unlocked a free round! It is an extremely fast process when working as a team.

Q: Which languages are eligible?

A: We are looking for native speakers for our global expansion. Currently, English, French, Romanian, and Spanish are already covered, so we are seeking enthusiasts for other languages like German, Italian, Polish, Hungarian, Turkish, Arabic etc.

Q: Can I use the translation experience on my CV?

A: Absolutely! The most active translator in the program receives a gift voucher and performance recognition, but all participants can mention their involvement in a localization project for an international EdTech platform.

Upgrade Learning Within Your Classroom

Access modern educational simulation software, at no cost.

Join Global Voices

Simplify Simulation Grading: A Tool for Global Educators

noreply@simbound.com (Louis Havriliuc) — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Simplify Simulation Grading: A Tool for Global Educators

Grading students across India's CGPA, Turkey's letter grades, or Serbia's numerical scales? Discover how Simbound's new AI grading tool adapts to any education system worldwide—and saves teachers hours in the process.

Finally: A Grading Tool That Speaks Your Language (Whatever that Language May Be)

Did you know there are thousands of grading systems being used in education around the world?

In India, universities commonly use a 10-point CGPA system with letter grades. Oman's higher education institutions typically employ a 4.0 GPA scale with percentage conversions. Turkish universities often work with a 4.0 system but display results as letter grades from AA to FF. Meanwhile, Serbian institutions frequently use a 6-10 numerical scale where 6 is passing and 10 represents excellence.

Confused yet? We were too.

Why Simulation-Based Assessment Is a Solid Option

Using simulation to assess student knowledge represents one of the safest and most pedagogically sound assessment methods available today. This becomes even more powerful when the system is purpose-built for experimentation, adheres to the latest WCAG web accessibility standards, and incorporates cutting-edge security and data protection protocols.

With just a few clicks, Simbound instructors can now access comprehensive, real-time reports on student engagement: reading completion rates, learning activity progress, decision-making quality indicators, and reflective responses—all collected within a rich, authentic environment that's remarkably difficult to replicate or manipulate.

Our custom-built digital marketing AI provides specific, contextualized recommendations to enhance learning, with near-instantaneous analysis of decisions and performance metrics. This means barriers related to technical proficiency or critical thinking ability continue to diminish. And for those concerned about AI's role in learning? Instructors can review detailed reports on students' propensity and frequency of AI tool usage within the simulation environment, allowing you to isolate and evaluate AI's effects on learning outcomes.

How the Grader Actually Works (It's Easier Than It Sounds)

Start with your scale. Define your maximum grade (say, 70 on a 100-point scale) and your minimum grade (perhaps 35). Want to set a pass threshold at 40 or a high honors cutoff at 50? Go ahead—these are optional refinements you can add anytime during the process.

Choose your criteria. Select what matters for your course from the simulation data reports: number of assets created, financial results, strategic decisions, or any combination of digital marketing performance indicators. You can include anywhere from one to five different criteria, each weighted according to your pedagogical priorities. The only rule? Your weights must be whole numbers and sum up to 100%.

Here's the real advantage of using the grading system: you set the boundaries, and it does the mathematical heavy lifting.

Let the system scale everything proportionally. For each criterion, you can quickly explore values from your class data. The grader then automatically scales each student's performance within your defined grade range, applies your chosen weights, and calculates final grades.

The system will generate summary statistics showing how many students failed, passed, or achieved high honors—perfect for those end-of-semester reports to program directors.

The iterative advantage: Change your mind about the weighting? Adjust it. Want to see how different thresholds affect the grade distribution? Run it again. The flexibility lets you refine your approach as you learn what works best for your students and for those periodic external audit requirements.

Time-Saving Advantage

This is one of the main reasons we chose to add this new feature as we estimate instructors will save 2-3 hours per grading cycle compared to previous manual methods. The interface processes results data quickly, and an optional AI feature summarizes grading outcomes for presentations to department chairs, program directors, and other decision-makers.

For the first time, you can also share interim grades with students during the course—not just at the end—helping identify learning gaps early and maintaining motivation when it matters most.

Navigating the Caveats (Because For Academics Honesty Matters)

Simulation-based grading through educational technology offers tremendous benefits, but let's address some of the legitimate concerns:

Identity verification in distance learning? Consider integrating a proctoring solution if this is a concern for high-stakes assessments.

Worried about students getting lucky with low decision counts? Require written justifications for their strategic choices. This adds a layer of intentionality that pure numerical results can't capture.

Concerned that simulation favors analytical thinkers? Simbound is designed for multiple learner types, but you can balance this further by incorporating creative assignments—a marketing campaign proposal, perhaps, or a strategic brand analysis.

Uncertain about relying entirely on simulation for course grades? You're not alone. Many instructors allocate 40-50% of the grade to simulation performance and supplement it with presentations, case studies, or traditional assessments or exams.

Students unclear on grading criteria? Keep it simple: three to five clear, well-communicated criteria work better than complex rubrics that obscure what actually matters.

Signing out

Whether you're assigning grades for the first time or you're a seasoned simulation instructor racing against grading deadlines, this tool adapts to your context, not the other way around. Because education is global, but your students and institutional requirements are refreshingly local.

Ready to grade smarter, not harder? The Simbound grader tool is live.

It's time to experience grading that adapts to your system and saves you hours every semester. Start by exploring the grader tool with your free instructor credentials and see how it transforms assessment.

Ready to Transform Your Classroom?

Change the way your learners interact with information. Offer them a memorable experience and take control of performance with intelligent monitoring tools.

Request a Free Demo

User Satisfaction and 2025 Wrap-up

noreply@simbound.com (Louis Havriliuc) — Fri, 12 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT

User Satisfaction and 2025 Wrap-up

As we wrap up 2025, we reviewed how Simbound performed across classrooms, competitions, and product innovation. Our latest user survey, combined with major AI enhancements and expanding range of competitions provides valuable insight into what worked well and what comes next.

November 2025 User Satisfaction Survey  

Throughout November 25, we collected feedback from our academic users attending courses in more than 8 countries. The results show that a high proportion of students and teachers are already very happy with our products and would recommend them to others without hesitation. But we want to go a step further and increase satisfaction even more, as we will explain in this article.

The simulation was rated as being highly effective (highest score) by over 60% of respondents and effective by 27.2% when asked whether it helped them understand real-world digital marketing concepts better.

More than 90% of students reported that the Simbound simulation increased their confidence in applying digital marketing strategies.

Additionally, more than 50% of respondents found the simulation to be highly engaging and interactive (highest score) with another 33% claiming that it is engaging and interactive enough making for a total of 83% of users who have been actively involved in the learning process that our learning solution proposes.

Finally, a ratio of 8 out of 10 students who answered the survey said they would recommend this learning experience to other students.

This survey was administered randomly, with participation entirely voluntary and neither encouraged nor incentivized. It was completed by 33 students in November 2025 from various academic backgrounds residing in multiple countries. The survey also surfaced a few areas for improvement, such as working on improving existing simulation content or adding new instructional content to the simulation

Professors have done a great job in suggesting new ways on how we can improve the simulation content and associated learning materials whilst our team has been happy to execute on new ideas and deliver sound technology that turns learning into a fun and memorable experience.

AI Innovation

As we shape the future of educational technology for digital marketers, we’re grateful to have the support of leading academic partners across Europe and beyond. Their guidance helps us continue delivering the premium support experience they’ve come to expect. Our AI Chatbot called Sim Bot has helped both learners and instructors with answers to more than 20.000 questions and provides analyses of simulation results, making it one of the leading AI tools for digital marketing simulations out there and in the last few weeks it has managed onboarding and learning of hundreds of users.

New AI Teaching Companion

We’re making strong progress in integrating AI to eliminate time-consuming tasks for instructors: a newly released AI teaching companion helps educators stay on top of their simulation courses by analyzing decisions and results in the simulation and providing personalized improvement suggestions for course participants. This makes Simbound now a fully AI ready simulation platform that has both AI capabilities built to enhance the act of teaching as well as an AI assistant destined for course participants to help with learning and support.

Online Competitions

Our uniquely designed, realistic competitions—such as the current Digital Marketing Competition and the upcoming Simbound Masters 2026 in France—are growing both in frequency and in their use of the Simbound system. Our system delivers an engaging, realistic experience for contestants, all within a fair, transparent, and easy-to-follow framework. We see increasing interest from participants across the world in our competitions, which are aimed at everyone, including those interested in learning about digital marketing in all its forms. This effort to augment the latest innovation in learning technology reflects our global outlook as the preferred choice for the learner with a global mindset — those who learn from wherever they are.

We are now market-testing a new concept: theme-based competitions with opportunities for brand sponsorship. Brand managers will use competitions as highly interactive platforms to connect with participants during the latter’s relevant and memorable experiences, where engagement unfold in a medium in which everyone is focused on doing well and performing.

Closing Remarks

Thus, we are set to continue and drive innovation and seek novel ways for learning that is efficient and fun. With new projects underway and expected growth in adoption in the coming years, we are confident that Simbound will continue to be a mainstay in the digital learning resource libraries of many schools and companies from around the world, making it truly the global solution fit for any modern educational setting.

As we conclude 2025, Simbound remains one of the most technically capable and content-diverse digital marketing simulation platforms, with some of the best reviews in the industry by its users.   

Thank you to everyone: our employees, our partners and customers and enjoy the upcoming holidays!

Did you know that now you can learn, compete and earn credentials all for FREE? Sign up to a leading digital marketing competition today.

More than 40 participants have already joined the Digital Marketing Competition, taking place until 10th of January 2026. Everyone who makes at least 50 decisions can enter the draw for one of the two main prize tracks: Overall Profit or Innovation and Sustainability in Digital Marketing. Even better you can publish your results online for the world to see and thus obtain recognition for your work.

Do not pass up on this unique opportunity to play and learn using a modern digital marketing competition platform Start by signing up today and play at your own schedule and pace.

Ready to Transform Your Classroom?

Change the way your learners interact with information. Offer them a memorable experience and take control of performance with intelligent monitoring tools.

Request a Free Demo

Become a Digital Marketing Course Management Master

noreply@simbound.com (Louis Havriliuc) — Tue, 04 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Become a Digital Marketing Course Management Master

Teaching digital marketing is an art that involves integrating practice alongside theory. Whether the latter is done through workshops, company projects or simulations more and more students today are looking for ways to experience firsthand the interplay of working on developing multiple online marketing dimensions. Simbound proposes its own teaching methodology perfected over the years and adopted by schools the world over.

1. Introduction

Simbound provides quality-focused teachers and instructors with a sophisticated and time-tested course management system that is linked to a capable generative simulation platform in which participants can learn and experiment following up on the consequences of making their own marketing decisions. Hosting an increasing number of digital marketing simulations the single platform houses various content types that meet modern accessibility standards and allows flexibility in teaching the latest in simulation campaign management across: Website Analytics, Email, SEA, Affiliate, and Social media marketing simulation — thus mirroring the conditions of today’s high-paced digital work medium. With data analysis tools encouraging refinement of both learning and teaching in real time the platform is constantly reviewed as an ideal learning companion for learners going through a multi-week course.

2. Planning the Course: Choosing the right Structure and Selecting Learning Goals

Before deploying a Simbound supported course, instructors should start by reviewing the learning outcomes and aligning these to the objectives as set out within the course. Here are some examples:

⁃ understand specific methods and performance metrics in online advertising

⁃ practice data-driven decision making

⁃ develop and implement multichannel strategies taking into account the latest in practice and industry

⁃ steer and adapt to market dynamics

Instructors can demo each digital marketing simulation module  before deciding whether to include this as part of the course.

The course planning stage is crucial and determines how the simulation rounds and content fit around lectures, workshops, and debrief sessions. Typically, instructors begin with one or two orientation (practice) rounds for familiarization, followed by progressively complex decision phases where the initial setup operations are setting the ground up for more complex data analysis and assessment.

The Simbound Calendar allows full control of course progress.

Simbound’s powerful modular design allows educators to activate or deactivate simulation content modules at any point in time, such as the email campaigns or social channels and to change how different customer segments respond to decisions and strategies carried out by the learners in their courses. This allows the perfect match to a class’s maturity and level of learning achievement. For example, early rounds can include activities on basic website setup and content creation within a SEO simulation, while later rounds integrate decisions and reporting on multiple types of paid advertising and high-stakes affiliate decisions where conditions fluctuate setting up the right learning environment for a total, cumulative skill development exercise.

While the system is built for complete personalization of the content and will allow adaption to all of the course formats on the marketplace today it will guide course setup to ensure smooth progression and will prompt instructors to review settings whenever it detects a less-than-optimal setup, in essence trying to protect against conditions for a sub-optimal learning environment.

Adding several simulations to the same round prompted the system to suggest adjusting the workload.

3. Operating the Platform: Managing the Learning Progress

Once the online marketing game opens up, instructors act as facilitators and advisors rather than lecturers. Simbound’s instructor dashboard provides a comprehensive overview of team performance—covering KPIs such as traffic growth, CTR, conversions, and profitability. This is backed by multiple analysis of decisions and results and also sending of personalized recommendations on how to improve.

Round Deadlines and Launch Dates are configured for each round of activity to maintain consistent engagement and accountability. Some instructors will prefer to schedule shorter “decision windows” e.g. on certain days of the week followed by a longer period of time set aside for analytics reviews, preparing for iteration and journaling. For instance, after a longer campaign cycle, teams/individuals compare outcomes and discuss broad optimization tactics during class and will stir up debate and draw upon real-world expertise. Simbound’s highly praised reporting array of tools ensures that both students and teachers are able to observe how strategic shifts—like changes in product preferences, keyword search trends or social network dynamics—directly influence outcomes and will encourage thinking around how to place these into a wider strategic context.

Short video featuring the initial Simbound results of students at a school in Australia.

4. Collaboration/Competition and Assessment

The Simbound proposal is of either a team-based or an individual learning mode. Whilst team simulations encourage collaboration and highlight agency environments in which students negotiate roles—media buyer, analyst, strategist—and make collective decisions. This setup works well for mid-to-large classes aiming to build communication and leadership skills.

The individual learning mode is designed to track each participant’s progress and fully personalize the learning experience. It is most often used with smaller groups or advanced learners who prefer independent control of the entire marketing mix. Instructors can alternate between modes—starting with team rounds to build confidence, then moving to individual rounds for assessment. Performance can be evaluated through both quantitative KPIs and qualitative reflection reports, which explain the participant’s digital marketing strategy, rationale, and the improvement insights automatically generated by the system.

Simbound enables co-opetition within a simulation which combines characteristics of both collaboration and competition as drivers of engagement and learning, aiding instructors in creating an enhanced and new type of environment for learning. Instructors can enable or disable result rankings to motivate learners or reduce pressure on those falling behind.

5. Connecting Simulation Content to Additional Learning Activities

Savvy simulation instructors should enhance the learning experience through discrete, connected activities like simple tasks or recommendations. They can also include incentives—such as the SEA module’s bonus advertising budget for meeting predefined goals—and test participants’ knowledge at key milestones to assess their understanding of key performance drivers.

Instructors can monitor whether participants meet predefined goals and tasks

6. Adapting and Iterating a Course

Flexibility and adaptation is key to successful simulation teaching. Instructors can always pause or restart rounds, adjust budgets or set custom traffic amounts for various markets and extend deadlines based on student feedback or observed engagement.

Simbound’s reporting tools such as the recently revised Presenter tool make it easy to identify underperforming areas—such as a lacking website or poor landing page design or weak email conversion —and use those items as live, actionable teaching items.

The Presenter tool lets instructors project course status so learners can compare performance and get tailored recommendations.

Reflection sessions can help students link simulation concepts and results back to theoretical frameworks discussed in lectures so it is recommended to disseminate results periodically.

Once the optimum course format is reached, Simbound will let you duplicate it by simply cloning it entirely for future use and/or importing just some of the course components so that you can launch a new session in minutes—saving time while keeping to a proven learning experience that can be scaled up or down as the need arises.

Cloning a course recreates the entire conditions for a new identical simulation that can be further edited and adapted

7. Final remarks

Integrating Simbound transforms a digital marketing education experience into a dynamic laboratory fit for experimentation and strategy simulation of the dynamic realm of digital marketing. The process consists of planning, monitoring, and adapting the simulation to stimulate analytical thinking and agility in learning. For more information please refer to our live demo on the website with no sign-up needed or request a free demonstration account to experience the extended capabilities of our platform.

A successful design process for a new course should focus on the needs of the learners themselves and incorporate the latest technology in order to provide the upmost value in pedagogy and career progress opportunities.

Did you know that the majority of professors will regard Marketing education as one of the most suitable topics for the use of educational simulation?

The Simbound suite of simulations has up to six different digital marketing simulation activities—all made accessible under a single entry point. Simbound allows every graduate of our simulation program to publish their very own skill passport containing results and creative portfolio online with the role to enhance career accession and progress.

Do not pass up on the opportunity to bring the latest in digital marketing education technology to your class. Start by asking for free instructor credentials today

Ready to Transform Your Classroom?

Change the way your learners interact with information. Offer them a memorable experience and take control of performance with intelligent monitoring tools.

Request a Free Demo

Measuring Digital Marketing Education: What Students Really Learn with Simbound

noreply@simbound.com (Louis Havriliuc) — Thu, 16 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Measuring Digital Marketing Education: What Students Really Learn with Simbound

For academic directors and course managers who are seeking to improve study program relevance, engagement, and learning outcomes, here are the survey results of the students using Simbound have reported on learning —ranked by frequency of mentions.

The article was created with the use of AI to help summarize 24 student responses to an open ended question about what a student has learned with the help of the Simbound simulation made available of a formal education program and also to source and list alternatives to simulations.

Simbound provides an immersive learning experience that brings digital marketing theory to life. After reviewing feedback from students who engaged with Simbound recently, here are the key concepts they reported learning—ranked by frequency— why each one matters in the professional world of digital marketing and a few of the alternatives to simulations. Students who answered the survey come from multiple countries, speak different languages, and study at different levels of education.

1. Website Design & User Experience (UX)

Mentioned by almost all of the students

Why it matters: Good web design isn’t just aesthetic—it directly impacts usability, credibility, and conversion rates. Professionals understand how layout, color, fonts, and navigation affect user behavior.

“I can instantly experiment with changes—altering text, colors, fonts, and layout—without affecting the live site. This is an incredibly powerful tool for debugging and learning how other developers have built their sites.”

“It is essential to have a usable and accessible website, ensuring strong, consistent designs across multiple devices... The website must have a cohesive design and layout to be visually appealing to customers.”

“This round moved me from a passive consumer to an active creator... altering text, colors, and layout helped me understand why a page behaves the way it does.”

Alternatives:

Online tutorials (e.g., Codecademy, Coursera)
Static assignments using wireframe tools or sandbox environments Time/resources: ~6–10 hours per topic, limited feedback loops Simulation advantage: Immediate setup and experimentation with website building technology and instant feedback on user behavior

2. Pricing Strategy

Mentioned by the vast majority of students

Why it matters: Digital marketers need to understand how pricing influences perception, sales, and profitability. Even minor price changes can shift customer acquisition cost and brand positioning.

“Some products were priced too cheaply... I achieved sales, but profit margins were not maximised.”

Alternatives:

Spreadsheet-based case studies or basic pricing simulation software
Market research reports Time/resources: ~4–6 hours for theoretical frameworks Simulation advantage: See live impact of pricing on KPIs like clicks, conversions, and profits

3. Product Selection & Positioning

Mentioned by more than half of the students who responded to the survey

Why it matters: Choosing the right products and how to present them is core to digital strategy. Aligning product features with audience needs can make or break a campaign.

“Choosing one brand product over another opened my eyes to the impacts market competition and brand recognition have on visibility and costs.”

Alternatives:

Competitive analysis assignments
Consumer behavior case studies Time/resources: ~5–8 hours Simulation advantage: Test real-time demand scenarios and brand trade-offs in a controlled portfolio setting

4. Contact Forms & Lead Generation

Mentioned by less than half of the students

Why it matters: Lead generation is critical for customer acquisition. Knowing how to collect and manage user information through website forms underpins email, sales, and remarketing strategies.

“Implementing a contact form on each page helped me understand who is coming to my website.”

Alternatives:

CRM platform walkthroughs (e.g., HubSpot Academy) Time/resources: ~2–4 hours Simulation advantage: Students place forms and see immediate lead impact, reinforcing best practices while informing content personalization

5. Search Engine Advertising (SEA)

Mentioned by slightly less than half of the students who responded

Why it matters: Search Engine Advertising is a central channel in digital marketing. Understanding keyword targeting, bidding, quality scores, and ad copywriting is vital for campaign success.

“I’ve learned to be very careful with wording to fulfill search engine advertising requirements.I have also learnt that SEA is quite complex and that I need to read more about it to use it advantageously”

Alternatives:

Google Skillshop certifications
Textbook readings Time/resources: ~8–12 hours + exams Simulation advantage: Students experiment, fail fast, and learn through action with simulated budgets

6. Campaign Optimization & Strategy

Mentioned by about half of the students who responded

Why it matters: Marketers must constantly optimize—balancing short-term ROI with long-term brand goals. Learning to prioritize and iterate under time constraints prepares students for real-world digital roles.

“The biggest challenge was prioritizing tasks with time constraints, balancing optimization and long-term results.”

Alternatives:

Project-based assessments
Weekly analytics reporting tasks Time/resources: Continuous over a semester Simulation advantage: Pressure-tested decision-making across multiple channels and campaign elements hones dealing with complexity and many moving parts

7. Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)

Mentioned by a few students

Why it matters: Driving traffic is not enough—marketers must convert visitors into customers. Understanding what nudges a user to act (e.g., CTAs, images, layout) is core to success.

“Font, word choice, and color contrast all influenced engagement and conversion.”

Alternatives:

A/B testing labs
Heuristic evaluation assignments Time/resources: 6–8 hours Simulation advantage: Students see cause-effect in real-time and can iterate quickly while they experiment in a risk-free environment

8. Affiliate Marketing

Mentioned by a few students

Why it matters: Affiliate marketing is cost-effective and scalable, yet complex. It involves partner selection, commission strategy, and alignment with brand values—skills digital marketers must grasp.

“I’ve gained a clearer understanding of how to plan and execute affiliate campaigns.”

Alternatives:

Affiliate network demos
Case study analysis Time/resources: 4–6 hours Simulation advantage: Hands-on testing with measurable ROI and real brand impact without complex setup and tracking

9. Email Marketing & A/B Testing

Mentioned by a few students

Why it matters: Email remains one of the highest-ROI digital channels. Knowing how to segment lists, write compelling copy, and test versions is essential for engagement and sales.

“I learned how to create effective subject lines and set up an A/B test to compare performance.”

Alternatives:

Platforms like Mailchimp for student testing Time/resources: ~5 hours setup + testing Simulation advantage: Integrated with campaign performance to see direct impact of email strategies on all other campaigns and marketing assets

10. Analytics & Data-Driven Decision-Making

Mentioned by a few students

Why it matters: Digital marketers must use data to justify spend and optimize results. Understanding how to read performance metrics and adjust accordingly is a top industry requirement.

“I understood how different parts of digital marketing—ads, website, emails—work together to bring better results.”

“Changing ads and budgets showed me how small decisions can impact sales and profits.”

“Testing different ideas helps improve performance. Marketing choices connect to sales and profits.”

Alternatives:

Google Analytics Academy
Weekly reporting templates Time/resources: 8+ hours to become proficient Simulation advantage: Holistic view of all marketing levers and their outcomes in an integrated environment with no switching in between different dashboards and software

The educational simulation software to use when you want to upgrade your digital marketing course assignments and experience

If you’re new to the Simbound platform, here’s what you should know: it’s one of the most complete and user-friendly digital marketing simulators available and has been reviewed multiple times by external education experts. It allows teaching basic theoretical concepts all the way to high-level strategic responses.

Simbound offers a collection of practical learning exercises that students are likely to remember, and this has been proven to boost course evaluations and will raise chances for graduates to successfully complete the program. Instructors who integrate marketing exercises and simulations often report positive student feedback, higher levels of engagement, and better overall satisfaction with the course.

With Simbound you can set the simulations up to have up to six different digital marketing activities—all accessible from a single entry point. This means decisions and reports are blended in smoothly, just like with professional marketing tools. The platform has been fine-tuned over hundreds of versions to give instructors full control over course setup—whether it’s adjusting frequency in interaction, course length, difficulty, adding content, or managing assessments. All these features work together to create a uniquely flexible environment for learning available at a friendly price point and backed up by stellar course operations support.

Simbound students are the end users of the platform which is supported by an experienced international team of course operations professionals providing support from locations in 6 key timezones around the world.

It's time to set up one of the most powerful simulated digital marketplaces for the benefit of your students. Start by sharing more details around your course and ask for your free instructor credentials.

Ready to Transform Your Classroom?

Change the way your learners interact with information. Offer them a memorable experience and take control of performance with intelligent monitoring tools.

Request a Free Demo

Revamped Website Simulation to Launch Mid-August 25

noreply@simbound.com (Louis Havriliuc) — Wed, 06 Aug 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Revamped Website Simulation to Launch Mid-August 25

This autumn will see a host of courses use the most modern website analytics simulation experience designed by Simbound

Launch Date: 18 August 2025

Build and monitor realistic looking websites within a simulation-driven course

Now students are able to master website management skills using a modern simulation platform, delivered in the same user-friendly and clear content format you’ve come to expect from Simbound.

Websites have evolved along the years to move beyond a central hub for digital marketing efforts helping serve customers at a multitude of touch-points of their experiences whether this is discovery, usage or post-sale. We are now introducing an updated version of the existing website simulation to address a more sophisticated set of requirements amongst our clients.

Meet the All-new Simbound Website Simulation

Simbound is the initial digital marketing simulation platform built for Education. To date we supported well over 40.000 thousands of students in their transition from education to employment. Our initial website simulation has undergone a major overhaul based on recent user feedback. This latest simulation release covers most of what a modern Content Management System is able to do (and more!).

Website Management Functionality - Main Features

1. No coding knowledge required for content creation and management

2. Intuitive and user-friendly dashboard/interface

3. Easy content creation, editing, and formatting (text, links, images, videos, website blocks)

4. Support for embedded multimedia content (video, audio)

5. Drag-and-drop page builders for layout design

6. Digital asset management (storage, organization of media or page sections for reuse)

7. Collaborative workflows with user-based permissions (students cannot edit pages whilst others are working on them)

8. Tracking of changes and measurement of impact on results

9. Content versioning and revision control (tracking content changes, undoing and redoing changes)

10. Pre-designed and customizable templates and themes (fit for various purposes: e.g. product landing pages, comparison pages, cart page, thank-you page)

11. Image editing tools within the CMS (features to change appearance and content)

12. Sourcing of media (API integration with Image library)

13. Content hierarchy and taxonomy management (The Home page is the parent of all subsequent pages, a category page will include individual focus pages, items will have tags)

14. Responsive features for mobile and desktop viewing  

SEO

15. SEO tools (meta tags, SEO-friendly URLs, image alt text)

16. Slow loading pages - (history of performance, avg. reading time per page)

17. Content staging and preview features (previewing of content and interactions such as visits and response analytics)

18. SEO optimization recommendations and audits (Performance check-ups will scan each page and provide recommendations for quick fixes)  

19. On-Site and Off-site Links Monitoring Tool

20. Broken Links Checker

Integration with other Simulations

21. Integration with third-party tools (here simulations such as Email, Analytics, Affiliate Marketing)

22. Integration with Social media simulation

23. Integration with SEO and GEO dashboard

24. Multi-channel publishing is permitted (on websites, social media, communities)

25. AI-powered content creation and optimization tools (reacts to user input within context and creative asset type)   

Workflow management 

26. Automated workflows and task automation (when setting up new pages, links are automatically added and replaced, customer reviews are integrated and updated as soon as they become available)

27. Easy import/export of content and migration capabilities (exporting option to save and store entire webpages, has limited use for now)

28. Cross-browser compatibility (by default tested for multiple modern browsers)

29. Built-in support and help/documentation systems (Coming soon: new video tutorials, an interactive guided on-screen tutorial, integration with our AI support chatbot doubled by human support)  

Analytics and Behavioral Data

30. Analytics and reporting on content performance (previously at website level, now with more options diving into the performance of each page)

31. Real-time personalization and customer data activation (available through A/B testing)

32. Support for forms and call-to-action plugins (form personalization options and community or affiliate conversion tracking plugins)

33. Accessibility compliance (encourages WCAG compliance )

34. Browsing and checkout visualizations (path-to-purchase, checkout enablement and behavioral statistics)

35. Clickmaps (will indicate hotspots of user activity on the websites main pages informing changes in Design or UX)

 What the Website simulation from Simbound does not provide:

1. Controls including scheduling and drafting of content – There is need for this since this is a simulation and students will be looking to obtain results as soon as possible after working on their website.

2. XML sitemaps - this was left out as there is just one single search engine in the simulation where indexation is done automatically for every new page that is created and published

3. Schema markup and structured data support (this could be added in the future, although all pages are automatically labeled such as a product page, cart page etc.)

4. Search and retrieval functionality with indexing of new onsite content (the websites tend to be small with an average of 5 to 10 pages, hence there is no need for onsite search)

5. Format management (converting documents to web formats like HTML, PDF is not needed since all the visual content assets required to run the simulation are sitting within the simulation)

6. Multi-language/multilingual content support (whilst the simulation is available in multiple languages, the website itself in the game is destined to reach an English-speaking audience. Hence there is also no support for multilingual SEO in the game).

7. There is no support for plugins or app marketplaces to extend the website functionality, however as we continue to add new content blocks and new functionality the simulation is well positioned to progress further.

8. Cloud-based hosting or on-premises installation options - every team in the simulation is defaulted to the same hosting provider and the simulation does not utilize such a component in calculating results

9. Mobile-first content editing (whilst content can be viewed on mobile, we allow only basic edits to be made, simply for technical and other potential constraints on the users’ attention)

10. Commenting and discussion features for content feedback (often used in teams collaborating over content, this is done using various other tools or simply by face-to-face collaboration)

A solution fit to address your particular course requirements

Did you find that it was difficult to explain a certain concept to your students during your most recent class or bootcamp? Would you like to explore new topics in your upcoming course on website marketing and publishing? Let us know, and we may be able to build this new feature for you just in time using the Simbound simulation-as-a-platform.

The simulation website management solution from Simbound covers an increasing amount of important topics that will unlock a unique, memorable and efficient learning experience for those looking to understand how websites can drive digital marketing strategy.

To date, more than 50,000 website pages have been set up by past Simbound students. Our platform is well positioned to remain at the forefront of experiential education for the various courses your school provides, regardless of their format, duration, or type.

Fill out a form on our website detailing your current request and specific needs upon reaching out. Please note that Terms and restrictions apply.

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Customer success: Online competition platform powered by Simbound

noreply@simbound.com (Louis Havriliuc) — Wed, 28 May 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Customer success: Online competition platform powered by Simbound

How we supported a +180 student campus-wide online business competition. See the project stages and its results.

Customer: SKEMA Business School (France)

Title of Project: The E-BIZ COM Game

Project Start Date: January 2025 / Completion date: 26 May 2025

Services Provided: 1.Course Configuration and Consultancy, 2. Simbound Academic Simulation Software License, 3. Custom Simulation System Set-up and Development, 4. Platform Branding,5. Ongoing Assistance and Support,6. Post-course analysis and ranking methodology

Skema is an internationally acclaimed higher education institution with campuses across Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Africa and is currently the highest riser in the latest European table of the European Business Schools Rankings 2024 compiled by the Financial Times newspaper.

Skema was on the search for a powerful online simulation platform to help host a campus-wide online digital marketing competition for students playing from multiple locations.

The envisioned usage case has very early opened up the space for a host of unique access-related and service requirements which needed to be delivered to the benefit of more than 180 students studying for different specializations: Digital Marketing & Data & E-Commerce across its Grand Paris campus in France.

Pre-requisites

Our approach was to map out the specific requirements of this exciting project together with the client’s representative and then seek to provide our best-in-class suite of simulation software and academic consultancy services to ensure a fast and carefree implementation that simply works at scale.

The client asked that participation was to take place in teams grouping 3 students with every team being then free to advance through the entire range of Simulations provided by Simbound at the members’ own pace. The availability and specific sequence of the content to be released at every stage was decided upon consultation with our dedicated academic software market consultant and Simbound commercial representative in France, Mr. Tristan Seulliet.

Although the client did not explicitly request a French-language version of the simulation, we proactively updated all the latest system terms to offer a multilingual experience. However, the advertising content creation requirement within the simulation remained in English.

After completion of the meetings this led to drawing up of the project map.

Phase 1: Initial Setup

We began by activating the feature that enables bulk uploading of users into the system, automatically assigning them to predefined teams. We determined that students should not spend time setting up their accounts or selecting teams. This approach guarantees a quick and seamless entry to the simulation and supplementary content, allowing them to promptly focus on developing strategies and making decisions within the game.

Given the limited time and the relatively large number of students, we decided to prioritize using the available time for reading the software guidebooks, initial team collaboration, and decision-making, rather than focusing on technical setup.

We then determined which elements of the standard Simbound interface would be branded with this year’s competition logo and the Skema business school logo to enhance student initial adoption as well as stimulate engagement and participation, while giving the platform a unique identity distinct from the typical Simbound course.

Phase 2: Diving into Specifics

Working past the initial setup, we defined a simulation start date and a finish date coinciding with that of the competition itself, time after which no new set of results could be issued anymore by the system.

Another unique aspect of this custom setup was the absence of intermediary deadlines typical in regular courses. Student teams could run any and all simulation rounds whenever they chose, with a buffer period established shortly after initial access was granted. As a result, the first round of results could only be generated several days after students signed up and accessed the simulation for the first time.

The project required specific adjustments to how results were presented both to students within their teams and to the instructor responsible for overseeing the overall simulation progress across the event. Everything was set up and ready at the end of this second phase of the project.

Phase 3: Competition Unfolding

This phase of the project proved to be the most challenging, as the surge of highly motivated students eager to win relentlessly pushed the system’s limits during the competition’s later stages. Unlike the steady rhythm of a traditional week-by-week course, the competition sometimes in bursts of intense activity, often demanding swift and agile support responses. With the outcome hanging in the balance, every simulation output—whether displayed in the interface or embedded in downloadable reports—had to be flawlessly precise. Achieving this required dynamic coordination over multiple systems, backed by expert support available both on-site and remotely, ready to adapt at a moment’s notice.

Due to student activity occurring beyond standard operational hours, the support infrastructure was operating at maximum capacity, partially mitigated by the deployment of an AI-driven chatbot assistant. All reported incidents were successfully addressed, resulting in the development and integration of additional software modules and the refinement of incident response protocols.

Outcome

The E-Biz Com competition brought forward a set of interesting demands which we had to work through in order to deliver an innovative solution fit for modern standards which was to be used at scale. The outcome was a success and the feedback received encourages us to continue and advance novel ways of providing quality-driven education providers with the some of the most advanced educational technology and services.

Let us create your next online business competition

Simbound is the original digital marketing simulation platform built for Education. Do you also envision a similar challenging and rewarding learning activity for your students in the form of an online competition ? Let our team guide you through every step of the way until you reach a successful outcome.

We have several years of experience in hosting digital marketing-themed online competitions and challenges at scale across multiple countries. Our consultants are ready to provide guidance and solutions for every stage of the project: from the initial setup down to the awards ceremony.

Fill out a form on our website detailing your current request and specific needs upon reaching out. Please note that Terms and restrictions apply.

References:

www.skema.edu

https://www.ft.com/euro-schools-method

https://barrisol.com/uk/exceptional-projects/skema-business-school

Looking to Host your own Competition?

Get Started Today

Request a Free Demo

The fastest and simplest way to recruit digital marketers based on their proven skills

noreply@simbound.com (Louis Havriliuc) — Wed, 09 Apr 2025 00:00:00 GMT

The fastest and simplest way to recruit digital marketers based on their proven skills

Hiring a digital marketing professional can be a challenging process. Latest research and development in the use of simulations is now enabling a data-backed and streamlined process.

How simulation helps recruiters

Provides an at-a-glance view of a candidate's full range of skills demonstrated in a realistic and data-rich environment in areas such as SEA, Social Media Marketing, Email Marketing, Copywriting, Strategy and Planning
Ensures a fair, unbiased approach to hiring - by having the same evaluation regardless of location, timezone, cultural or language barriers
Enables the creation of highly detailed and realistic job simulations that reveal a candidate's understanding and affinity for a company or cause. This allows testing collaboration, decision-making style and understanding of nuances in multiple contexts.

How simulation helps candidates

Provides a predictable and trusted system to carry out job interviews and role assessment - this removes bias in interviewers entirely by using user generated data to inform candidate selection.
Improves initial perception towards potential employer - by presenting a modern, high-performance recruiting tool which works time after time.
Allows for vast initial information uptake on company and its operations - they say you can learn more about a person in one hour of play than in one year of work. The same goes for a company, as candidates can acquire more knowledge on a company's operations and are more likely to ask questions and propose initiatives in a game-like environment.

The majority of businesses are prioritizing one to a few customer acquisition channels, as these channels typically generate the majority of their lead generation results. (a good list of various digital marketing acquisition channels can be found here: https://growthmethod.com/acquisition-channels/

As an example, Simbound is now focused on: Publicity/PR, SEO, Content Marketing, and Business Development with forays into ads, email and other platforms/environments.

So, what happens when a business wants to take on new customer acquisition channels?

These are basically the only few options available:

1. Marketing starts exploring on its own signing up for various services or platforms, but that's not always the best move. It's easy to invest too much time and money at the beginning and then find out that it's not worth it. 

2. Management is looking to hire the people with the proven skills to continue building the brand. These could be from an agency, a freelancer, or a new hire. The hiring process here is often not smooth: The new hire might have been chosen as a result of an subjective assessment, or an agency was contracted because they had the best pitch.

In the case of new hires there can be cases where management is unable to evaluate the candidate's abilities in an objective manner using their past results which then leads to a lack of trust in the new hire’s ability to handle essential marketing processes. This often comes with restricting access to critical customer data stored in the CRM, CMS, and to other company assets or ongoing projects. The new hire could have utilized this data to better understand the business operations, potentially leading up to better alignment and avoiding issues with communication and appraisal.

The perfect digital marketing hiring platform does not exis..

The good news is that there is a solution to almost all of these problems! A platform such as the Simbound solution, which has been perfected through years of research and development and has received an overwhelming amount of positive feedback, can help business stakeholders get a clear picture of their candidates' abilities in the easiest possible way.

A candidate's profile explained:

The candidate's information, including their country, school, and the date they finished the simulation, is shown here.
When completing tasks in any one of the six different simulations of Simbound a tag will be displayed next to their profile image. Clicking on this one will open up their results for that simulation along with other details.
The number of decisions, the amount of profit, and the candidate's ranking in their course are displayed, enabling recruiters to swiftly assess a candidate's performance at a glance.

The profile shows the results of each digital marketing campaign performed by the candidate within the simulation. Using these results the candidate will demonstrate their progress and commitment to responding to various situations in the simulation environment.

In the below example taken from the Website Building Simulation results one can observe how the candidate's strategy shifts during the second round towards obtaining more Organic traffic for their in-simulation website. The multitude of data published by the simulation gives birth to ample opportunities for discussion and assessment of up to date trends and topics.

The Social Media Marketing simulation section provides both numerical results data and a portfolio of creative assets. This allows for a quick assessment of the candidate's complete skills and abilities profile and potential fit for the role.

(follow this link to a demo profile to explore more: https://marketingsquads.com/demo-profile/)

With Simbound's expansion into recruiting through the Marketing Squads platform, we are introducing an innovative platform that can help companies of all types. It provides a no-risk environment where stakeholders set out to build an environment that provides a testing ground for different strategies and operations performed by marketers from all kinds of backgrounds. We want to help you assess how well and how quickly a candidate can adapt to the demands of a new role. This is an amazing and revolutionary way to do recruiting!

Get in touch now to find out more

Best of all? The Marketing Squads service is free for both companies and candidates for a limited time only. Please note that utilizing the Simbound simulation bears separate costs.

Curious to learn more about how you could take your recruiting to the next level? Tell us more about your company and how it is currently handling Digital marketing recruiting or outsourcing and we will recommend you some of the best candidates available on our platform today. With some 100 candidates as of April 2025 (and that number continuing to grow) we are certain we can find you with the best match for your own business.

Please note that Terms and restrictions apply, you will need to fill out a form detailing your business operations and recruiting needs upon reaching out.

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How AI is used with the Simbound marketing simulation?

noreply@simbound.com (Louis Havriliuc) — Thu, 06 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMT

How AI is used with the Simbound marketing simulation?

We outline some of the existing best practices, outline possible new research and development avenues and criticism related to Simbound and its incorporation of GenAI.

Introduction

The incorporation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into simulations, which is a distinctive feature to the simulation approach, allows course instructors to choose the specific extent to which various generative AI and tools are part of the core learning experience. When deployed in conjunction with monitoring tools this can help identify and track the various decision-making styles of course participants and help reduce time consuming tasks such as sifting through results.

We should begin by saying that the majority of decisions in the Simbound simulation will not be aided or influenced by the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) by default and it is up to each instructor to decide the extent to which AI will be used to carry out each of the simulation's learning activities.

By default, learners in Simbound can receive basic guidance from AI. This is optional, and students can choose whether to follow the advice they are presented with or not. The guidance often comes in the form of a short, relevant written recommendation. The system will also periodically check if the user inputs data and compares this to basic quality guidelines. Under one specific context, the results of the simulation will reflect unfavorably on repeated or overreliance on AI and other highly automated methods.

Additionally, the extent to which AI is accessed and used by each of the students whilst they are using Simbound is measured and as of February 2025 we are working together with a host of international academic partners to integrate the means for various longitudinal research on this topic to take place. One such goal for research is to determine whether learners who rely on AI will stand to become better/more successful marketing managers over time.

How learning is achieved by using AI with simulations

The effectiveness of the simulation-based approach is enhanced by one of its key features, which is that it facilitates the practice of a variety of skills, including those that are domain-transversal, i.e., skills that are applicable across all major sectors, such as services, manufacturing, and public policy. The use of simulations in nearly every major industrial and service domain helps to confirm what many of the academic research papers have uncovered along recent years when it comes to the positive impact of simulations on various outcomes related to learning and upskilling.

The modularity provided by AI learning companions provides, at a basic level, learners with quick analysis, advice or recommendations using a narrative approach, which is useful for individuals, especially catering to those with a diverse preference for learning methods. The nature and frequency of this generated feedback can and should be adjusted by instructors with each new course they teach. Instructors are aware that the use of AI powered services is an accurate representation of today's workplace, where multiple professionals, supported by various systems must work together to achieve tangible results. AI can help by suggesting new methods and new concepts to learn, and by highlighting concepts that students have not been able to demonstrate a good understanding of.

The Simbound simulation provides note-taking applications and learning tools to help students progress in their courses. These include quizzes and journals. These tools help students document their learning and share their knowledge. The end product of using these tools, typically short written reports, can then be fed into AI-designed tools that ultimately help students improve their skills and better achieve their learning goals with tailored recommendations and new sources of information, accelerating previous learning and research processes.

Criticism

Despite the several advantages associated with the implementation of AI in educational settings where simulations are used it is important to note that using a well-built simulation even in the absence of AI remains a viable pedagogical approach. Our current educational simulation framework at Simbound does not currently rely on AI as a central system component.

With the planning of each individual course, it is crucial to reflect upon the potential drawbacks associated with an over-reliance on AI. This has the potential to hinder learners’ progress towards autonomy and erode their capacity for independent decision-making, making way for a mindset akin to that of executive agents working on a very specific set of issues, rather than curious and enthusiastic learners and researchers with a broader view of the world. Just as importantly, AI can be perceived by some users as opaque, repetitive, and deterministic, making it difficult for learners to grasp the nuances required for sophisticated reasoning, and also making it difficult to practice working on complex tasks, some of which may not take place in the digital realm.

A more recent concern in the online advertising and social network industries is the resemblance of communications and visual assets which takes place along with the dissemination of uniform messages that can have minor variations across industries and brands. If not well designed, AI generated marketing materials may be perceived as a careless manipulation of the message and the messaging environment, going against what is best practice in online communications in general and leading to perceptions of amateurism or even repulse towards the initiators of messaging. This warrants extra consideration towards the implications associated with the exclusion or limitation of human-generated content from brand communications.

It would be wise to raise the potential issue of "content crowding," during the course. This occurs when content is either ignored or pushed to the bottom of discovery feeds due to a lack of engagement. The role of AI in causing content crowding is as of now emergent and not fully understood.

Given the current state of AI's prevalence, instructors may encounter challenges in grading students solely based on written content. One viable solution remains that to use simulations, which can provide insight into each student's current level of ability.

Best Practice

When setting up the course, it's essential to ensure that data sets are "clean" and well organized. This ensures that they can be interpreted by AI and treated without error or bias. Another challenge appears when students are setting out to manage too many products or customer segments through personalized marketing messages which can then become difficult to maintain for individuals or teams with a lack of time or skill in managing complexity. There is a real risk of harming the brand this way. For example, marketing departments can make promises using AI which the business cannot easily deliver. This could lead to perceptions of false or deceptive advertising.

As with any project undertaken for learning purposes that relies on technology, it is essential for students to understand that effective planning and acquiring precise information are pivotal to achieving success. Another key skill that can be practiced when using Simbound together with the in-built AI tools is the ability to make use of the latest educational technology and a host of various resources in a most effective manner in order to achieve specific goals, whether these goals are learning-related or more "transactional" in nature (e.g., obtaining certain financial results in the simulation). Wondering about how certain things work ‘behind the scenes’ can stir up curiosity and excitement.

Since simulations allow for the practice of a critical skill related to prioritization and managing complexity by providing tasks, time limits and peer demands the individuals that use them can help improve into becoming confident professionals who are ready to deal with the type of situations that can be found within the modern collaborative workplace.

It's important to consider how the integration of AI might be perceived as a sort of oversight in the development of the branding processes and choosing of the right communication tools. The choices made could potentially and ultimately influence how the audience perceives the brand, leading to it being viewed as a commodity rather than a valuable source of unique insights. In this regard AI content should be flagged and the percentage of AI generated content should be included in the final assessment of each students’ results in the simulation.

Further reading: Rohim Mohammed, a Lecturer at University College Birmingham relates his experience in teaching digital marketing with the Simbound simulation and AI

https://www.timeshighereducation.com/campus/transforming-marketing-lectures-ai-and-simulations

Looking into the future

In summary, the general pedagogical approach advocated for by the use of simulations such as Simbound together with AI fosters transparency, continuous and incremental experimentation and the acceptance of various errors in decision-making. AI is primarily utilized in time-consuming processes or those with lower educational value.

Within Simbound and other similar simulations, students either win or they learn. Errors in appraisal or in the execution of operations in this type of environment, where mistakes can be freely made without any consequence, will often turn out to be valuable learning experiences. These are there to equip students with the skills and competencies necessary to perform well in today's competitive job and entrepreneurial market.

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Simulations - the key to teaching personalization in digital marketing in the age of AI

noreply@simbound.com (Louis Havriliuc) — Wed, 15 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Simulations - the key to teaching personalization in digital marketing in the age of AI

Learn about the latest developments in using AI to teach personalization in digital marketing. This article is the first in a 2-part series that discusses current practices at Simbound, a leading provider of digital marketing simulations.

Introduction

AI is clearly the defining trend in online marketing today. It facilitates the improvement and personalization of brand communications, as well as the running and adapting of various content and assigning programmatic advertising feeding on existing, recent as well as predictive data.

The possibilities are endless when it comes to adapting messaging through different writing styles and in the brainstorming of new ideas for promotions, new services, or new products. With the help of AI, it's now easy to refine targeting approaches, build client personas, and adapt to large-scale changes in the audience or market environment. Advertising systems are leveraging AI to inform marketing managers about changes in their campaign outlooks and provide more accurate predictions by gathering vast amounts of data across industries.

Conducting preliminary market research through keyword analysis performed by AI or other time-consuming processes, such as parsing and layout of unstructured customer behavior data, can be accomplished with greater ease and without extensive prior training.

One of the most useful applications of AI in marketing today is the automation of customer data analysis and that of ongoing campaign optimization. This capability quickly signals to marketing and business owners what consumers are interested in and where demand is headed. In some cases, it can calibrate the entire marketing process to align to the latest market insights. Because of AI digital marketing has become highly agile, and with the increasing adoption of automation, the ability to swiftly adapt to the latest shifts in market preferences can no longer be a significant competitive advantage, as more and more companies are incorporating such methods.

What are the most effective learning methods of personalization of marketing with AI within Simbound?

The simulation learning environment with its extensive data sets is conducive to the implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) for learning and the generation of insights. A meticulously designed simulation setup enables the execution of host of empirical experiments thereby equipping digital marketers with the capacity and propensity to manage data assignments in a structured manner using multivariate experiments all of this within a controlled and secure edtech medium. Students are able to perform a wide range of activities: carry out research, fine-tune and adaptat various marketing assets by using the following types of data:

Audience demographic and behavioral data from the Social Media Marketing simulation, which includes actionable information on age, occupation, location, gender, etc.
Interest level and product preference data found in the Email simulation - where students can perform A/B testing, what-if analysis, and isolated experiments by limiting exposure to certain messages to a subset of the audience.
Market research data which shows which products are being advertised by competitors (through the search engine simulation) and highlighting location-specific search trends (e.g. compare preferences and SEA campaign results in the UK vs. the US).

Setting up personalized marketing within the simulation will demonstrate an understanding of the characteristics of each consumer segment that is targeted. This will allow for an ample creative space to be taken up with interesting and memorable messaging, timely promotions, and various actions. The simulation will assess the degree to which personalization takes place and whether this is released in the right context/market environment.

AI assists learners in analyzing data and trends from different data sources. This process would normally take a lot of time when done manually by inexperienced users. In Simbound, students or teams of students will get automatic ratings of their performance. These ratings show what they do well and what they should do to improve. This approach helps focus attention and to work in a more efficient manner, reducing the time and effort spent on the overall activity.

In the case of carrying out personalization in marketing, further research and profiling should be encouraged by using outside information, such as recent reports about consumer insights and market trends. This information can then be factored in the simulation decisional process and will help with planning and carrying out of various marketing campaigns.

When using AI, students should be able to explain why they chose a creative campaign's theme and why their approach is valid. Going beyond and building reports on top of the numerical results obtained during the simulation can open up new discussions that facilitate learning and sharing of best practices in class.

In the next article we will dive deeper into how AI is being used by the Simbound system and also we will outline some of the more common criticism associated with the overreliance on AI and outline a few methods to keep courses relevant and up to par on quality indicators.

Relevant read: One tutors’ recent experience with grading with the help of GenAI

. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/campus/will-ai-revolutionise-marking

How Simbound can help you with your course

To ensure a comprehensive assessment of learning, it is essential to incorporate critical thinking and critical evaluation of various decisions and approaches. Assessment methods should evolve and continue to be refined and adapted to incorporate innovative techniques enabled by generative and analytical AI and simulations. These methods remain one of the most reliable for grading and learning, as they cannot yet be controlled entirely by AI.

When designing a new study program that incorporates the latest technology, it is essential to consider how to effectively utilize the technology to achieve expected results in terms of delivery, consistency, and quality. While technology plays a role, expertise, communication and experience remain the most significant predictors of project success .

At Simbound, we have supported numerous educational institutions worldwide in achieving remarkable progress and unlocking new capabilities within their organizations. Contact us today to learn more what we can do for your course.

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Effective management of a large-scale course with Simulations

noreply@simbound.com (Louis Havriliuc) — Fri, 29 Nov 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Effective management of a large-scale course with Simulations

This post will show you why a robust simulation is a must-have tool for educators looking to provide a high-quality course experience. After successfully managing several +300 individual courses here are some takeaways for those looking to improve.

Introduction

New technology has led to the rise of the super-instructor. These new age tutors are responsible for teaching hundreds of people or more on rather intricate and complex topics in a matter of weeks. Teachers will tend to rely on more than a few different systems that must work in perfect congruence to deliver a high-impact, measurable, and easily manageable course experience. Out of all the technologies employed simulation is becoming ever more present. Read on to find out how they do it.

Imagine that you are responsible for teaching a +500 students course over the time span of ten weeks. Which tools would you select to facilitate the teaching process?

In addition to a communication and collaboration suite, such as a Learning Management System (LMS) like Moodle or an Email and Chat suite, a simulation platform can be an invaluable asset in managing the learning process for a large group of learners.

Here are some of the techniques you can use when preparing to teach your next large-scale course.

Set the course on Auto-pilot

Automated course tools and settings, with the option of manual intervention when necessary, are amongst the most effective approach for managing a large number of students seeking guidance and learning. These may include AI powered features and simulations. Automating functions like technical support is one of the more efficient ways to obtain good results. It frees up time to deal with specific custom situations in the simulation which will require expert knowledge or intervention.

Work in teams

Students working in groups or teams will help alleviate the pressure on time-sensitive, highly important information dissemination. Team members will collaborate to keep one another informed about the latest changes to the course and can also fill-in for sick or absent teammates. A solid simulation system will track changes done by every team member.

The same applies to the distribution of tasks between teachers. A useful rule of thumb is to have at least one tutor for every 100-150 students. This shortens the time it takes to get answers out to students and if there is a need for multiple course operations, such as enrollment or analysis of written reports, then tutors can distribute tasks among themselves in order to reach efficiency.

Plan for the unexpected

Be aware that some students may have difficulty meeting deadlines due to unforeseen circumstances such as illness. It is important to have contingency plans in place to allow them to make progress and submit their work at a later date.

Look for ways to stimulate creativity and problem solving

Teachers need to move from the traditional role of imparting knowledge and providing instruction to becoming coaches and motivators. They need to inspire curiosity, set challenges, and provide examples of best practice. It is more difficult to inspire imagination and creativity in a large group of students without the right tools. While people may have different interests and seek creativity in different ways, simulations provide the perfect environment for people to make choices and become better problem solvers.

Monitor course progress and champion best practice

Integrated reporting tools make it easy to track progress. They provide adaptive assessments and customized recommendations to ensure you stay on top of your instructional performance. You can also share learners' latest breakthroughs and share their experiences and results with the entire group.

Select the right technology partners

When you lease a simulation platform, you also hire people with the expertise to provide a worry-free user experience. You need timely and stress-free technical support to handle technical issues in an organized and predictable manner. Simulation consultants have successfully managed a wide range of courses and can handle any challenge you throw at them.

Manage your time

If possible, avoid taking on other activities such as research or administrative work. This will allow you to focus on the various course-related demands and ensure that you have the right level of energy to handle them.

Conclusion

It is a simple fact that teaching a large cohort presents a unique set of challenges that simply does not arise with smaller courses. When you recognize this essential aspect, you will choose the right strategy for setting up, running, and concluding a course. A quality simulation solution can be a powerful asset in providing a predictable and enjoyable course experience.

The specific approach will depend on the course format and tools used. At Simbound simulations, we can help you deliver large-scale digital marketing courses that have hundreds of students (or more) at a time using scalable, secure technology.

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Learning Digital Marketing on your own with the Simbound simulation

noreply@simbound.com (Louis Havriliuc) — Mon, 18 Nov 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Learning Digital Marketing on your own with the Simbound simulation

With the rise of online/home learning, Simbound offers the perfect way to practice your digital marketing skills in a risk-free learning environment. Read more about our unique (l)earning proposition for those not formally enrolled in an accredited education program. The non-exhaustive list will cover how Simbound is used across various non-academic settings.

Getting Started

Some of the people who are not satisfied with the current opportunities to learn in a practical way and who are brave enough to set out and learn about digital marketing on their own sign up for the Simbound service only to realize that they lack some of the basic theoretical understanding of how digital marketing works. Luckily there are many resources out there which are completely free to help you learn about digital marketing.

If you are using the simulation and purchasing one of the 3 Simbound individual subscription plans currently available, we recommend that you read the following free textbook provided by Red & Yellow in order to accelerate your learning and be able to draw higher order insights from using the simulation at https://www.redandyellow.co.za/textbook/. Reading in parallel with working through the simulation is a great way to enhance understanding of how digital marketing works on your own.

If video is more to your liking, you should know that there are also a number of resources on Youtube, such as the following video, which talks about How To Become A Digital Marketer In 2024?

Here are a few other useful examples of how Simbound is used outside of a school setting:

Summer Schools and Team Building Events

There are lots of ways to use the simulation creatively, such as during summer schools or team-building events. At these types of events, participants get together and make decisions around digital marketing in a simulated environment. They're usually helped by a tutor who has experience setting up the simulation and explaining how the simulation produces results.

Competitions and Hackathons

Another area that's really taking off is digital marketing competitions, like the Simbound Masters or education hackathons. Competitions are fast-paced environments where decisions are made quickly. These experiences usually act as catalysts for year-long theoretical study programs and the integrate teaching on topics such as search and social marketing as well the impact of ESG on digital marketing and e-commerce.

Company Projects / On-the-Job Training

Some companies provide recruits with access to Simbound digital marketing simulations to prepare them for the demands of the real world. They then allow them to manage small amounts of marketing budgets to ads or other campaigns while promoting the company's offering.

Cultural Exchange programs

Simbound is also used for cultural and study exchange programs, similar to the Erasmus program in Europe. As part of this program, visiting students are happy to find that their host school for six months provides them with the latest EdTech innovation to help them make their stay a fun and enriching experience.

Tailoring the simulation for your next non-formal education project:

You can tweak the simulation experiences in Simbound to make them more realistic and help users understand real-world digital marketing situations better. Experienced Simbound instructors use the scenario editing tool to dive into how Simbound works and go beyond the predefined parameters, developing their own conditions. With all the engagement and gamification tools, there's almost no limit to how you could use Simbound for your next non-formal education project.

We use a modular, interconnected web app that serves as a single learning environment, showcasing a wide range of operations and strategies. Learners can use one of the data-rich, interactive, practical applications to practice marketing in a way that's relatable to real life. The simulation platform is perfect for quick, memorable learning events in a fun, collaborative setting. The built-in collaboration tools and insights will help participants get creative and practice skills they can use for a lifetime.

The support you'll need

The new AI feedback system for email and social media marketing simulations gives learners real-time feedback on their results and decisions. This continues to be developed and fine-tuned for various learning situations. The simulation also uses AI to analyze Search Ads campaign performance to help identify performance issues and show learners why it's important to monitor analytics and results. It also helps them understand the value of continuous improvement. This not only wraps up the learning loop but also frees up time for instructors to teach other topics or go more in-depth on more complex topics.

Features that add value to learning

Our users like that our method is really realistic compared to other learning methods. We don't make things easier than they need to be, and our platform doesn't oversimplify important marketing concepts. By using an integrated platform that covers all the major digital marketing channels out there, new digital marketers can get the skills they need to tackle the challenges of tomorrow.

Our platform has unique tools that make learning easier, even for online courses. Our 24/7 AI-assisted support backed up by highly-trained support professionals that work across six international time zones are rated as “Excellent” and are known to provide one of the best service in the industry.

We're constantly working towards adding new online marketing simulations to our platform. Be sure to check back often with your individual inquiry for the top experiential learning platform that's been around for over 12 years. That makes it the oldest and most comprehensive platform currently in use in the academic software market for e-marketing courses. To date Simbound is the first and only digital marketing simulation company to have had successfully implemented an external certification for the quality of its pedagogy. This is done using the Education Alliance Finland method.

Another cool thing about Simbound is that you can get proof of completing the simulation. It's basically your own page on the internet that shows all of your hard-earned results in the simulation. Instead of a run-of-the-mill certificate, Simbound users can showcase their personal brand new marketing professional profiles on marketingsquads.com, which will then act as a CV booster during job and internship selection processes. Get a certification that's different from anything else out there on the online marketer skill development marketplace and stand out for your work.

On top of that, Simbound is reworking its commercial partnership program where it currently collaborates directly with educational software resellers from all over the globe. Simbound's official commercial partners from different regions will use our simulation technology every day to make their company’s offerings stand out and get a strong foothold in a competitive global market for services. Simbound is the ticket to gaining high-profile client names. The quality of the solution and the depth of the resources provided make all the difference and keep clients happy and coming back for more as part of a continuous stream of demand. The success of the educational consultants that are smart enough to recognize the added value of entering into a partnership with Simbound is living testament of how powerful one such partnership can become over time. Why not give it a go for yourself? Just reach out to any of our team members. They're eager to help you get started with Simbound and make it work for your specific learning or business training needs. They'll also give you the access credentials and resources you need to make your learning experience unforgettable. (Link to About)

We're committed to growing Simbound's tech and service capabilities in 2025. We're launching a new R&D initiative that will make our existing products and services the focus of our integrated approach to digital marketing simulation. Here is to efficient learning and to success!

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The use of simulations in grading student performance: challenges and opportunities

noreply@simbound.com (Louis Havriliuc) — Wed, 09 Oct 2024 00:00:00 GMT

The use of simulations in grading student performance: challenges and opportunities

Dive into this thought-provoking article that will help you in how you regard grading with simulations. Although this resource does not set out to remove established practices it does open up the discussion on a very important topic - that of quality of the grading practice - which is more relevant today than ever.

Introduction

It is well known that simulations, particularly those employed in business schools, have been highly effective in benchmarking student performance. The logic went like this for the most part: Student A has performed better in the simulation than Student B, but it is not necessarily the case that Student A should be awarded the higher grade. We'll do our best to explain.

We would like to present a few reasons why assigning grades based simply on the results obtained in an educational simulation could potentially lead to a lowering of educational standards. We will also suggest some potential ways in which you, as a teacher, could seek to mitigate the risks associated with a simplistic approach when it comes to grading with the help of simulations.

At Simbound we have been lucky enough to notice firsthand how simulations are a valuable learning activity for many classes. Incorporating memorable exercises that engage learners, instill confidence, and prepare them for the world of work are a valuable addition to courses. We observed that grading is not a mandatory part of the assessment of learning with simulations. In some cases, it might even be advisable to avoid it altogether.

Ultimately, we believe there are arguably a series of highly relevant phenomena surrounding the use of simulations in education some which are more in need of improvement than those of grading. Read on to find out more.

Thought-Provoking Exercise

Here is a thought-provoking exercise. Imagine that we are teaching a class of several teams of three students each, all making decisions in an online simulation of an e-business.

Team Blue has enjoyed considerable success, with earnings of 100,000.
Team Green has also performed well, with earnings of 50,000.
Team Purple has experienced a more modest level of success, with earnings of 15,000.
Team Red, however, has encountered some challenges, with earnings of -10,000.

It would be understandable to assume that Team Blue has had the best run in the simulation and therefore should be awarded the highest grade. This is all to easy to conclude just by looking at the results chart. To continue on this thought-provoking exercise, we will add more information:

It become apparent that Team Blue has discovered a way to exploit a hidden malfunction in the system, which may have contributed to their decision to explore only a limited number of options and learning materials. Given that their leading position was never in jeopardy, it's understandable that they might have focused their efforts in this way.
We uncover that Team Green has had just one of the three students contributing to the decision-making process on a constant basis, with the other two being mostly absent.
Team Purple has invested a great deal in marketing and R&D, which will likely yield positive results in the next stages of the simulation.
Team Red may have made a minor mistake when inputting their decisions, inadvertently adding one extra trailing figure to their budget that was not intended. This led to them incurring a loss.

In light of this new information, how should one go about grading this class?

We hope you will understand that we deliberately avoid mentioning the individuals' prior experience with the topics being simulated or each member's readiness to use technology. Similarly, we do not indicate how collaboration took place in each team or if there was a decision-making system in place at every team and how performant this was. With its prevalence in Education the use of AI should also be considered. We believe that in order to maintain a high quality approach including all of this information in the grading process would be necessary.

This basic exercise was designed to show you how grading based solely on results obtained in the simulations alone should be approached with caution. Given the many limitations that exist we still believe however that using a sound methodology in place, grading can become more fair and effective.

Proposed approaches:

1. A better understanding of simulations

It would add value to this article to provide some additional context. It seems that the majority of experiential learning systems in use today are becoming a somewhat passive tool for teachers, which they can set up and then leave to run independently. The most modern simulation platforms and the learning experience they provide may not require frequent human intervention from tutors, as they embrace the ‘set and forget’ principle by dispatching all of the essential components: ready-made guidebooks, videos, AI-assisted support and guidance, various analysis reports and more. This could create a disconnect when it comes to teachers understanding the conditions created by the simulation and the actual learning experience of students.

Perhaps the solution here would be for each teacher to familiarize themselves with the models, algorithms and instructions provided by the simulation in order to gain a deeper understanding of how the results obtained by the participants were created, which would in turn facilitate more accurate grading. However, this can sometimes present a challenge, as simulations often comprise complex systems that undergo numerous changes and updates throughout the year. It is therefore possible that the grading methodology employed last academic year may no longer be suitable this year.

2. Spending more time with students

Rather than focusing exclusively on numbers, we could consider the role of the teacher to be that of a supportive coach, who encourages learners to explore, take risks and interpret the concepts being taught and simulated in class in different ways. Perhaps, instead of awarding grades simply based on numerical results, one teacher could consider assessing the level of knowledge and motivation of students at the beginning of the simulation experience. Future research that will be carried out by Simbound together with academic partners should shed more light on this. It might also be helpful to add new indicators such as new concepts learned and whether reasoning or the approach manifested in tackling complex tasks has evolved post-simulation. We would like to suggest that teachers consider moving away from the front of the class (or screen) and instead take a more side-by-side collaborative position next to their students. This could lead to new insights and ways of learning together. Fortunately, there are already analysis and evaluation tools in place that make it relatively straightforward to identify areas for improvement for every participant to a simulation game.

3. Develop grading based on other experiences

It would be preferred that students are encouraged to explore entrepreneurial thinking by being introduced to additional what-if scenarios, and examining performance and the underlying factors that contribute to it. It would be worthwhile to consider skills that are relevant to companies and that could potentially give candidates an advantage over their peers in a competitive market for young professionals. It may be interesting to consider pairing up simulations with real-life assignments and case studies. This could provide more data and help design a more robust framework for grading and learning.

Conclusion

It would be worthwhile for us all in the Education sector to consider new ways in which we could simplify the process of grading with the help of simulations. By doing so, we may be able to make this an easier and more standardized procedure in the future. We will need to bring together all our collective expertise and resources to make this a reality. The effort will undoubtedly be rewarded with a superior approach that will greatly outperform what we have in place today.

Some recent statistics:

1. Less than 40% of courses in which Simbound is employed use grades from the simulation.

2. In most cases, grades are combined with that of other assessment, like written exams or reports.

3. The most common name for a course where 100% of the grade is awarded based on the simulation is "Business Games" or "Simulation of Business functions” These classes help students focus their studies on how business simulation works and how various modeling and game-based techniques can be used in different situations.

Louis Havriliuc

Founder & GM @Simbound

We encourage educators the world over to contribute to the latest developments in education with simulations and in grading 👌

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Revolutionizing Digital Marketing Education: My Experience with SIMBOUND Simulation

noreply@simbound.com (Arash Valipour) — Tue, 03 Sep 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Revolutionizing Digital Marketing Education: My Experience with SIMBOUND Simulation

As a lecturer in Marketing at the School of Business and Management at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL), I'm always on the lookout for innovative ways to enhance my students' learning experience. This year, I decided to take a bold step by replacing the traditional 60-credit dissertation in our MSc Digital Marketing programme with the Simbound simulation platform.

The Simbound simulation platform provided our students with a unique opportunity to apply theoretical knowledge in a practical, risk free environment. Instead of spending months writing a lengthy dissertation students were immersed in a dynamic, interactive world where they could make real time decisions and witness the consequences of their actions. The results were nothing short of remarkable, and I'm excited to share my experience with fellow educators.

Usability

One of the most significant aspects of the Simbound platform is how it was user friendly for our students. The interface was easy to adapt allowing them to focus on strategies instead of struggling with technical issues. The platform's intuitive design meant that even those students who are less comfortable with technology can participate fully and confidently.

Support

The support provided by the Simbound team was exceptional. Whenever we encountered questions or needed assistance, their responsive and knowledgeable staff was always ready to help. This level of support ensured that both students and instructors could make the most of the platform's capabilities.

Feedback

The feedback from students was very positive. Several students expressed how the simulation helped them to have a better understanding of the theory and practice. They enjoyed the whole experience of the simulation and appreciated the opportunity to experiment different marketing and pricing strategies, data analysis and adjust their approaches based on results. This hands on experience proved invaluable in building their confidence and practical skills.

Simulation vs Legacy Approach

Compared to the traditional dissertation approach, I found several advantages in doing simulation:

1. Real world application: students are allowed to apply theories in a context that is very similar to real world scenarios.

2. Immediate feedback: Unlike a dissertation, where feedback comes only at the end, the Simbound simulation provided instant results, allowing for continuous learning and improvement.

3. Time efficiency: The simulation compacted months of learning into a more manageable timeframe, without sacrificing the depth of understanding.

4. Engagement: According to my personal observation, students reported higher levels of engagement and motivation compared to the traditional dissertation.

5. Skill development: The platform helped students develop critical thinking, decision-making, and data analysis skills that are directly applicable to their future careers.

While the traditional dissertation has its advantages, I believe this simulation-based approach offers a more comprehensive and engaging learning experience for students in the field of Digital Marketing. It prepares them more effectively for the fast paced, data driven world of modern marketing. Thus based on this experience, I strongly recommend the use of simulation platforms as an alternative to traditional dissertations, particularly in fields like Digital Marketing where practical application is crucial. Specifically, I encourage my fellow lecturers, both at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, to consider the Simbound platform for their courses.

Arash Valipour, PhD, FHEA

Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Marketing

Co-Programme Director, MSc Marketing

School of Business and Management | Queen Mary University of London

Please be advised that the views expressed in this article are those of the author alone, based on his experience of using the Simbound product. They do not necessarily reflect the views of Queen Mary University of London.

The Simbound team would like to thank Queen Mary University of London staff and students for placing their trust in our company to oversee a significant aspect of this MSc Digital Marketing course. We encourage new educators to contribute to the latest developments in technology and education through the use of simulations 👌

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How to Execute a Successful Simulation in Your Class

noreply@simbound.com (Mark Zielonka) — Mon, 19 Aug 2024 00:00:00 GMT

How to Execute a Successful Simulation in Your Class

Learn about the ins and outs of applying a successful simulation to your classroom or learning environment.

A question always talked about in learning is often asked around: How well do class activities work in a learning environment? Typically, these types of questions frequently discuss whether or not these activities successfully teach a set list of desired skills. In the past, educators typically gauged the impact of a learning activity by examining how students performed on a follow-up test or assignment.

Many of the activities we use in class were first created to help students understand theoretical concepts and it's great to see that simulations and experiential learning are becoming more and more popular as a way of teaching these desired skills. This blog’s purpose however is all about shifting the focus of gauging simulation success away from the purely measured theoretical skills learned in class and more towards understanding how simulations can also help the practical, experiential aspect.

Measuring The Success of a Simulation in Class

So, the big question is: How do you use a simulation in this way and then apply it to a classroom? What makes a simulation a success in an educational setting under this mindset? In this post, I'm excited to share three key indicators that show a simulation was a highly effective learning tool in your classroom.

1. Application and Involvement

A successful simulation is all about getting students excited and involved. We want to see students diving in and exploring the possibilities. Simulations are a great way for students to put their knowledge to use in realistic situations. This is something that traditional teaching methods might not be as good at. This hands-on approach is a big change from your traditional teaching methods. In this case it's actually a win-win! Not only does it reinforce the theoretical material being taught, but it also enhances student engagement and participation.

When students are engaged in a simulation, they're more likely to understand the concepts and learn in a way that goes beyond just textbook skills. This kind of active participation shows that the simulation is doing a great job of connecting theory and practice, which makes learning more dynamic and impactful. Upon using simulations, students will be prepared to learn using a method that they will hopefully use again at their future workplace.

Recent research by Alexandru Capatana et al. suggests that: “The use of gamification techniques in corporate training positively affects employees’ knowledge retention and positively affects employees’ job performance”. This type of research suggests that games in learning has a significant impact on attention and application. This is even more supported by the following excerpt as well: “In the US Nearly 70% of students prefer gamified classes and learning experiences over traditional education methods, citing increased motivation and engagements as the primary factors drawing them to gamified learning.”

Link to the following articles:

https://www.elsevier.es/en-revista-journal-innovation-knowledge-376-articulo-leveling-up-in-corporate-training-S2444569X24000696

https://www.zippia.com/advice/gamification-statistics/

2. Collaboration

Another great way to measure how well a simulation is doing is to see how much it gets students working together. Simulations are a great way to help students learn how to work together, communicate, and problem-solve in a fun and engaging way! When students work together to navigate these scenarios, they develop essential teamwork skills and other soft skills that are crucial for success in their future careers. What's more, this kind of process is fun.

A successful simulation is a great chance for students to bounce ideas off each other, hash out solutions, and work together towards a common goal. A collaborative learning environment is a fantastic way to help students get to grips with the subject matter while also preparing them for real-world challenges that require effective teamwork. An effective learning activity lets students work together effectively during a simulation, showing that it's achieving its educational objectives.

3. Questions and Growth

Finally, the last indicator of simulation success is to see students asking questions and growing! It’s always so rewarding to see these kinds of results from simulations! The greatest sign of success in a simulation in my own opinion is to see students curious and asking questions thoughtfully. This kind of interest shows that they're engaging with the material in a critical way. It’s this engagement that sparks amazing, deeper conversations and help students understand the subject and problem-solving way of the real world better. It's the goal to see students grow not just in terms of their knowledge and understanding, but also in terms of their personal growth.

As students tackle the challenges of the simulation, they're able to develop their critical thinking, decision-making, and other soft skills, which are all made so much easier thanks to the engaging nature of the task. Its why using a simulation is not only great at teaching the concepts it's designed to teach, but it's also good at helping students develop skills they can use in their studies and future careers.

Conclusion

In conclusion, executing a successful simulation in your classroom involves more than just assessing the theoretical understanding through your traditional tests and assignments. It requires a shift towards evaluating practical and experiential learning goals. By identifying and prioritizing these mentioned goals, educators can ensure that simulations serve as powerful tools for teaching not only theoretical concepts but also practical skills.

These indicators, as discussed in this blog post, highlight the value of simulations in fostering a deeper, more holistic learning experience for students. As simulations continue to gain popularity in educational settings, embracing this approach will enhance the overall effectiveness of your teaching strategies, ultimately leading to a more engaging and valuable learning experience for your students.

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Market simulation suite from Simbound

noreply@simbound.com (Louis Havriliuc) — Mon, 05 Aug 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Market simulation suite from Simbound

While most of our readers are used to employing our simulation platform and associated services in the academic sector as part of their teaching and research projects, the following information can be useful for those who want to simulate various dynamics in online and digital marketing of hospitality, industry, e-retail, or proximity services and operations. If you are looking for a modern interface for inputting and visualizing various market simulation data, this article is for you.

The below list contains a short description of over 20 simulation techniques and capabilities that can be carried out with Simbound, which is currently the only product of its kind on the market that can provide such a highly refined simulation for educational, modeling, or purely fun purposes.

General Overview and Capabilities

- Define your market: With Simbound you can confidently implement a wide range of data simulation scenarios, regardless of the industry or number of data points and dynamics.

- Invite participants to test out refined scenarios: This content creation system offers a complete turnkey solution for modeling a digital market for services and products. Its advanced user interface is customizable and adaptable to your specific needs.

- The system provides all the necessary resources for effective simulation usage, eliminating the need for time-consuming instructions and explanations to decision-making agents.

- It is designed for both individual participants and team-based platforms.

-Multiple licensing options are available, including site-wide licenses. Our software offers a comprehensive range of purchasing options, including credits (pay-per-use) and unlimited usage scenarios.

- Our industry-leading support team has over 12 years of experience implementing digital marketing simulations for academic and industrial clients.

Diving Deeper: Website Performance Simulation

- The website simulation tool enables users to test different formats for text, images, and other media. It is one of the most advanced website simulation tools used in academic settings. - It allows you to generate and monitor various data points such as views, engagement (clicks, purchases), and it allows for a great forum for critiquing and seeking to improve this central web marketing asset.

- Different Simbound websites can be built into various formats that are ready to use, allowing you to focus solely on the data analysis aspect of the simulation. - You can directly control the amount of traffic from various sources, including direct visits, referrals, affiliate marketing programs, as well as ads, email marketing, and a range of community or social (viral marketing) properties. - The software allows users to model buyer behavior in response to various pricing and profit thresholds. It also enables the combination of physical products and services into the same simulation scenario, providing a comprehensive view of business and marketing operations. Additionally, users can adjust market demand and responsiveness to different offers or promotions.

Simulating Go-to-Market Costs:

The framework comprises two simulation modules that bear cost components: that of the ads simulation and that of the affiliate marketing simulation. This framework can be set to minute levels of accuracy in order to enhance understanding and achieve optimization of financial analysis in the context of distributed online business operations

The platform enables the computation of hundreds of permutations of various cost-bearing or cost-determining factors in a matter of seconds, thereby providing the necessary components and computing power to address a range of large-scale simulation infrastructure challenges fit for various go to market scenarios.

Simulating Product Uptake

- The platform is well-suited for the preparation and carrying out of research of product launches and timing of various marketing initiatives taking place in the digital ocean due to its advanced features, including market serialization, quick prototyping of products, and their adoption onto different markets.

- Specify long-term marketing objectives and associated expenditure scenarios based on the projected market uptake of new innovations.

- Facilitate experimentation in a controlled setting for product and innovation teams, allowing them to assess the viability of high-risk ventures before committing significant resources.

Services

- The support professionals comprising our team are situated in six different time zones, predominantly across the Americas and Europe. These highly trained professionals are equipped to assist clients in comprehending the intricacies of the simulation system, thereby positioning us as a natural choice when it comes to data preparation and analysis.

- Our services are executed swiftly and meticulously, encompassing expertise in domains such as interface design, user experience scenarios, and re-parametrization. The simulation can be configured to include a variety of data collection, analysis, and reporting features, which can be embedded to align with the specific data usage scenario envisioned by the user.

- White labeling and renting out the simulation platform provides commercial partners with the option to sub-license the simulation platform and adapt it to the particular needs of their own customers. This results in the creation of an additional layer of services that are based on a proven framework for simulating consumer behavior online. With regard to integrations, such as API and new product development, there are numerous possibilities for launching one's own simulation business in a rapidly growing SaaS.

- We can provide your market simulation experiment with a variety of users who possess different educational, societal, cultural traits. This will assist you in establishing a widely applicable set of conclusions for your own market research and simulation project.

Try out Simbound today and let us know about your specific market simulator needs.

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A peek inside Simbound’s Quality Score Algorithm

noreply@simbound.com (Louis Havriliuc) — Tue, 09 Jul 2024 00:00:00 GMT

A peek inside Simbound’s Quality Score Algorithm

Quality Score refers to how relevant your ads, keywords, and landing pages are to someone that has just seen (and clicked) your ad. We made some recent updates to the way this value is calculated in Simbound. Quality Score is now a two-decimal figure.

Exact Keyword Mention in Ad

● Will increase CTR (thus improving QS) for the contained keywords in the ads ● Will improve conversions for that keyword

Short Ads

● If the Ad copy is noticeably short then most likely it will not get a good response. Excessively short ads will not get as high a CTR as more enticing copy.

Spelling

● We compare ad copy against an English language thesaurus and subtract QS if there are misspelled words.

Geographic Performance

● Your QS in influenced by geography of ad placements. Using the right keyword in the right market will bring you more visitors and increase your overall conversion rate. A tip if you’re using the advanced version of the game (with multiple geographic markets): it’s important you start building your Quality Score early in the game on a market if your goal is to have a better cost structure for advertising on that market.

Low Business Value Keywords

These are keywords that are not relevant for the business and can end up impacting the account performance in a negative way. Make sure you spot these early and remove them in case you have included them in your campaigns.

Account Quality Score

We are now measuring the overall account performance of student teams. The algorithm modifies quality score at keyword level depending on how students perform across all their active campaigns as well as their overall activity on the platform. Some metrics that will influence account quality score: budget spent as a percentage of allocated budget, account structure as well as many relevance indicators on the ad inventory

Updates on how quality score is computed include factors such as the design of the landing page and also other secret factors

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Welcoming a new era for learning at Simbound

noreply@simbound.com (Louis Havriliuc) — Tue, 11 Jun 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Welcoming a new era for learning at Simbound

Read on to discover the latest news from Simbound and how we are transforming into a 360° experiential learning platform for digital marketing professionals the world over!

It has been 12 years since the initial release of the Simbound simulation. The memory of this professor from Portugal, who was the first to use our product, contacting us late in the afternoon, is still fresh in my mind. He indicated that we should address some of the issues in his course, which were associated with what was, at the time, a relatively basic platform compared to today's.

At the time, we were in a challenging position. As the team behind Simbound, we lacked the resources to fully assess the scale of the challenge ahead.

How many of you, having used the product in its initial stages, would have bet on us, a small company from Romania that set out to educate people from across the world on the workings behind what is arguably the most important shift in business education in decades?

In response to the digitalization of marketing and commerce, we set out to transform education. It is likely that few would have bet their professional future on such a high-risk venture. However, those who remained can be proud of their contribution to the creation of a unique company.

I must admit that managing the company has not become any easier in the meantime. The advent of new technologies, including generative AI, has led to a shorter attention span among learners.

Additionally, we are facing increasing competition, some of which has not played fair in the past. To overcome these challenges, we must rely on our commitment to advance the same field of knowledge we pioneered at the start of the previous decade.

Today, we are announcing a set of new features that will facilitate our transition to a novel experiential learning and work placement platform. This platform is designed to democratize learning through a multitude of learning and on-the-job training methods, a strategy that we have been successfully implementing for the majority of the past 12 years.

One primary component of this novel strategy is to facilitate the accessibility and comprehension of our software.

To this end, we have introduced a new series of subscription plans, which have proven popular with SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) companies.

This enables individuals, regardless of their educational status, to gain working knowledge of how digital marketing works at in practice and at scale.

Our newly released range of monthly and yearly plans, as well as custom options, ensures that learners have ample opportunities to gain the skills and confidence they need to succeed in today’s competitive job market.

Even a small boost to one’s credentials can help candidates move up the candidate list for a new opening. We are happy to know that we can provide such opportunities to candidates.

The next planned step is to enter into new distribution agreements with quality-focused education and training institutions, companies, and online entrepreneurs.

This will ensure the creation of an affiliate network that will share in the success of selling the premiere digital marketing simulation experience.

We are pleased to announce that we are currently putting together the pieces of a new, never-before-seen project.

An experiential learning platform that will enable students to participate in real internships with companies from around the world, where they will be able to apply the knowledge they have gained throughout their course.

We are pleased to see such a high level of interest from our early academic partners in this initiative. We will shortly be contacting a number of company leaders who recognise the value of a team of digital marketing interns in improving their presence, communication and overall standing in the industry.

Finally, all of our simulations will soon include an ESG component, which will emphasize the importance of comprehensive education for future leaders. Already the new E-mail simulation has the possibility of announcing new ESG initiatives inside the simulation.

We hope you will continue to be part of this new and exciting journey with us. Thank you to all of those who made it possible so far.

Louis Havriliuc - Simbound

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Simbound Infographics

noreply@simbound.com (Sim Bot) — Tue, 11 Jun 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Simbound Infographics

View some of the latest statistics from the Simbound platform in a graphical format.

Here are some recent stats about Simbound. This is a more visual post, which will highlight the many ways in which the simulation is being used by students as part of their studies.

4.64 (out of 5) is the average score for Creativity awarded by students to their peers in the Simbound digital marketing simulation. This score has the highest average from five dimensions on which students can rate each other’s performance:

1. Engagement 🏋🏻‍♂️

2. Expertise 🤓

3. Collaboration 🤝

4. Creativity 💡

5. Leadership 🙇🏻‍♀️

The result of the inter-pares assessment carried out by more than 350 students from across the world during 2023 and 2024, gives us some insight on which qualities or skills digital marketing students would like their peers to have. Congratulations to all students who demonstrated excellence in being creative as part of the simulation activities!

357,000 Euros. That's the total virtual profit the top three competitors in the Simbound Masters digital marketing competition for students made together. The competition started out in France, and then expanded to a few other countries.

On May 15 2024 , Romain Conte which was the winner of the competition has decided on the student association (club) that got the prize money. This time, it was real money donated by the Simbound company donated to E-mma which is is a non-profit who promotes Diversity in Technology. Although this was much less than the virtual profit we are confident it went to the right cause.

The three winners all got six months of LinkedIn Premium Career, while Semrush France will provide the Semrush Guru subscription. All participants in the competition were able to take the TRIDAN test to measure their digital marketing skills (available in French). The comeptition has helped students launch their career with one of the most powerful suite of credentials and learning tools at their disposal.

To make things even better all of students who took part were able to publish their results on www.marketingsquads.com and use their hard-won qualifications to apply for their first ever internship in digital marketing.

Simbound students have created more than 4590 communities!

Simulations of online brand communities will allow students to try out gamification in a marketing and business context, assign the role of managers, and increase exposure to products. Extracting insights from each community can inform other decision-making areas in marketing and innovation.

Community management is an ever-evolving and fascinating topic. How are you approaching it? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Simbound students have set up an impressive 40,977 web pages since the beginning of 2020. That's an average of 185 new web pages every week. ♨️

To put this figure in perspective, during the same period, Wikipedia gained 820,104 new articles for its English language version. 👀

Keep up the great work, Simbound students!

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Unleashing the Power of Digital Marketing: Simbound in Canada

noreply@simbound.com (Mark Zielonka) — Tue, 27 Feb 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Unleashing the Power of Digital Marketing: Simbound in Canada

Explore the transformative power of Simbound's digital marketing e-simulation game in Canada. Enhance your skills, navigate real-world scenarios, and master digital marketing in a risk-free environment. Elevate your marketing game today

In the ever-evolving landscape of digital marketing, staying ahead of the game is crucial for success. As Canadian students approach graduation and begin to navigate the intricate world of online marketing, a groundbreaking tool has emerged to sharpen their skillset: Simbound’s Digital Marketing e-Simulation Game. The Simbound platform promises an immersive experience, empowering Canadian marketers to hone their skills, make real-time decisions, and learn real-world digital marketing in a risk-free environment.

Embracing Canadian Businesses:

In the heart of the Canadian business ecosystem, Simbound’s Digital Marketing E-Simulation Game is making waves. Tailored specifically for Canadian entrepreneurs, marketers, and aspiring digital enthusiasts in or out of school, this cutting-edge simulation game offers an unparalleled opportunity to delve into the intricacies of various digital marketing strategies. Whether you're a seasoned professional, or a budding entrepreneur, this simulation is designed to elevate your digital marketing prowess to new heights.

What Sets Us Apart:

So, what makes this digital marketing e-simulation game a game-changer for Canadian businesses? It’s more than just a simulation game; it's a dynamic learning experience designed to mirror real-world scenarios. Participants have the chance to create and implement marketing campaigns in a virtual environment. From crafting compelling ads and e-mail campaigns, all the way to optimizing search engine strategies for a new online store (such as Shopify), almost every aspect of digital marketing is covered, providing a fully comprehensive understanding of the field.

Why Canadian Businesses Need It:

In the vast Canadian market, understanding the nuances of digital marketing is indispensable. With consumers relying on online platforms more and more for their purchasing decisions, businesses need to harness the power of digital marketing effectively to appeal to this shift in the market. Simbound’s simulation game acts as an ally, guiding Canadians through the intricacies of online advertising, affiliate marketing, email campaigns and more. By immersing in this interactive experience, participants gain practical insights and actionable skills that can be directly applied to their real-world marketing efforts.

Participants can experiment with various marketing strategies, test hypotheses, and witness the outcomes in real-time, refining their decision-making skills.
The game provides a safe environment to test bold ideas and creative campaigns without the fear of real-world consequences, encouraging innovation and out-of-the-box thinking.
Participants gain hands-on experience in analyzing data metrics, enabling them to make data-driven decisions, a cornerstone of successful digital marketing campaigns.
The game mirrors the challenges faced by businesses in the Canadian market, ensuring that participants are well-prepared to tackle real-world scenarios.

Conclusion:

As Canadian businesses strive for digital excellence, Simbound’s software stands as a beacon of opportunity. It's not just a game; it’s a transformative journey that equips marketers with the skills, knowledge, and confidence to thrive in the digital age. Embrace the power of digital marketing and discover where innovation meets education and success.

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Enhancing Learner User Experience: A Deep Dive into the Latest Simbound Updates

noreply@simbound.com (Louis Havriliuc) — Wed, 07 Feb 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Enhancing Learner User Experience: A Deep Dive into the Latest Simbound Updates

Experience the future of digital marketing education today with the latest Simbound updates: streamlined User Interface, Personalized learning, and new Advanced security features.

As an Education Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) company our policy to invest in continuous improvement is helping us to stay ahead of the curve. Simbound has shaped the digital marketing simulations space for years and is now rolling out a series of updates aimed at enhancing user experience and functionality. These updates are expected to improve learning for the several thousand of students who use our simulations each year. They also mark a significant milestone in the evolution of the original digital marketing simulations platform, promising improved efficiency and usability, better accessibility and overall satisfaction for its diverse user base.

One of the standout features of this latest series of updates is the revamped user interface (UI) of the Search Engine Ads simulation. Recognizing the need of more intuitive design, as well as using suggestions from users of our platform, the Simbound development team has crafted a sleek and modern interface that streamlines navigation and enhances accessibility.

With a clean layout and simplified set of menu options, users can now more easily and faster navigate through various campaign, ads, keyword and research pages and perform tasks with ease. The UI overhaul reflects a commitment to user-centric design principles, with the data in graphical format being easier to identify and interpret than before.

Each new simulation module features a quick and informative tutorial that is meant to help new users unlock a seamless browsing experience across devices and screen sizes.

In addition to the visual enhancements, the update introduces several new functionalities aimed at empowering learners with greater control over their experience and customization options.

New features include the addition of new keywords, generating ad copy on the go, as well as new types of campaigns such as shopping campaigns.

The dashboard is now customizable which allows each participant to the simulation to personalize their workspace and prioritize key metrics for quick access, further adapting to each learning style and providing efficiency. The ads simulation contains a new series of Tool tips - small buttons which provide additional information on key features and decisions to be made. Additionally more initial guidance is provided when setting up ad campaign for the first time in the form of quick to read text excerpts from the software user guide (which it too has been redesigned and improved).

Another recent release is that of the Affiliate marketing simulation, which allows Simbound learners to manage their own affiliate marketing platform - in which affiliate partners are usually blogs or other review websites that send new visitors to the learners' website in the simulation. Affiliate marketing allows any company in the simulation to tap into another website owner's audience and pay a commission when a product is sold. Affiliates open up a new method of expanding the students' website reach in the simulation, helping them to diversify their brand presence and gain more external links pointing back to their website. Having multiple websites linking back to each of the website pages will help learners to better manage their SEO strategy. This latest addition of the Affiliate marketing simulation brings the total amount of digital marketing simulation modules to 5 making Simbound a fully functional and comprehensive learning platform for digital marketing courses.

Furthermore, the update brings significant improvements to the support service provided by the Simbound team by means of an AI powered chat bot which is designed to help instructors with every aspect of setting up and managing the course experience from setup to performance assessments and improvements.

As part of our ongoing commitment to customer satisfaction, Simbound is also currently developing resources in expanding its student support infrastructure, with new AI-powered chat bots being developed to provide platform knowledge and comprehensive answers to various learning questions, empowering students to solve problems independently and learn at an unprecedented pace. While the bots will answer basic questions about the simulation and how it works it will be specifically designed to not provide shortcuts and give out answers that would need to be produced by students as part of their learning activities with the simulation.

Our responsive customer support service is present across 6 different global timezones and they ensure timely assistance and resolution of any simulation product queries or concerns that users may encounter no matter the time of the day or their location.

Security and compliance have always been top priorities at Simbound, and this update reinforces that commitment with enhanced security features. The implementation of new technologies provides an added layer of protection against potential security threats, safeguarding sensitive personal data and ensuring compliance with the latest set of European requirements in data protection. Additionally, more frequent security audits and proactive monitoring mechanisms help mitigate risks and ensure a secure environment for learners to conduct their course work confidently in a safe and protective environment.

Finally, the development and redesign of some of our existing simulations, such as that of Email marketing, will include a new set of ESG decisions. In partnership with the University of Plymouth in the UK, we are laying the groundwork for a new and improved way of teaching digital marketing, which will include the importance of communicating and promoting the impact that companies have on the environment, society and the way they approach policymaking.

In conclusion, the latest series of updates to the Simbound SaaS software represents a significant leap forward in terms of functionality, usability, security and overall user experience. From redesigned user interfaces to the introduction of new features and enhanced security measures, as well as adapting to new changes in the way marketing is conducted by conscious business leaders, these updates are designed to provide users with the tools they need to succeed in today's fast-paced online business environment. With a relentless focus on innovation and customer satisfaction, Simbound continues to set the standard for excellence in the industry, paving the way for a brighter future for all its users and collaborators.

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How to teach with marketing simulations - a list of 50 education ideas and tips

noreply@simbound.com (Sim Bot) — Mon, 14 Aug 2023 00:00:00 GMT

How to teach with marketing simulations - a list of 50 education ideas and tips

Here are 50 innovative teaching methods with simulations! From course development to student engagement, discover 50 practical tips for leveraging marketing simulations to enhance learning outcomes and prepare students for real-world challenges.

This guide will take the tutor from course planning and student recruitment all the way to course completion and the collection of feedback. There is no need to implement all of the items for a successful simulation based course, just pick out what is most appropriate for your own course and context. Most action items should work well with any type of simulation, not just with Simbound or other marketing simulations. The main advantage of using Simbound is that it has almost all of the functionalities ready available mentioned in this article so that you don’t spend time on setting these up using 3rd party software.

The main goal of this checklist is to help simulation instructors engage students into deep learning strategies and avoid superficial learning. There are many resources online that speak to the advantages of using simulations as part of learning. Here are some general learning benefits of using simulations: - You can engage students by showing the direct link to relevant professional contexts, sometimes using a competitive dimension to increase motivation and accountability in decision making. - You provide a rich variety of opportunities for feedback and discussion. - Simulations will lay the foundations for skills that are directly relevant to students' future careers, such as working collaboratively and considering different aspects when making decisions.

Activities are listed under five sections so that you can focus on each one at a time. They are: A) Course development B) Student recruitment C) Initial course D) Main course and E) Course completion.

A. Course Development

Course development is a critical part of the course setup process, as this will set the stage for the entire course to unfold on. Course development should be reviewed and adapted before the start of each edition of the course.

1. Start by planning the timetable and activities for the course. Planning is essential and is usually done months before the course starts.

2. You can ask students to help in searching online for the different simulations that they would like to learn with. You can repeat this process year after year if needed.

3. Plan on starting the course with the easy or familiar topics first, such as email or websites, and then move on to the more advanced topics.

4. Specify the type of technology or optimal setup that students will need to make best use of the simulation and any other content or resources required for the course.

5. Align each new simulation topic with the regular delivery of your own lectures or seminars. Theory or lectures should come first, followed by accessing the relevant topic in the simulation, where students can further expand their knowledge and practice what they have learned in class.

6. Allow enough time between weekly or daily sessions as students will need to research and/or experiment with the different elements available in the simulation. It's OK to have a break in the middle of the course.

7. Include regular opportunities for students to reflect on their experiences, analyze results and discuss lessons learned. This will encourage metacognitive thinking and deeper engagement with the learning material.

8. Develop rubrics or assessment criteria to evaluate student performance during the course and the simulation. Try to assess both the final outcomes and the decision-making process, including the rationale for decisions and teamwork.

9. Indicate whether students will be assessed on learning progress and whether the results of the simulation will contribute to the final grade for the course.

10. Run the simulation yourself for at least two or three rounds so that you understand the mechanics of the software and devise a list of initial questions and answers which students should read before using the simulation for the first time.

11. For students who have disabilities or special needs, make sure that you work with the simulation provider to arrange the right means for them to get the most out of this learning experience. Be prepared to provide assistance if needed

12. Create basic guides using screenshots and annotations for the most common processes such as: registration to the platform, decision making, payment, interpreting results and asking for feedback or support. Asking the simulation provider to incorporate some of this into the platform can save you some time.

13. Pro tip: Search online for a course outline that is similar to your own course and adapt it to your own course.

B. Student recruitment

A diverse class of students with a real desire to succeed is essential for any successful course. Here is how to get one:

14. The course description should include a dedicated section for the simulation, which will attract students looking for practical experience and a certificate to put their name on.

15. Use current job demand statistics to inform students of the need for specialists in this area of work and highlight some of the skills needed to perform well.

16. List some of the companies that have recruited students from previous editions of the course.

17. Include a video interview with students who have completed the course.

18. Include the contact details of a student mentor who can help students decide if this course is right for them.

19. Pro tip: Include a link to a more detailed description of the simulation features so that students can research this and decide whether to enroll on your course.

C. Initial Course Stage

The start of the actual course is essential and will help you set up the whole course for success. You may find that you need an assistant at this stage, someone to help you with the more time consuming tasks especially if your course has a large number of participants.

20. Outline the objectives and learning outcomes of the simulation. This will help students understand what they are expected to achieve and ensure that the simulation is aligned with the overall course objectives.

21. Go over the basics first: outline the timetable for this activity, present the structures of the student teams or companies in the simulation and their starting position and resources that are available in the virtual marketplace, talk about how deadlines work, how to submit decisions, where to get support from etc.

22. Avoid information overload. Print out guides and other information, such as market reports or consumer information and trends, and control the rate of content discovery and the addition of new instructions or elements to the course.

23. Preparation is key. Make sure everyone reads the guides and watches the videos. Do not allow students to jump straight into the simulation if it is a complex simulation which requires multiple decisions.

24. Operate the student simulation platform yourself in front of the class and/or show pre-recorded videos of how it works.

25. Ask students to come up with an initial plan and course of action for the simulation. Even if the plan is not to be fully implemented in the end, it is still a valuable exercise in learning and it will encourage students to look at this from different angles.

26. Hide or remove content or other sections that are not initially relevant, such as quizzes, reports or any other material that is not essential for the initial phase.

27. Add easy-to-follow objectives: The first decisions should be basic operations such as setting up a website or creating an advertising campaign. This will build confidence and expertise when attempting some of the more difficult decisions in the simulation later on.

28. Allow students to practice running the simulation once or twice without them having to face of consequences of making wrong decisions. Use the preview of results or similar practice round functions to reduce uncertainty about expected results and hesitation in making new decisions.

29. Indicate where students can go to obtain help in understanding some of the theory involved in the simulation which was not covered by the course. 30. Remind students that simulations are not intended to be the main source of theoretical knowledge on the course and should not be used as such. 31. Point out any moving parts or components that are likely to change within the simulation, as students will need to regularly read and adapt to new information such as instructions, reports or market data. 32. Ask a representative from the simulation company to provide structured guidance: Having a framework for navigating the simulation through guidelines, timelines and specific tasks to be completed at different stages of the simulation will help students overcome the initial barrier of adapting to a new learning environment. 33. Pro Tip: Show students what a completed simulation activity would look like in terms of decisions and outcomes, as well as the reports or presentations produced by students from previous cohorts.

D. Main Course Experience

Most of the learning will take place within the main part of the course unfolding. You can gradually increase the complexity and multitude of activities within the simulation at this stage in order to reach better learning objectives. Here are some ideas:

34. Try to involve students to use multiple senses when working on this activity. Bring the product that they are selling in the simulation in front of the class so that students can perform a more in depth analysis and write a more detailed description of this, or invite them to dress up in the colors of their team. By encouraging students to feel emotion and attachment your course will benefit from higher engagement and participation and ultimately better learning results.

35. Ask students to provide the reasoning behind making certain decisions. Example: Is your decision part of an integrated and planned effort, or is it just experimentation? Well thought-out answers will help you in the assessment of learning inside the course and you can use such answer data to improve the course for future cohorts.

36. Provide each student or team of students with periodic and personalized feedback on their decisions and results either by benchmarking them to the other students on the course or having one default set of decisions and results acting as reference.

37. Ask students to try and predict their performance ahead of when the simulation issues them with new results. This should be done once a few iterations have already been completed and students had the time to become familiar with the simulation environment. Even if the range of results is difficult to predict accurately this will help develop a tight loop for learning and enable understanding of cause and effect.

38. Suggest ways to improve and add detailed instructions if you see multiple students struggling with one type of decision in particular or if simulation results or engagement tends to fall short in a certain phase of the course.

39. Author new resources together with the students which then the entire class can use. While most simulation software will come with standard guides and learning resources you will want to either adapt these to match the course specifics or expand into creating entirely new materials or references to better equip students to meet with the different situations inside the simulation. Examples include: a market research report that will inform and inspire initial decision making, an analysis of periodical results using spreadsheet software, a template to present quarterly results to the company board.

40. Change the conditions inside the simulation by either increasing or decreasing demand or by enabling or disabling new market segments or products. This will make for a less linear learning activity and will prepare students to adapt and meet with new conditions which might change again in the future.

41. Ask questions which have the student go back and analyze the results of their own decisions. Examples include: What is currently your company’s best selling product? Why? or What is your most profitable marketing campaign?

42. Include real-world examples of the marketing channels and tactics being represented in the simulation as well as typical expected range of results and marketing objectives so that students understand how it relates to their own learning

43. Pro tip: Consolidate the simulation learning experience by inviting guest speakers from the industry to share their insights and experiences. This adds new real-world perspectives and improves the value provided by the simulation.

E. Course completion

A few key activities will help you bring the course to its successful ending. Your students should now know a lot more about the topics studied and possess the right methods and confidence to embark on real work projects and to join in the management of real marketing structures.

44. Disseminate each key stage of the entire course experience by using reports and analytics data. Talk about about what happened in every week and review some of the main achievements and breakthroughs of every week. This will feed the students’ sense of accomplishment and they get the chance to go back and decide to explore further one topic where they feel they would need to learn more.

45. Ask students to provide feedback on their recent learning experience by using online forms to capture their answers data. You can make these forms store anonymous answers. Ask them what they learned that they think will help them with their future careers. You can use some of these answers to promote your course (see items 14 to 19)

46. Analyze the results by using multiple dimensions or metrics. Try and look beyond the standard financial reports as those typically capture only but a part of the entire effect on learning. 47. Try to introduce peer reviews where students evaluate their peers or teammates and also allow students to extend the learning experience to real life by transferring newly obtained skills to a real life project such as an internship or a marketing project for a company.

48. Award small prizes or mention the most successful individuals or teams of students on the schools social media accounts. This will get the best performing students with some deserved public recognition and it might open up avenues into new projects as it will also contribute to better results with new student recruitment.

49. Ask students to work on a presentation that will document their journey into making their more advanced decisions and the results they obtained

50. Pro tip: By using simulations for the assessment of learning you protect your course against any erratical usage of AI text generation platforms and help students develop critical thinking and ownership of their decisions while they are free to invest in building up their own preferred style of learning.

Conclusion

Simulations provide a dynamic and effective way to teach marketing concepts and obtain new skills. By using simulations many of which have elements from gamification you can reduce the passivity in your course and prepare students to tackle real world problems head on by using data and sound reasoning.

Immersing students in life-like scenarios, educators can open up experiential learning critical thinking and collaboration. As technology continues to reshape education incorporating digital marketing simulations into teaching methods will equip students with easy to transfer skills that are critical for success in the global ever-evolving digital world. The strategies and best practices outlined above will help educators to make use of the power of marketing simulations to create engaging and impactful learning experiences that prepare students to meet challenges as part of the modern workforce.

FAQ

1. What are some common challenges instructors may face when implementing simulations in their courses, and how can they address them?

Common challenges instructors may face include ensuring proper alignment of the simulation with course objectives, managing student expectations, and addressing technical issues with the simulation platform. Strategies for addressing these challenges include careful course planning, clear communication with students, and collaboration with simulation providers for technical support.

2. How do instructors assess student learning and performance within the simulation?

Are there specific metrics or criteria outlined? Instructors can assess student learning and performance within the simulation using rubrics or assessment criteria that evaluate both final outcomes and decision-making processes. The article suggests assessing learning progress and incorporating simulation results into the final course grade.

3. Are there any recommendations for instructors who may be new to using simulations in their teaching?

Recommendations for instructors include planning the course timetable and activities, aligning simulation topics with lectures, providing regular opportunities for reflection, and creating guides for students.

4. How customizable are simulations to fit different course objectives and student needs?

Simulations are customizable to fit different course objectives and student needs. Instructors can choose simulation topics, adjust the difficulty level, and provide additional resources as needed.

5. How do simulations accommodate different learning styles and abilities among students?

Simulations can accommodate different learning styles and abilities by offering various activities, providing feedback, and allowing students to work at their own pace.

6. Are there any ethical considerations or potential pitfalls that instructors should be aware of when using simulations in their courses?

Ethical considerations when using simulations may include ensuring fairness in competition, protecting student data privacy, and providing equal access to resources for all students. Instructors should be mindful of these considerations and address any potential pitfalls proactively.

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Introducing Simbound Skills

noreply@simbound.com (Sim Bot) — Sun, 06 Aug 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Introducing Simbound Skills

Enhance your marketing career with Simbound Skills. Gain digital credentials, improve job prospects, and streamline recruitment with proven marketing expertise. Ideal for students, educators, and employers.

Today, we are taking another big step forward towards preparing candidates for the new world of work with the launch of Simbound Skills.

This all new Simbound feature enables any person to showcase their simulation results to potential employers through an online dynamic (CV) format that is automatically created and updated with just a few clicks. It is an entirely new type of credential which brings a series of benefits to those possessing it.

With roles such as marketing manager, social media manager and data scientist among the highest rated jobs among Gen Z candidates, this qualification can give you the edge in a very competitive hiring economy.

For recruiters, this new feature allows them to connect with candidates from geographic regions that have been overlooked in the past, and from universities that may not have been on their radar. They get access to a candidate’s “hard” skills - as tested through the simulation as well as their “soft” skills - such as collaboration, leadership and creativity - as reviewed by each candidate’s peers.

How do Simbound Skills work?

In order for a student to publish their skills, they must have made at least 50 decisions in the simulation. For the time being, the skills profile will work in the same way for both individual simulation users and team-based simulations. Publishing your skills is free and you can share your new certificate online on all major social networks (use hashtags #Simbound #FortheoutStanding)

In the future students will be able to publish their own visual portfolio of their work along with any additional certificates they have earned during the course.

By publicly listing their key decisions in the simulation, along with personal ratings from teammates, students are expected to secure more interviews, initiate collaborations with project owners faster and in the end stand out in a crowded marketplace for graduate jobs.

When highlighting the amount of profit generated in the simulation, students demonstrate to a potential future employer that they understand how marketing, pricing and positioning decisions impact a company's bottom line, bringing them closer to landing their dream job as a digital marketing manager.

Schools using Simbound will be able to give their students a credible and unique digital credential that will lead to more job opportunities without having to change anything in the way they currently work. Simbound does it all for them, giving their graduates visibility on a par with that of some of the best institutions.

Employers using the new skills site will make their pre-screening and recruitment processes more robust and streamlined to accommodate a wide range of standard and emerging work trends, such as working from home (WFH) and nomadic working. They can also shorten the recruitment process and improve their pipeline of new candidates.

By using a single standard method to differentiate and compare candidates, recruiters using the new Simbound Skills platform helps promote equal opportunity and a fair recruitment process based on comparing candidates based on their proven skills and results.

About Simbound

We are the pioneers behind digital marketing simulation in education and have helped tens of thousands of individuals, businesses and schools from around the world improve their knowledge and confidence through our website and associated services.  We encourage smart and responsible online communication.

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Why digital marketing is essential in 2023

noreply@simbound.com (Diana Boariu) — Mon, 20 Mar 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Why digital marketing is essential in 2023

Discover why digital marketing is essential in 2023. Learn about cost-effective strategies, competitive advantages, and top in-demand jobs to stay ahead in the digital landscape.

In recent years, the world of marketing has undergone a major transformation. As more and more consumers go online, digital marketing is quickly gaining ground. In this article, we'll take a look at why digital marketing is becoming so important lately and what it means for businesses of all sizes.

Overall, the digital marketing industry is constantly evolving and growing, so it's safe to say that there are many employees in digital marketing today and that this number is likely to continue to increase in the coming years. As businesses increasingly rely on online channels to reach their customers, the demand for digital marketing skills has increased.

Digital marketing covers a wide range of tactics, including SEO, social media marketing, email marketing and content marketing. Each strategy will have a unique cost, depending on how competitive the industry is and how complex the campaign is.

Why is digital marketing so important in 2023?

Internet usage has exploded in recent years with the proliferation of smartphones and other mobile devices. According to recent studies, the number of internet users worldwide has increased from 3.9 billion in 2018 to 4.66 billion in 2020. Considering this, companies can expect to reach more and more people through digital channels like social media, search engines and email marketing.

Greater targeting capabilities: Digital marketing enables companies to target specific groups of consumers based on demographics, interest and behaviour. As a result, businesses can create highly personalised marketing messages that resonate with their target audience, leading to higher engagement and conversions.

Real-time performance tracking: Digital marketing allows businesses to track campaign performance in real time. So you can quickly see which campaigns are working and which are not, and make adjustments immediately. This data-driven approach to marketing allows businesses to optimise their campaigns to achieve the maximum ROI.

Increased customer engagement: Through social media, chatbots and other channels, digital marketing allows businesses to engage with their customers in real time like never before. Businesses are now building stronger relationships, leading to an increase in loyalty and advocacy, and customers are highly appreciative of this type of interaction.

Cost effective: Compared to traditional forms of advertising, digital marketing is often much more cost-effective. Especially if you want to take a holistic approach, many digital marketing channels, such as social media and email marketing, cost little or nothing.
Competitive advantage: Through the use of digital marketing strategies, companies can gain a competitive advantage over those competitors who may still be reliant on traditional forms of advertising.

As digital marketing typically involves organic (non-paid) tactics that can generate traffic and leads over time, it can generally be more cost effective than Google Ads. However, this may not be the case for every type of business or campaign. Ultimately, the best approach will depend on each business' specific objectives, budget and target audience.

So are there really lots of jobs in digital marketing?

Yes, there are. Employment of marketing managers, including digital marketing managers, is projected to grow 10% from 2020 to 2030, much faster than the average for all occupations, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

What types of digital marketing jobs are most in demand? Here’s a top 3:

Digital marketing specialist

According to an article from linkedin, this job role is in the top 10 of most in-demand careers with more than 860.000 open jobs.

Digital marketing manager
SEO manager

To sum up, digital marketing has become incredibly important in recent years due to the increased use of the internet, better targeting, lower costs, real-time performance tracking and increased customer engagement that it offers. Companies wishing to compete in today's digital world must embrace digital as an integral part of their overall marketing strategy.

Don't forget that using simulations can be an excellent way for students to gain experience and prepare for their future career. Simulation provides a safe and controlled environment for students to practice and improve their skills without risk.

With Simbound you can bridge the gap between learning in the classroom and real-world experience.

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Creating a truly engaging simulation in 4 easy steps

noreply@simbound.com (Diana Boariu) — Tue, 28 Feb 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Creating a truly engaging simulation in 4 easy steps

Learn how to create an engaging simulation in four easy steps with Simbound. Start small, set clear objectives, and guide students through digital marketing strategies step by step for a successful learning experience.

“Start where you are, use what you have, do what you can”

We are aware that sometimes students can feel a little bit confused when they start using the Simbound simulation. As an instructor, you can help your students by setting up the course to have less content for each round.

If you don't know how to create a course yet, go and watch this tutorial and then come back to this article.

So how do you construct an easy initial experience in the simulation and why is this important? Just like a real digital marketing campaign, a simulation can seem too complicated if you don't take it one step at a time. For an efficient workflow, you need not only a strategy for the campaign, but also a strategy for its implementation.

Here is how to get started:

Set specific objectives for each round. Limit the number of sections that students have access to in the application to just a few for each round. This way students won't be tempted to try everything at once.

Our suggestion is to start small. The first two rounds of the simulation are for practice. Start with the website only. It's where students can come up with a lot of creative ideas and there are many aspects to focus on when building a website.

After creating the desired brand and selecting the products, students can work on the titles, descriptions and landing pages.

Once the website is built, the next step is to create the ads. So that's where the students can start exploring more. Remember, small steps lead to big results. The Paid Advertising section is quite complex in itself, so it's best for learners to take the time to explore it and find out how it really works, without being distracted by other features. This is where keywords come into play, and using them correctly is crucial to a successful campaign.

The next step after learning all about ads and keywords is to create E-mail marketing campaigns. This is where the website and keywords are put into practice. Students can use a recommended template with one of their website pages or create their own email campaign from scratch. Marketing campaigns require good copywriting and good use of keywords, so it's likely to be a nice challenge. Here students can practise all about CTAs and strategies to get the customer interested.

Finally, the last step is what we call Simbound's social media management, which is community management. Knowing how to properly manage a brand's community is crucial to any marketing campaign. Maintaining a good relationship with customers and adding value to their lives is key to building trust in your brand and products.

The simulation offers 6 types of communities so that participants can choose what's best for their virtual business.

Let's review. Simulations are designed to help participants gain a better understanding of how things really work. Simbound allows students to try various approaches when it comes to digital marketing campaigns. It's all about taking it step by step to get a clear picture of what digital marketing is all about. Start slow and build up gradually.

What do you think of this strategy for creating a successful course? Have you tried this already or do you have a different approach that works for you?

Try Simbound now and let us know more.

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What can universities invest in? Practicability!

noreply@simbound.com (Diana Boariu) — Tue, 28 Feb 2023 00:00:00 GMT

What can universities invest in? Practicability!

Learn how universities can enhance student engagement with digital marketing simulations in just 4 easy steps. Discover the benefits and why they're a must-have in modern education.

The past few years have highlighted the importance of digitalisation in the facilitation of remote working, distance learning and virtual communication, and has led to a rapid shift towards digitisation in various sectors.

In this context, the adoption and implementation of digital technologies to ensure business continuity and learning outcomes has presented universities and enterprises with unprecedented challenges. The result of this transformation has been not only an improvement in operational efficiency, but also the creation of new opportunities for innovation and growth.

When it comes to universities how can they improve their digitalisation?

As universities compete to deliver the highest quality learning to their students, it's important to consider making an investment in practical learning techniques which will give students valuable skills and knowledge to use in practice. One such method that has grown in popularity in recent years is simulation-based learning.

Simulation-based learning involves creating virtual environments that recreate real-life situations in which students can practice and refine their skills. There are many benefits to this type of learning and it has been shown to be highly effective in teaching students about practical subjects such as digital marketing.

Verbal explanations and theory, while useful, are often insufficient to fully grasp the complexity of practical subjects such as digital marketing. Simulations provide an immersive and engaging environment where students learn by experiencing and observing.

One of the main advantages of using simulations is that they increase the retention of information in a fun way, due to the game-like mechanics. Students who participate in simulations are more likely to remember what they have learned, compared to students who are given only theoretical knowledge. The use of simulations also encourages students to have a greater connection with the subject matter, which can help them to understand the practical applicability of what they are learning.

How to make the most of each simulation learning experience?

To make simulation-based learning effective, it's important to follow each session with a post-simulation discussion. This gives students the opportunity to ask questions, to share what they've learned, and to give feedback to their instructors.

How can simulation-based learning help students in the workplace?

Simulations allow students to practice their skills without real risks. They can observe the outcomes of their decisions without real loss, allowing them to sharpen their skills in strategic thinking, teamwork, problem solving and more. Employers value this type of learning because it prepares students for the challenges they will face in the workplace.

Why will simulations continue to be useful in 2023?

Simulations are a flexible and convenient learning option for students because they can be accessed from any device, anywhere. Institutions can customize simulations to meet their course and student needs, making it easier to provide an engaging hands-on learning experience.

Digital marketing simulations are especially important in 2023 considering that nowadays marketing is increasingly more digital. The availability and affordability of internet-connected devices such as smartphones and tablets have led to a significant shift in consumer behavior, with more people spending a significant amount of time online.

It is estimated that more than 50% of professors from USA and Europe use marketing simulations in their courses, as students increasingly demand to be up to date with the latest technologies.

To conclude, simulation-based learning is a powerful and important tool that can help universities provide a valuable learning experience for their students.

By investing in simulations and integrating them into their courses and teaching modules, institutions can improve the quality of their education and prepare their students for success in the workplace.

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Why a strong community is important when building a business

noreply@simbound.com (Diana Boariu) — Thu, 09 Feb 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Why a strong community is important when building a business

Discover why a strong community is vital for business growth. Learn how to build, engage, and leverage your brand's community effectively in Simbound. Insights and practical strategies await. Dive in now!

You’ve heard the saying ‘You’re the average of the five people you spend the most time with’ . Well, this also applies in business and this is why having a community built around your brand is crucial for your business. A strong community is made out of people who love your brand and value your products, and those kind of people will be the ones to help you improve and evolve with each step you take. Forbes speaks more about why building a community is critical to your brand’s success here.

A look back in time at brand communities shows that not much has changed in the core principles. Ever since brands have existed, each brand’s community used word of mouth to promote their favorite products and to connect with others alike. In this article from the Harvard Business Review from 2009, based on 30 years of research, you can read about the myths and truths of brand communities and how much they can impact your business. After all, as it’s been already mentioned, in today’s turbulent world people are hungry for a sense of connection. Not only communities can forge connections within the user base of one brand but they help bring down costs: one company discovered that it was 72% cheaper to answer a question via the community than the existing support function.

At Simbound we manage a small and highly international community - less than 2% of our members are from our home country of Romania. This community consists of several thousand people at any given time and is made up of students, professors, small business owners & entrepreneurs but also creatives, developers and marketing professionals. We engage with our community members through our own channels as well as through third party applications, often in their local environment and in their own language.

How do you build a strong community for your brand?

The first, and most important step in building a community around your brand is adding value to your customers’ lives and creating a strong connection with them.

You can do that by: • Teaching them about the benefits of using your product and how it can make their lives easier • Teaching them how to use your product by making tutorials and sharing tips and tricks • Letting them meet the team so they know who they interact with whenever they reach you • Posting testimonials to increase their trust in your brand and products

The second step, is interacting with your community as much as possible. Once you give valuable information, you get the chance to receive the same from your peers. Many business owners forget to take a step back from the project and try to see it from a customer’s point of view, and this is how the community gets in place.

• You can receive and respond to questions either in a Q&A page on your website, or in Social Media via stories • You can create polls to see what your customers would prefer before adding a new product to your website • You can collaborate with influencers to promote your brand to their community, so more people that are interested can come and join yours too • Your community will give you the encouragement to keep innovating and the strength to keep doing what you do best • Since a community means diversity, each and every one of your peers can come up with different ideas or suggestions to improve your brand or product

Briefly, having a strong community makes your brand evolve and it also makes you a better learner.

What impact does a community have in an online marketing campaign?

Simbound, the Digital Marketing Simulator incorporates the Community Management module that lets you build communities based on your brand’s needs. After building a community, it shows you how it impacts the overall progress of your marketing campaigns. Let me show you how it works:

After creating a Simbound Participant account, you can check the CM (Community Management) module on your Dashboard. Once you find it, you’ll notice that you have a certain number of points named Sparks and Sense. That is your currency to improve your skills and engage with your community. If you hit the Gamification button you’ll notice that you can activate plenty of game options like Trivia, Gifts, Badges, Avatars and so on.

What’s the difference between Sparks and Sense? We will show you how to obtain and spend these unique resources to reach your brand development objectives.

First, Sparks represent airtime and you can use them to promote products, services or messages within your communities. You can generate more sparks from posts and how your community interacts with them. The more Sparks a post generates, the more important it is to your community. Long story short, they let you send your message further and faster.

Sense, on the other hand, is what community managers use and can only be earned out of their work and the amount each community manager holds will depend on how many communities they manage. Sense can be spent on researching, creating new communities or recruiting new managers, so it basically is a form of community intelligence.

Each time you create a new community, you will be shown the resources that are needed in order to set it up and attract a minimum number of members.

There are six types of communities and you can choose the ones that fit your business most:

⁃ The first one is the Support community which improves brand perception and reduces negative sentiment and complaints ⁃ Second, there’s the Advocate community which encourages loyal customers to support the brand by posting positive reviews and boosts word of mouth ⁃ The third community is the Social one, which connects your brand to your customers and fans in their favourite online mediums ⁃ The forth type of community is the Marketplace that allows your customers and members to exchange or sell services and products in a safe environment ⁃ The Contest community increases audience participation and improves brand recognition ⁃ And last there’s the Insight community which helps you unlock new information on different market segments and their preferences.

Here is a short video tutorial on how it works:

You can also see some examples of Brand Communities and how much impact they have in this article by Linkdex.

Now, knowing the importance of a community and how to manage it according to your needs why don't you start to plan and test your campaigns in Simbound ?

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New Reports for the assessment of learning

noreply@simbound.com (Louis Havriliuc) — Tue, 01 Nov 2022 00:00:00 GMT

New Reports for the assessment of learning

Explore the latest advancements in learning assessments and digital marketing simulations. From client updates to user testimonials, discover how Simbound's innovative platform is shaping experiential learning worldwide. Join us on the journey towards enhanced education and real-world skill development.

This autumn finds us well underway in the management of a new series of courses. Read on and learn more about new clients, a new marketing and translation jobs that are open and a recent Simbound workshop that we hosted. With hundreds of students using the platform week over week now, we are happy that the number of digital marketing decisions taken every day is near an all time high. And due to a host of recent pedagogical improvements performed to the platform we are inching closer to an overall quality learning experience for all of the learner categories using our product.

Did you know that there is one school which has used the Simbound simulation software for 11 years straight? This is none other than Universitatea “Dunarea de Jos” in our home country of Romania. We would like to thank them for all of the time and trust that they placed in our vision and for allowing us to contribute to the education of their students along all of these years. It is quite valuable to have such long-term commitment from clients so we are a lucky company having them onboard year after year. They are, without a doubt, really experienced users of our digital marketing simulations. We would also like to mention some new schools which have started to use Simbound: the Indian Institute of Management which has been using the Simbound simulation with around 50 students. A new school - the Alliant International university from California is running a pilot course using our simulation and the professor there was kind enough to provide us with the following review:

"Alliant International University in San Diego needed a simulation that would be relatively easy to get to grips with but with very satisfying and realistic levels of complexity and challenge. We needed it as part of the conclusion of our students' experience to tie together aspects of their learning so it needed to be suitable for advanced students. The Simbound platform fit the bill very well for my Digital and Social Media students who have very positive feedback on the team learning aspects and felt that this was an excellent learning opportunity that had been achieved. It was a major plus that I was able to administer the program myself and monitor and guide the students in and out of the classroom Highly recommended for anybody who needs to put students in a real-life scenario-building exercise for that at-home but real-world experiential learning medium."

Some of the best business and engineering schools around the world are Simbound clients. And since Simbound has been built from day one as a learning solution for students from all across the world we must keep delivering on that promise with a simulation that has been translated to 16 languages. BTW If you are a translator of either German, French or Japanese please get in touch as we will be seeking to upgrade the translations for these languages soon. Lastly October saw us host a workshop which was well received by a small and highly engaged group of local digital marketing simulation enthusiasts. Here is what they had to say on the day: "It is the first time I am using this type of website, I didn't even know they could exist" "This is a quite intricate simulation, the features are similar to that of the commercial solutions which I am using at my company currently" "For someone like me, with no experience in digital marketing I think it is an interesting learning platform" Stay tuned and (cliché incoming) follow the Simbound social network presence to learn more about our future announcements. Have a great ending to this year, and see you soon again here on the Simbound website.

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New Reports for the assessment of learning

noreply@simbound.com (Simbound Administrator) — Tue, 24 May 2022 00:00:00 GMT

New Reports for the assessment of learning

Explore SIMBOUND's latest innovation in learning assessment! With over a decade of educational excellence, we are now introducing a new kind of reports that allow you to swiftly gauge student decisions and results. Empowering instructors with actionable insights, we enhance course management for an efficient learning journey.

SIMBOUND has now officially crossed the 10 year old mark! For the better part of the last decade we have continued to remain a reliable partner to education establishments from across the world. Our work with implementing new technology and the research of new pedagogy continues making progress and the growing international community built around the learning methodology which we pioneered inspires us to continue to act in a responsible and sustainable way.

Thank you to all of you which have helped turn the SIMBOUND journey into an exciting one!

One significant improvement for the SIMBOUND product in Q1 of 2022 was the release of 2 new automatically generated reports that measure student decisions and student results data in order to provide instructors with fast and accurate insight on their courses. This new set of reports enables the professor to efficiently monitor the performance of all students enrolled in their course. They can then delve deeper into the data with a team-level results report, which provides insights into individual and team performance over time.

Later update: In Q3 2023 a new 'Presenter Mode' feature has been introduced which aims to provide a quick to assess snapshot of student activity across all the sections of the simulation. This report is provided in a slide by slide format and can easily be projected in class. It provide a quick to follow visual breakdown of the status for each student/team on a host of metrics (e.g. low page score, or low profit) by highlight also through a green/red symbol the decisions that would need to be improved. This can be launched from the main instructor dashboard in the button next to each course name.

As you can see in the above image, only one team - Rapid discounters- has passed the threshold for not having too many pages with Low Page Score indicated by the green symbol above its name. By clicking on the video symbol next to each dimension, a quick video tutorial will be brought up which shows how to fix every issue.

The interim report

The interim course report has the main role to signal red flags and present team decisions and results so that they can be addressed by the tutor with reasonable time left until the end of the course. It contains the interim term because this report becomes more useful to consult whilst in the middle of the learning activity so soon after a simulation has passed the very first stage or round, and it will continue to remain relevant up until the simulation is near completion. If the report is used too early then it does not have enough decisions and results data to produce meaningful analysis and likewise if the report is brought up too late in the course, it might be too late to let the students know what to address within their decisions in order to try to lead them towards meaningful learning.

Here are a few examples from a real course with explanations.

1 Team has no web pages: Purple

This team can't progress in the simulation because it doesn't have any pages. Working on the other sections, Ads and Email will require setting up of web pages.

5 Teams have multiple pages of a score below 70: Green4You,EasySportPlanner,Sky Blue,Dark Green

A score below 70 on multiple pages indicates that most of these teams have utilized the automated page creation feature in Simbound, which sets up new pages with a few clicks. However, they have not reviewed the standard content, such as text and images, that are automatically inserted onto each page. Consequently, these pages have not been optimized and have likely not been reviewed by humans. The simulation engine will recognize and reward pages with higher scores with increased visits and even more favorable results, including sales and conversions.

2 Teams which have currently set a smaller value than their available budget for the current round: Purple,EasySportPlanner

Failing to set the advertising budget to its maximum amount in one round will result in missed opportunities for brand awareness, lead generation, and customer acquisition. The primary reason for this is that any remaining budget from one round will not be carried forward to subsequent rounds. For example, if a team sets the maximum budget of a campaign to 100 while having a disposable value of 1500, they are missing out on an opportunity to spend 1500-100= 1400. In a real-life company, the budget will remain available for future use if it is not spent in the simulation. Our pedagogical approach aims to encourage students to think about budget allocation in an iterative manner, rather than as a one-time decision. By reviewing all of their cost-producing advertising campaigns, students are encouraged to reach the largest possible audience and to understand the role of cost on the return on advertising spending, as well as in the seasonality of client behavior. Timing is essential when carrying out marketing operations.

2 Team(s) which spent less than 60% of their available budget last round: Purple,Sky Blue

It should be noted that some teams included in this report may not yet have initiated a campaign (teams meet the condition of spending less than 60% of their budget by default at the start of the simulation). However, for those that do have active campaigns, spending less than 60% of their budget is an important indicator that the campaign settings may not have been correctly implemented. There are a number of potential causes for this issue, including an insufficient number of keywords, an excess of low-volume keywords, an inadequate input of the minimum required amount into the Cost-Per-Click decision box, or a lack of budget allocation. Furthermore, there may be other issues that require attention. For instance, an incorrect ad format will not trigger ads. In some instances, the student may have failed to recognize that the campaign or specific elements of the campaign, such as ad groups, have been paused in previous rounds. This prevents the campaign from accumulating expenditure.

The Team-focused report

(this will work for individuals as well)

The team-focused report provides a more detailed analysis of the performance of each team or individual. It is designed to provide highly personalized feedback on each team’s learning journey and to suggest improvements to their decisions and results. The team-focused report lists results and compares them to those of other teams or individuals in the course. This enables the tutor to provide more in-depth guidance and to assess each team or individual's relative position. Here is just one example of the more than 14 distinct report items currently available with the team report:

Team Blue has an average page score of 59. The average score of a page in the course is: 88.

The objective of this new series of reporting features is to reduce the time and effort required by tutors in their interpretation of simulation results, while also reducing the possibility of human error when determining which individuals or teams the instructor should focus on first and provide support to. The management of courses with a large number of students is now significantly simplified thanks to these reports, which will be enhanced based on the future feedback coming within user community.

Peering into the future.

Some challenges lie ahead: how can we at SIMBOUND best manage a product that caters to different types of courses, and also different geographical markets while trying to keep working on our initial promise of having a simple and efficient simulation experience that simply works time after time.

Some big questions yet to answer are how we can make use of new trends and technologies entering the educational space such as automatization and AI without compromising the tutor-student relationship and to avoid the undermining of the role that dialogue and social interaction have in learning. The content and complexity of the learning activity should and will eventually be adapted to each student’s skills and we trust that in this process the tutor will play an ever increasing role in determining the types of learning systems their school will choose to employ.

Explaining an evolving learning product to the many professors and students from around the world, some of which do not yet hold the fundamental skills or the resources needed to make full use of our services will probably become a bigger challenge in the years to come. We have a very interesting journey in front of us in which all of the parties who are involved in the carrying out of education are invited to express their needs and ideas so that we can together progress in the same excellent manner as up until now. Here is to the next 10 years and to the same carefully crafted quality of instruction service which has inspired educators the world over.

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More practice with practice rounds

noreply@simbound.com (Louis Havriliuc) — Thu, 07 Oct 2021 00:00:00 GMT

More practice with practice rounds

Simbound is excited to announce the launch of simulation practice rounds! This new feature was requested by our user community and is now available to all academic customers.

We've finished planning, developing, and testing, so it's time to show off a much-anticipated feature. We're excited to announce simulation practice rounds! We're happy to respond to recent suggestions from our community with a new and extensive feature that's available to all existing Simbound academic app users.

Practice Rounds are Live

It is now possible for instructors to add one or two simulation practice rounds, which can be scheduled in advance of the actual simulation rounds. This addition was requested by several tutors who wished to provide students with a quick and easy introduction to the simulation. It also forms part of our wider effort to construct high-performance pedagogical tools that are aligned to emerging standards in educational technology design. This addition is designed to enhance the learning experience, reduce initial student queries, and support more effective course management.

What happened before practice rounds were available?

Before we delve into the specifics of practice rounds, it is beneficial to understand the traditional approach instructors employed in the past. To provide students with some practice, a few simulation rounds were played. Once those rounds were completed, the instructors reset them. This was an effective method, although it occasionally caused confusion among students who did not receive the satisfaction of seeing their simulation progress in a linear manner.

Some of the more experienced professors and teaching assistants also utilized the preview function as a complementary method. For those who have recently joined us and may have missed this past release, the preview option allows a student team to view a selection of their future results well ahead of a round deadline. The preview option will continue to be available as an optional feature in both the team and single user mode of play. It can be used alongside practice rounds for a comprehensive pre-simulation activity with minimal risk.

How Practice Rounds Work

We're so excited to announce that effective today, both students and instructors will finally have some peace of mind! You can now rest assured that the results you obtain in the practice rounds will not count towards the final set of results. So, go ahead and make a mistake and get away with it! That's what the practice round is there for.

Just a heads-up: The simulation will generate some operational and financial figures during the practice rounds. These will be saved and stored in a separate report at the end of either one or two practice rounds. The instructor can then review them later. This will help assess how teams did in the practice stage and how they'll do in the real rounds.

So, what happens to the work done by students during a practice round you're asking? Well, read on to find out, but first, why not take a quick break to read some quick Zen wisdom?

"In studying the way, realizing it is hard; once you have realized it, preserving it is hard. When you can preserve it, putting it into practice is hard" ~ Zen Proverb

Students' decisions will be available before the real rounds. If students have been working hard since day 1 and created thoughtful webpages and search advertising campaigns, they will be rewarded in the actual rounds.

The practice round addition is anticipated to extend the lifespan of the Simbound learning experience, reduce the number of queries posed by students at the outset of the simulation, and permit courses to commence in a less risky environment. This is because the results generated in the simulation during a practice round will not be aggregated with the final set of results. There are numerous advantages to using them.

We are confident that you will find the new practice round functionality useful and that it will result in more effective course management and a higher level of satisfaction among users of the Simbound suite of course management and simulation tools.

In conclusion

We will continue to prioritize high-availability and scalability as we work to enhance Simbound and its delivery to some of the top educational institutions. We will continue to prioritize your feedback and suggestions as we work to enhance our offerings. Our goal is to remain at the forefront of digital marketing pedagogy, consistently introducing new and innovative approaches to meet the evolving needs of our clients.

Have a great autumn semester and if you fancy more quotes on practice and practicing, here is a list which we think you’ll enjoy: https://proverbicals.com/practice

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New License Model coming September 2020

noreply@simbound.com (Simbound Administrator) — Mon, 03 Aug 2020 00:00:00 GMT

New License Model coming September 2020

Simbound extends gratitude to its educational clients and partners for their trust during the recent lockdown. Simbound will continue to support digital marketing education through innovative online simulations.

We would like to express our gratitude to our existing educational clients and commercial partners for placing their trust in the Simbound online learning services during the recent lockdown. While there is still some uncertainty regarding how universities will function beginning in September 2020, we are pleased to be able to provide you with the assurance that the Simbound team is on standby and continues to develop and provide support for the world's first digital marketing simulation platform used in courses delivered both online and offline.

The feedback we have received from the market recently has encouraged us at Simbound to continue providing the highest quality educational online services and resources. In light of changes in the wider education environment, including new teaching conditions that come with both new time and budget constraints, we are adapting our services to meet these challenges.

Today, we are opening a discussion on new potential avenues for licensing our proprietary simulation content and services. As pioneers in online education of digital marketing with simulations, we are now ready to present an entirely new licensing model. This is a first for the business education industry using experiential learning tools and is certainly one of the most flexible and high-performance EdTech licensing options available on the market. We hope that this will motivate other educational simulations providers to provide a matching level of service. We invite clients and other industry colleagues to familiarize themselves with the approach to licensing and contribute their views or express their wishes for new functionality which we will later include in an extended article.

Why we think micro-licensing software is the future of Educational Technology

The envisioned pay-as-you-go system will be able to align costs with actual software usage, promoting transparency and financial efficiency in the licensing of educational technology. Simbound invites clients to explore this new model, which is poised to redefine software licensing in the education industry.

The proposed pay-as-you-go system is straightforward yet game-changing. In essence, credits are acquired in advance and then converted into simulation decisions. Your course participants will utilize the new credits as they operate the features of the simulation platform, allowing them to assess their investment against their progress and learning more effectively. Once the credits have been consumed, additional credits must be purchased in order to continue running the simulation. The introduction of the new credits-based system allows you to allocate financial resources to a single user action, ensuring that the financial commitment aligns with the actual level of usage of our software. This is a unique and valuable feature that is not available with traditional software acquisition budgets. This approach is efficient, transparent, and leads to predictable costs, aligning with the principles of software-as-a-service. If you've used Simbound before, you can test this new system for your upcoming courses. Learn more about business simulation software licensing in this resource. .

Introducing Simbound User Credits

The new credit-based licensing model has emerged in response to changes observed in the broader educational landscape. It differs from the decades-old annual subscription or site-wide software license models, which typically involve a one-time payment and provide access to all software features for all users within an organization. While these legacy licensing models have historically been effective, they may not be as suitable in today's environment, where there are often multiple alternatives to each software solution.

However, licensing as software for unlimited usage and for all of the users of a school poses significant challenges to software expenditure plans. For instance, a category of users who do not utilize the newly acquired software renders part of the license suboptimal. The new credit-based licensing system from Simbound eliminates the sunk cost associated with software. This gives purchasing managers full control of software-related allowances and expenses, allowing for more precise management of software usage patterns and diverse user populations each with their own learning behaviour and preference. In other words, the introduction of credits will prevent software cost overruns and act as a stopwatch for educational technology usage and efficiency.

This is yet another innovative development from Simbound. We believe it will have a defining impact on the future of licensing in the educational software industry, while also redefining how licensing is carried out in other software industries. It is our policy that no one should be required to pay for digital content unless they are actively using it. We recommend our esteemed clients to rethink the way they manage their software licensing needs and contact us to learn how they can begin converting their existing licenses to the new credit-based licensing system. This will help us promote fair business practices across the entire educational software industry.

We'll have more updates soon, so stay tuned! Enjoy your summer vacation and we'll see you soon in one of our upcoming digital marketing simulation courses.

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Learning during the lockdown - Simbound students feedback

noreply@simbound.com (Simbound Administrator) — Wed, 03 Jun 2020 00:00:00 GMT

Learning during the lockdown - Simbound students feedback

Simbound is a digital marketing simulation platform that provides an interactive and risk-free environment for students to develop their marketing skills. Despite initial registration challenges, users have found the platform intuitive and beneficial for team collaboration and through internal competition. Recent feedback highlights the need for clearer instructions and progress tracking. Overall, Simbound effectively prepares future marketers and entrepreneurs using practical, hands-on experiential learning.

Here is the unedited feedback collected from international students which took an online course on marketing with the help of the Simbound simulation. The course took place in April 2020 at the Romanian-American University in Bucharest. The students providing the present feedback have used the initial Simbound simulation product (released in 2012), which has been superseded by 2 improved product versions in 2019 and again in 2023 respectively.

Manon A. (Erasmus)

We started using the Simbound platform around one month ago and due to the current sanitary situation we only had 3 rounds, that is very short, so it’s quite not easy to evaluate this simulation game but anyway, these are the points I noticed during this period :

- It was not easy to register and to sign in: It literally took us an entire class to create the teams and to register on the platform because we didn’t receive the e-mails, or they went directly into the spam boxes… Even when we had registered, it was not easy to sign in. I think the registration system maybe needs some improvements.

- The game was easy to play: The platform is intuitive and we easily found where to click in order to access a particular part of the game. It could be even better by adding some directives or helpful sentences to guide the players.

- The game is kind of vague in my mind: Honestly, even after 3 weeks of game, I can’t tell how the game really works… I don’t understand the progressing system and how our choices and actions led us to our results. We did things by instinct I guess and we didn’t really act by strategy and logic. It would be great to have a small recap at the end of each round that explains what was good and bad in our choices and what we should look deeper into or what we should slow down for example.

I had the opportunity to play another simulation game that had the similar objective and it necessitated much more work (a lot of hours), but it was really more clear in our mind because each choice had consequences and we always had feedback about them. The progression had more sense for us and we knew what to do by a strategic point of view.

Simbound is a great simulation, from my point of view it needs to be more concrete for the players.

Marta L. (Erasmus)

Simbound is a platform that gives us the opportunity to learn, without the risk of losing money and the company's reputation. Thanks to the platform, we can create websites, promotional campaigns or find out what the most important "Keywords" are in our industry. Simbound gives us a new look at digital marketing.

People/students who have been in contact with Simbound for the first time got the opportunity to use the " Simbound Guidebook ", which will certainly facilitate the use of the platform. Thanks to the possibility of playing in a team, we can gain new experience by working with colleagues from work or school. This is a great lesson for future entrepreneurs and marketers. We can consult everything with our lecturers, thanks to the professor's account. The professor sees at what stage of the work we are and knows what difficulties we have and what is easy for us. The platform is quite well developed, one of the most important tabs, in my opinion, is the " Competition " tab, in which we see the achievements of our opponents, thanks to which the competition has a motivating effect on us. In addition to competition, we can also focus on our own achievements, which is shown in each of the main tabs. We go into them and see our statistics from individual departments, for example ads, campaigns or keywords. At each stage, we have the time given to the lecturer to complete the task and the goal, thanks to which everything is explained clearly and comprehensively. The motivation to pursue subsequent goals is the " Potential Bonus" or the possibility of obtaining additional money for subsequent ads and campaigns.

Simbound, like any other platform, has opportunities for improvement in the future. One of the most important things for me during such projects is direct contact with my team. I was thinking of introducing something like "Messenger" - a Facebook chat. Such a chat would only have the function of the group in which he currently works. Contact, all arrangements regarding the site and relations with the team would then be more encouraging and all the work on the project, in my opinion, would be faster and pleasant.

Another thing I miss on the platform is a preview on the main page after completing the next stage: the original website (with the location of each text, photos, transitions, etc.). Personally, it would be a great help, if I would see the full effect of my work, at the end of the stage.

Istabraq A.

An online platform that helps you to imagine doing online marketing in an environment which is realistic, where you can make use of quirky tools. It also helps to work in a team on the same project, share ideas, develop our e-marketing techniques and divide the work among them. What is very good is that it is just simulation which puts us in a very risk-free situation and help up develop everything and not lose anything.

Once constraints like budgets or time are being removed, participants are encouraged to think in a creative manner and then to seek to apply what they have learned during real work scenarios

Students will enjoy this platform because they will get the chance to do things for the first time on a risk-free platform that will help them for smooth and easy transition to the real world and to do their businesses with some background experience.

In the beginning, when we started working on it as a team it was very challenging to understand everything and to start but after a while and asking each other and helping each other, working as a team we started figuring it out and it was very interesting and fun because we got the chance to be creative and to think freely.

The instructions in the student file were very informative and easy to apply. The overall experience was pretty good and wish we had more classes that actually do something interactive and give us things to practice more than theory.

Fehmi G.

Simbound is a digital marketing simulation that is a great interactive project, we have the chance to develop our e-marketing skills and techniques by using this site. Because it’s a simulation there is no risks of losing something and this helps the students to move on comfortably, this business simulation will surely enable and improve comprehension of a multitude of digital marketing skills and this will include Budget administration, costs and benefits, decision taking and etc.

Firstly, I would like to say that in the beginning we had some problems of finding the student manual. So, I think it would be much easier if when we opened the simulation it could show up directly and tell us what we should do from the beginning.

Secondly, if we had more options to do in the objectives, and even if we didn’t know what to do, we could have a written hint but unfortunately that would be limited. Moreover, there should have been some bonus objectives to increase your points or to increase the amount of the people reached, and by having bonus points there would be more competition between the teams.

Lastly, if there were more scenarios in the simulation, it would be addictive for the users. If There would be notifications regarding the competition between the other teams, so the teams could wake up and try to be in the race between the teams. In addition, after the competition was finished if there was a backup message for all the competitors.

Evan M. (Erasmus)

First of all, there is a student manual that is made available at the very beginning of the game. It presents each topic in detail to get the game off to a good start. This manual will help you to understand it, what to do and how to do it.

It is designed to train students and professionals in the mysteries of digital marketing. The serious game is at the same time pedagogical, marketing, communicational, and informational.

This website is accessible in seven different languages. This way, more people can use it easily, it’s very convenient. It is very easy to use because everything is explained no matter which language you will choose.

It is a complete simulation because we can do several things like :

- Group decisions concerning the launch of paid SEO campaigns

The creation of text ads
The selection of keywords
The choice of a budget for each session of the simulation
The optimization of the landing pages associated with the ads
The management E-mail Marketing campaigns.

So it's a good training related to digital marketing because in the world or work, the Digital Marketing takes an important place and it becomes more important with every new week. I think playing against multiple teams is a good thing. It makes you want to make the best possible choices and so you can think about your decisions. Moreover, working in a team allows you to compare everyone's ideas and choose the best one.Finally, I really enjoyed the game and it allowed me to improve my digital marketing skills and deepen my knowledge.

DOMINIC M.

Simbound is a platform of business simulation genre that addresses the digital/online marketing subject. In fact, we started using it in our digital marketing classes. I have to admit that at first it wasn’t that easy for me to understand how to use it. Even now it is not really clear what are the required steps in the process, so maybe what I can suggest to this platform is to simplify it a little bit for the beginners. It showed me that starting a business online it’s not that simple as it looks, people, in general, have this common idea, but actually there a lot of things that you have to take care of while having an online activity. I think this site can improve comprehension of a multitude of digital marketing skills including decision reasoning, cost/benefit analysis, budget administration, audience targeting, and much more. It has a lot of positive sides in my opinion and it can be both a fun and a new interactive way of learning in class, and also a great way to to make students cooperate between each other. Simbound can definitely be recommended to other business learning institutions.

Anna F.

Simbound provides web marketing operations carried out in a game-like environment. It provides content and online simulations with different game mechanics on the topic of digital marketing. In my opinion, Simbound is an intriguing and efficient website that provides step by step instructions and guides you towards getting a view on how to create a website, website analytics simulations, search engine marketing simulations and e-mail marketing simulations. Through Simbound, students implement operations such as setting up a website, pay per click search engine marketing etc., in my opinion while using Simbound, in some circumstances, I found it sometimes confusing and complicated to use, in the sense that I would have preferred more detailed and informative instructions, I feel like if you have no experience with websites and technology this might be a bit complicated to start with, due to the fact that they do not specify some of the success criteria, on the other hand once you start with it and actually spend a certain amount of time on it you start handling it then it becomes easier and more understandable. Overall, it is a great method to learn and especially if you want to open a business and make a website it will help perfect it and get it started.

Alicja C. (Erasmus)

Simbound has given me a better understanding of how online marketing campaigns are configured and fine-tuned and the real impact they have on sales. The ability to create email campaigns was very realistic as the whole email design had to be done by myself, which gave me a lot of freedom to create this kind of advertising campaign. Running a website was a very interesting experience as it allowed me to run and design the whole website and promotion structure from scratch. Also, creating the website was very realistic, although if I had the opportunity to modify something in this area I would gladly add the possibility of adding photos on the website created by me, because it would greatly enrich the reception and image of the created website. The teamwork was very inspiring, including the possibility of small competition with other teams, which was very motivating for further work. The program was very clear, the goals in the module were easy to understand and the possibility to "find out more" was very helpful. The instruction and the possibility to get information about a given step was very useful and helpful, thanks to which the work on the website and campaigns went smoothly. The possibility of contacting the lecturer is also a convenience, so contact is made on an ongoing basis and all uncertainties can be corrected in the present mode. In my opinion, unfortunately, the disadvantage is that it is not possible to check the level of the goal achievement during its duration. This leads to a lack of certainty that the goal will be achieved correctly during the round. Nevertheless, working with Simbound is a very interesting and realistic experience.

Thank you to all those which took the time to contribute with their feedback.

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Simbound during the quarantine

noreply@simbound.com (Sim Bot) — Thu, 07 May 2020 00:00:00 GMT

Simbound during the quarantine

Explore how Simbound navigated the challenges of quarantine, contributing to Edtech initiatives in Romania and leading the charge in #EuvsVirus hackathon. Discover their commitment to education amidst crisis.

Simbound led the way with the “Edtech Romania” initiative following the example of several European countries.

Thank you for trusting us with your courses during these unprecedented times. At Simbound, we have been surprised by the speed at which events have unfolded over the past two months. We had to stop work and work from home, and now we are slowly making our way back to the office. While we were on lockdown, we contributed to two non-profit initiatives that express our solidarity with those working in education. We are not just about business, and we emphatize with education professionals. If Simbound can help you or your projects during this time, please let us know.

Edtech Romania - Solidarity with Schools in times of Crisis

This community aims to connect schools, universities and training centers with the latest Edtech technologies developed by Romanian companies. A few companies have joined us and have agreed to supply their services for free to schools and universities during the ongoing lockdown. With schools being shut down at least until September 2020, educational technology products have become essential, trying to reconstruct in-person course experiences. Kudos to the Simbound team and to all the Romanian companies which joined our movement of solidarity. Also you should check out the facebook group for the Romanian Edtech community (not a Simbound initiative): https://www.facebook.com/groups/edtech.ro/

Edtech Partnership for Romania

We are ready to further develop and invest more resources into building up the fast growing Edtech business community in Romania and are looking for like-minded partners who already have experience in delivering Edtech solutions. And btw the Simbound Romania reseller channel is open for applications. Apply here: https://simbound.com/ro/partners/

The world’s biggest online hackathon: #EuvsVirus 2014

Simbound founder and CEO Louis Havriliuc volunteered to lead the e-learning methods and tools challenge (challenge #23 out of 36). Over the weekend of April 24-26, more than 100 teams from across Europe tackled the current school lockdown situation and hacked new digital learning technologies. Code was written, friendships were made, and new solutions are now coming to light. It was an unforgettable experience for all the +20,000 people who registered: organizers, teams, mentors, promoters, all of whom were volunteers! The winners in the e-Learning category are: https://devpost.com/software/ailearning which is an AI-based solution that simplifies educational activities, focuses on test remediation, and acts as a learning companion. Feel free to browse some of other the proposed hacks here.

About Simbound

Simbound is a pioneer in e-marketing simulation. Simbound provides services to clients through an online technology platform that can simulate digital consumer behavior at scale and under different conditions. Simbound has been awarded by the European Commission and Finnova as the best educational technology startup for 2017.

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New Research from Simbound

noreply@simbound.com (Sim Bot) — Wed, 04 Sep 2019 00:00:00 GMT

New Research from Simbound

This is a piece exploring innovation in education and digital marketing and where we announce the findings of new research carried out together with other business simulation companies.

Being a reflective piece, this is not your standard blog material, so it’s not necessarily pointing towards our day to day work of creating high-engagement, high-performance active learning resources here at Simbound. In this article we will expose fundamental values, and reading it should be interesting to anyone who has invented something or is interested in the latest research. Thinking presented here vies with the engrained digital culture of today which means that if you are content with the status quo then this article is probably not for you. You will find it is quite a distance away from the typical tech company/startup adage when corporate involvement in education is discussed. Each statement is exemplified so as to be made easier to understand. While the writing is dense, the principles are fairly basic to comprehend and at the same time essential for grasping one likely evolution of the industry. The concluding discussion argues for a scientific approach which can help move knowledge forward and also presents a short study that we completed recently. It is foolish to think that if one entity owns a large part of a market or a industry, they would also be entitled or indeed would even be capable to absorb all the innovation that takes place in that particular market or industry. Think of this example:aeroplanes were invented more than a century ago, with different flight simulators being cropped up afterwards along the way. Are they the same thing? No, because they provide a different kind of utility: aeroplanes are used to transport people and cargo, while when it comes to flight simulators these train pilots how to fly planes in an efficient and safe manner. Often simulators improved the efficiency and development of planes. Was the aeroplane industry quick to claim that any simulators should be owned, influenced or directed by them? Was it not the case that aeroplanes also benefitted from the development of their static counterparts? (hint, the answers to the last two questions are No/Yes). Distinctively, they represent different technologies, built for different purposes and owned by different entities but by working together they contribute for safer flights, reducing the loss of resources and leading to overall progress.

Simbound provides never before available utility - that to be able to simulate, in a complex environment and based on game principles different digital marketing processes. That very own characteristic is what turns it into a innovation, some 7 years after it was first launched on the international market of services. For anybody who is naive enough to think the Simbound operation was simple to put together and thus would be somehow easy or entitled to be replicated then they should keep in mind that it took about 2 years of development time to put together and perfect a first working version of the product. A great deal of effort went into progressing knowledge in this field. Anybody ignoring this aspect and using alternatives which are not authorised by Simbound are not only taking part in intellectual property theft but they are actually creating impediments to further innovation. Digital marketing simulators are here to stay for as long as we will prospect and transact over the internet. Nobody can change that. As the original creators of a new class of internet service, we are facing a dire situation which is developing to our detriment, even while we continue to support and contribute to the two large industries which we touch upon mainly education and digital marketing. Of course, some of our work was influenced by other digital systems and phenomena (after all the objective we set out to achieve is to educate people, which we successfully achieved) but the paradox I see unfolding nowadays is that Simbound risks being perceived as an imitator of some sorts. Being frank, I believe Simbound has done and will continue to do a lot of good for those who came into contact with the concept. While equipping students with actionable knowledge through a method which consistently is getting positive feedback and enjoys fast growth in adoption we, in fact, pioneered not a method but a new industry with its own characteristics. As patrons over one promising educational technology, we have a responsibility towards the greater general population of digital learners and entities to share insight and protect them against entering situations which they seem not to understand or are not able to assess in a correct manner. Education does not need to teach people what to do or how to think, but rather it equips them to decide, to discern about the most appropriate ways of doing something Simbound is not and never was associated with any real digital marketing platform or company. We are confident enough to strike it out on our own and not seek to benefit from any potential big brand spillover. This is an independent research and development company that has a noticeable track record in innovation while employing a lean, frugal resource base. In fact when it comes to the way it has transformed value it meets many of the prerequisites to be regarded as a classic case study for resourcefulness and innovation management. All of what was achieved with Simbound was realised with the utmost consideration and a continuous choice of non-involvement in the fundamental structures of existing industries and processes. The versatility that the Simbound concept holds is immense as we see it right now and we are at a point in time in which we can start to improve the very structures of the industries that we initially set out to simulate. I suspect this quality of the Simbound platform is one of the reasons why others have bothered to have it shamelessly replicated. Simply because we do not engage in cooperation with anyone corporation or individuals that would seek to influence our product strategy or shake up ownership inside our company does not make us into an adversary. What must be remembered is that our strategy does not include cooperating with companies of which values we do not agree with, of companies who do not play by the rules and that we are in the fortunate position to be able to choose our partners and clients. Not a lot of companies are able or are willing to do this: we compete on a different set of fundamentals, to which we have time and time again brought forward a winning strategy. If we did so in the past, there is a considerable chance that we can do it again in the future. Just to give you an example: soon after Simbound was released, a world-class digital marketing technology company decided to suppress its own, similar educational initiative, probably after realising that our concept and execution are superior and that they generate a positive return in both user experience as well as in realised income. When we launched Simbound, we were not even aware of the existence of their corresponding concept nor were we discouraged to learn about it later. Our intention was not to replicate or somehow compete with this but to create a complex and efficient educational experience. Education should be independent of any commercial intent, and that is something we stand by day after day. And of course we could have not done it on our own, that’s why we can count on world-renown educational establishments as our long term partners.

Science holds the key to progress in this and in many other fields. While new scientific communities are forming in this emerging space of simulation-led instruction we will continue to strive for leadership through novel research projects which involve forward-thinking practitioners and institutions.

Recently we have collected information about the current state of simulations in business education and the expectancies of simulation games instructors. This small scale study reveals how educational clients discover and use new simulation games, and also brings forward some of the current issues they are faced with. Additionally, it provides an up-to-date view coming from senior business simulation industry leaders and other company representatives. After more than 50 years since the first simulations were used in education, this is one innovative way of carrying out research and places Simbound at the forefront of knowledge in the experiential learning field. This statement confirms our belief that we are able to further advance the body of knowledge through sound research practice and translate that knowledge into top quality products that will end up working to the benefit of all. If these values are the ones you adhere to and you recognise that it is not easy to bring about change, then we will invite you to join forces and start working together as one on the many projects of which we are now tackling. Together we are more likely to succeed, despite the many barriers remaining in the way of knowledge and progress. Many thanks for reading so far and for all your contributions and here is to an entirely new world of research and development at Simbound, which we envision will benefit the lives of all those around us. Louis Havriliuc - Founder & CEO of Simbound

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7 Years of Experiential Education with Simbound

noreply@simbound.com (Aurel Tumurug) — Fri, 12 Apr 2019 00:00:00 GMT

7 Years of Experiential Education with Simbound

The very first version of Simbound is launched. The world had not yet seen any similar digital marketing simulations. Do you still remember the old website?

- 2 April 2012 -

The very first version of Simbound is launched. The world had not yet seen any similar digital marketing simulations. Do you still remember the old website?

- June 2012 -

We meet our 1st Client which is ISCTE-IUL University of Lisbon, Portugal. Paulo Rita becomes the first marketing professor in the world to use a digital marketing simulation game within his class.

- April 2013 -

We are going through some turbulent times with many changes.

- December 2014 -

More than 50 universities from around the world have used Simbound as it gains the status of Edtech innovation.

- December 2015 -

Simbound is illegally reproduced in the USA by our former reseller

- September 2016 -

Simbound has been used by over 100 universities.

- Jan 2017 -

We move to Cluj-Napoca, Romania's 2nd largest city and home to the country's biggest university. What a better place to reinvent the original concept.

- Nov 2018 -

Simbound is recognised as Europe's Best Edtech Startup for 2017 during the Startup Europe Summit in Sofia, organised by the European Commision and Finnova.

- April 2019 -

We look back with joy and thank everyone who has been part of this great endeavour. Changing the way education is carried out is one of the hardest challenges out there, but together we did it!

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Simbot.Tv - Animated Web Series Launch

noreply@simbound.com (Sim Bot) — Mon, 25 Jun 2018 00:00:00 GMT

Simbot.Tv - Animated Web Series Launch

Reflective piece explores innovation in education and digital marketing.

At Simbound we have always encouraged unconventional thinking. Here you can learn about a new feat of creativity that I hope you will enjoy.

Simbot.tv is a new animation project which places the mascot of the Simbound company front and center as the lead actor of its very own web series. Some 6 years later after its birth, the goofy looking robot is now ready to take his musings to a worldwide (English speaking for now) audience. The proposed entertainment concept aims to fit the viewing style of the smart and conscious online citizen, of the discerning internet connoisseur and the explorer of rare online technology and experiences.

The Simbot show brings about a host of new themes filled with subtle, nuanced messages such as the value and pattern of online communication, technology adoption and how this fits into the contemporary lifestyle of young creative professionals. It chooses to relate the history of not only its own origin as an animation character but that of the Simbound concept in its entirety.

Surely this will go down as one of the more memorable promotional/PR assets of Simbound! The animation was launched to a warm welcoming as part of a special screening of which you can see more below:

Long term plans for the bootstrapped, commercial-free animation project include building up a loyal community of fans which provide us with feedback and support and also on finding ways in which to sustain the costs for further developing the animation.

Enough words, you can now watch the pilot and also follow the Bot on all of its shiny new social channels to keep track of future episodes. If you feel that you gained something from watching then don’t forget to share this with your audience, and to promote creativity and authenticity.

Happy viewing!

As the pioneer of digital marketing educational simulations SImbound has forever changed business education and continues to make an impact around the world. Simbot.tv is just one of the ways in which Simbound strives for a better, smarter internet, a medium in which its users adopt sound values and ethical thinking that lead us to new progress every day.

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Input for MSc Dissertation at University of Leeds

noreply@simbound.com (Louis Havriliuc) — Sun, 29 Apr 2018 00:00:00 GMT

Input for MSc Dissertation at University of Leeds

Reflective piece explores innovation in education and digital marketing.

To clarify, these questions are about the UK educational technology market for digital simulation games and Simbound's internationalisation into it. The answers were used by a University of Leeds (UK) Student for his 2017 Dissertation who sought to research ways in which Simbound could operate in the UK Market of services in the context of Brexit. However, previous internationalization strategies and other locations the firm operate in are highly relevant to this study also.

Porter's Five Forces

Do you think there is a threat of new entrants into the UK market? Yes

If so who are they? Stukent How many potential new entrants are there? 1-2

What is your perceived intensity of this threat? Low Intensity

In your opinion, are there any substitute products available in the UK market that would take the place of digital simulation games? Not that many of which I know of: Internships, Digital Marketing Workshops,The Digital Workshop series of resources from Google. Stukent Mimic (copycat product).

Are there many of these substitutes and do they present a cost saving to the customer? Simbound is more cost-friendly and efficient in terms of learning outcomes than most other methods or resources out there. Prices for workshops tend to hover around few hundred GBP while the price for a Simbound license is the equivalent of approx. 50 GBP (2018)

To what extent do they perform the same task as Simbound's game? Receiving training on real digital marketing solutions and services is desirable but it takes a long time to learn the specifics of each software and the multitude of situations to which they apply. Plus you have to cope with potential risks such as loss of financial resources and brand damage.When it comes to the direct competitor (Stukent) there is sufficient amount of information online, which shows that it performs similar or the same operations.

In terms of the relationship with your customers, which party do you believe has the more powerful bargaining position? It depends from case to case, but most of the time Simbound is happy to serve all kinds of customers. Sometimes even those which have manifested unreasonable demands.

Do you believe customers in the UK have greater bargaining power than those from other locations? I would say that UK customers do not differ in any major way when it comes to their bargaining power. This conclusion is, however, a result of very little interaction with the market.

Do all UK customers have the same bargaining power, if not how/why? I believe that some of the more renowned universities would be able to have their say more often when choosing to negotiate terms, however it really depends on many factors: the general context, the manner in which the request is made, the background of the person who is negotiating and so on.

What is the concentration or number of customers in relation to the number of firms offering similar products? Probably around 150 Universities split between Simbound and Stukent. Most clients are in the USA.

Does Simbound have any suppliers for its products or essential services that help produce the product? No, almost all of the simulation was built using non-proprietary technologies and services. The requirements for creating the content have not warranted any special kinds of services and the company is not dependent on one particular supplier.

If so, what is the bargaining supplier of these suppliers? N/A

Are they highly diversified, are there many of them and do you have high potential switching costs? No to each question.

How many firms currently operate in the UK market for digital marketing simulation games? 2 Are these firms comparable in size or not? Yes

How quickly is the market growing in your opinion and are there any barriers to entering and exiting it? The Market is growing at a very good rate, helped by the launch of new digital marketing courses and the need for interactive and alternative learning resources. E-commerce and E-marketing are now regarded as core operations in all sorts of companies from startups to corporations. This will only increase the need for more education in the field and more sophisticated technology.

Overall, how would assess the intensity of rivalry between existing competitors in the UK market? Low intensity

Integration-Responsiveness Model

Does Simbound have international operations at present outside Romania? Yes, ever since 2012 Simbound has been selling into the worldwide market of services.

Could you list these operations, the date of their establishment, the number of staff employed and the investment in each location? Simbound operates on a flexible, performance-based agreement with all its international partners. We have contacts in France, the Netherlands, Portugal and Kenya. All other markets are being served out of Romania (or wherever I find myself in). As such there is no investment being made upfront and partners are free to decide how much they want to invest in their commercialization efforts.

How are these operations structured? Content partners are responsible in contacting existing and potential future clients while Simbound is managing the administration of the simulation. Are they all structured in the same way? For the most part, yes. We offer a standard agreement and try to adapt to each of the market conditions.

What relationship do you believe each operation has with the headquarters in Romania? The relationships are very good, and we see increasing commitment and levels of activity from each operation that we directly and repeatedly interact with.

Which operation has more power and influence in the organisation? I don’t think there is one that stands out in this way.

With regards to your product, do you offer customers modifications according to their tastes and needs? This depends on the requirements. We have created custom simulation scenarios in the past for clients. The product is very versatile, it can adapt to numerous situations and markets.

Do you offer different products in different locations? No, right now Simbound is offered as a unitary experience with the option to select different settings (language) and content (simulation scenarios).

Have you encountered a demand for localised products in your international operations to date? Yes, mostly small requirements (such as currency in the simulation or types of products to be advertised in the simulation).

What has your experience been in the UK market in terms of local demands and needs of customers? I have not had any special requirements from UK clients to date. UK customers particularly appear to be more risk-averse, some of them have tried on pilot tests before taking the simulation to be used in an extended course environment

Have you altered your products as a result? No

Does the UK based operation based provide any operational support, knowledge or expertise to rest of the business? If so what is the relationship between the UK operation, other foreign locations and headquarters? I would say the input coming out from the UK has been negligible also because of the low level of activity Simbound has experienced there. I think in the future, given we reach a satisfactory level of client interest, Simbound will be able to rely on more than just simple feedback and will seek expertise in core and non-core functional areas from UK based firms and individuals.

Concerning the internal pressures facing the firm, to what extent are products standardised globally? Simbound is offered as a unitary, always available service to global clients.

Does this also occur in the UK market? Yes

How are products standardised and does the firm have any explicit limitations on customisation? Simbound as a product achieves a high level of standardisation, which can explain, in part, the high level of adoption of its product in many different countries around the world. Limits to customisation have to include internal resources available to execute customisation.

What are the main drivers behind the firm intending to standardise its products? The experience is already standardised but can become a challenge as we operate into more geographies and face new requirements.

To what extent are services, procedures and processes standardised globally? The website is the same version for every geography, hence no need for standardisation. Each Simbound Instructor is free to adapt the experience to his/her requirements and they can rely on a global knowledge base

Does this also occur in the UK market? Yes

How are activities standardised and does the firm have any explicit limitations on localisation? The website is the same version for every geography, hence there is no localization. The simulation content is available in a few languages.

What are the main drivers behind the firm intending to standardise its operational activities? Higher returns, the need to set up procedures for future employees.

Additional mentions:

Simbound has been built from day 1 for the global market. Many companies launch products aimed at a particular audience or customer group only to struggle with customization later. I think software products in particular should be developed for a global audience and try to retain as much as possible this global functionality with very little customization to be added later on. One day Innovative services will allow customers to build their own functionality and direct their customer experience as opposed to the company having to do that for them.

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GDPR in educational technology, the case of Simbound

noreply@simbound.com (Simbound Administrator) — Mon, 02 Apr 2018 00:00:00 GMT

GDPR in educational technology, the case of Simbound

(Resource last updated 15th May 2024) The European Union has set May 25, 2018 as the date when the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will come into full effect. This is a set of data protection guidelines that all companies that operate within the European Union, and manage personal data, must adhere to.

The timing for GDPR is right, as more and more educational institutions are using third-party technology providers to deliver various education and training programs. Some of these technologies include: email, social networks, learning and project management services in the cloud, and specialized software for e-learning, media, and content. This means that an increasing amount of personal information about students and professors resides with organizations or individuals outside of the school's internal networks.

This ongoing transfer of personal information is necessary for technology companies to identify individual users, provide relevant services, and evolve their offerings and services. There's nothing wrong with the transfer of personal data, as long as it's properly managed and controlled, the user has access to their own personal data, and the data doesn't end up being misused or in the wrong hands. This is what the GDPR is trying to enforce.

Prerequisites

At Simbound, we have been committed since day one to a research and development culture of minimal personal data invasiveness, data transparency and portability, and a path of minimal effort assigned to you when you want to know, access and modify the amount and type of data stored about you as a user of our simulations.

In GDPR terminology, this practice is called 'Privacy by Design'. This is a workable personal data policy for a data-dependent company, and we have never had users indicate that we are asking for too much of their personal data or that they are concerned about how we manage their data. The fact that we've been using Privacy by Design from day one helps us, in some ways, to comply with policies like GDPR quite easily.

In order to provide its services, the Simbound website requires access to a range of your personal information. In order to understand how you, as a user of Simbound, will be affected by the GDPR, we will take a look at the range of personal data we store when you use our digital marketing simulations, and also list some of the measures we are working on to ensure that your personal data is protected and easily accessible.

We classify the various types of personal information we collect through the Simbound website into three categories:

1. Personal Data which is Mandatory

In no particular order of importance, you must provide the following information when using Simbound's online services: your email address, your first and last name, your country, your time zone, the name of your university or company or organization.

A vast majority of our users use the simulation with this basic level of personal information. The most important personal information stored with Simbound is a person's name and email address.

Most users are asked or encouraged by their tutors to enter their institutional email when registering for the simulation. While institutional email addresses tend to change over time, as universities and companies retire email addresses when students graduate or employees terminate their employment, personal email addresses tend to have a longer lifespan. With this in mind, we realize that the majority of email addresses stored in the Simbound system are school or workplace email addresses, with the current distribution of personal/institutional email addresses being approximately 30/70. The 30/70 ratio is a good indicator that users trust Simbound with their work contact information.

A small fraction of the registered email addresses, estimated at less than 3%, are created by users solely for the purpose of registering on the Simbound website. From a privacy perspective, these email addresses have little value as users rarely use these emails after they have finished using the simulation.

2. Optional Personal Data

In order to enhance some aspects of the end user experience, several optional personal data upload features are provided by Simbound. These are not mandatory, meaning that users do not give up any core benefits derived from using the simulation if they choose not to supply Simbound with this kind of data. This includes: a personal photograph, a short description of themselves (bio) and a link to their public social media profiles such as Twitter, LinkedIn. Thus, we give each Simbound user the right to refuse the transmission of sensitive personal data, which is characterized by a high degree of privacy.

2.1 Payment or Financial Related Data

In some cases payment is carried out online by users of our website for gaining access to various resources or protected sections of our website. This happens through various methods: online payment by credit card, a transfer initiated by the customers bank (wire or telegraphic transfer). These transactions are carried out by carefully vetted payment processing companies and in all cases Simbound receives the minimum amount of information required to process a transaction.

Data which we do not ask/store

It is important for you to know that Simbound does not ask to receive and does not store other types of highly sensitive personal data such as physical addresses, copies of ID or other similar documents, date of birth, income, medical or cultural (religious) information, marital status, kinship and other data beyond the scope of identifying a user within our system.

Outbound Marketing Practice and Business Contacts Data

Simbound very rarely sent unsolicited e-mail and in the few cases when it did there was a highly rigorous research and targeting process involved beforehand to match the interest and line of work of those which we contacted with our offering. Over 99% of e-mails sent by Simbound whether these were periodical notifications, or promotional e-mails were sent to people which have opted in to receive communications from Simbound. We have made every effort to safeguard commercial sensitive data and to not abuse data which we have had access to. When it comes to marketing carried out through e-mail we have always clearly identified our company as the source of e-mails and provided an easy way for people to unsubscribe their e-mail addresses from our e-mail communications. Further Simbound has not directly engaged in behavioural/psychometric advertising techniques, although it has used on several occasions 3rd party digital marketing services which at the time claimed that they were using behavioural marketing as a business model.

Notice the big Unsubscribe button included in a recent newsletter. It stands out, even on mobile

Playing by the rules

Through different commercial partnerships with a host of business simulations companies, Simbound has had access to databases consisting of various amounts of personal information. As these providers also offer marketing simulations and possess groups of contacts which are interested in receiving specific communications on products and services, there is intrinsic business value in reaching out to them as they could be interested in the Simbound offering. Although we have had access to this information ever since 2010, we have not once sent unsolicited e-mail to these groups of contacts and we have respected agreements with former or current commercial partners which acted as resellers of our simulations.

Personal Data Protection Mechanism

We want to make it clear from the onset that your personal data is safe with us and that Simbound does not engage in any sort of personal data transfer without your consent. Our website is managed by professional web hosting companies located in the EU so they themselves are subject to the GDPR and access to the databases containing personal information is made through multiple layers of security which helps us to protect and to identify any potential suspicious usage of personal data stored through our website. If we will notice any suspicious activity, we will send you a notification within 72 hours, as this is one of the GDPR requirements.

We identify all those who access the personal data which we store as we issue individual security certificates to each Simbound website administrator or employee each certificate being unique to each person. Access to the server administration clients and the databases are carried out over Virtual Private Networks (VPN), making it very difficult for someone outside of the Simbound network to intercept, corrupt or in any way interfere with your personal data if they don’t hold the right credentials.

In the future we will be looking at new ways in which to give you an easy way to access and to manage all your personal data at each and every moment. This means that you, as the holder of your data will be able to quickly update, delete or share the personal data which is stored through the Simbound website.

Further Information

Simbound© is owned by the Apollo Edtech SRL company which is registered with the The Romanian National Supervisory Authority For Personal Data Processing having certificate number 0018682 issued on 18/08/2011. Romania is a full EU member since 2007.

Remember to always be cautious whenever you will be sharing personal information over the internet.

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Focus on European Corporate and Educational Markets

noreply@simbound.com (Sim Bot) — Tue, 30 Jan 2018 00:00:00 GMT

Focus on European Corporate and Educational Markets

Eczacibasi group is one of the biggest conglomerate companies in Turkey and as part of their focus to enhance their digital presence worldwide has invited their top marketing management team, some members of which handle digital marketing, to use Simbound in an intensive one day training at the company’s headquarters in Istanbul.

Training Director for the workshop was Mr. Ali Atalik, well known media and technology professional on the Turkish scene which had this to say:

“ Many products of Eczacibasi are found at the very beginning of their digital lifecycle, and we wanted to illustrate how digital marketing works in practice together with the management team, without any risk. Participants praised their new ability to apply what they learned on the job, the quality of the tools and the content used in the workshop as well as the ability of the trainer. These three dimensions got the highest score in terms of manager feedback.”

The management training market in Europe is now growing steadily due to favorable economic conditions across the continent and Simbound will seek to deliver a number of increasingly efficient and actionable trainings to the benefit of companies of all sizes and industries which are looking to build on their existing expertise and see digital business in a different light.

The European Educational Market is heating up

Simbound has, for years, directly and efficiently contributed to the education of digital marketing professionals in Europe which is one of the biggest educational markets of the world. With student enrollment numbers at an all time high across continental Europe, Simbound is well positioned to benefit from a growing demand in digital services in the form of simulations, online content and course technology. Recently the company has been awarded best Educational Technology (Edtech) company status in Romania by the Startup Europe Awards initiative of the European Commission (and has later went on to win the title of Best Edtech Startup in Europe)

In early 2018 we welcome new schools including "Leonardo Da Vinci" Management School from Paris to their first ever digital marketing simulation game based course (PR article release in French) and Politecnico di Milano Graduate School of Business which is working on launching a dual degree program with EM Lyon, a long time user of our simulations. Simbound has acted as the denominator for these two schools and has introduced the two corresponding course directors to each other which has led to this collaboration. Buona Fortuna et Bonne Chance!

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New academic year presents new opportunities and challenges for Educational Technology

noreply@simbound.com (Louis Havriliuc) — Mon, 04 Sep 2017 00:00:00 GMT

New academic year presents new opportunities and challenges for Educational Technology

This message marks the end of summer and the beginning of new opportunities in Academia in September. It highlights the growth of the global education industry, driven by educational technology, and emphasizes the success of Simbound in this sector with significant international revenue. It discusses the expanding network of schools using Simbound, the potential challenges of technology adoption, particularly regarding copyright issues, and underscores the importance of protecting intellectual property. The message concludes by thanking collaborators and clients, wishing them success in their future endeavors.

With summer now being officially over September carries with it the promise of new beginnings. I would like to make note of this special time of the year and to extend my sincere best wishes to all of the Simbound collaborators and clients.

A recent statistic informs us that the global education industry has recently surpassed the 5 Trillion $ mark, which is roughly 8 times larger than the entire software services industry. One of the main drivers of this fantastic growth is without a doubt educational technology, which is expected to reach 5% of the total educational market by 2020 totaling more than $250 Billion in expenditure.

Educational technology will continue to open new doors for those willing to learn and become active members of today’s expanding digital economy. There are new and exciting investment opportunities emerging across the wider learning landscape. With 95,4% of total business revenue coming from international clients Simbound is a successful example of how education and technology can work together and deliver lasting value across borders and cultural barriers.

Simbound commercial and licensing partners have built an extended network of schools who are now using Simbound year after year. This creates the optimum platform on which to build the next generation of digital business learning materials. For the coming years I expect university decision makers at all levels to be less steeped in tradition and to be more willing to experiment with new learning technologies. Their active participation is essential to the growth of this vast and ever evolving ecosystem.

In spite of the general conditions being abound with optimism and opportunity technology adoption also presents new challenges. In the USA alone we have identified and are currently closely monitoring what could potentially turn out to be one of the biggest copyright infringement cases in educational software. The potential implications of this development can have far reaching consequences for many reputable academic sector constituents and their current good standing. To make things clear, Simbound is and will always remain the original digital marketing simulation game. No other individual or company has been issued with the right to commercialise a similar service in any aspect. Any entity or individuals partaking in this highly complex infringement case will continue to do so at their own risk.

Protection of intellectual property, the discouragement of plagiarism and the active promotion and recognition of unique contributions to the educational field and body of knowledge are the very same values on which universities have functioned and have been growing for centuries. While technology has enabled new ways of working together at a distance we must continue and rely on sound principles if we are to aim for reaching lasting progress.

Thank you once more to all of those who made the active learning of digital marketing become a reality for students. Wherever you may find yourself around the world and whatever you will be learning about I wish you to obtain success in all of your endeavors!

Yours sincerely,

Louis Havriliuc - Simbound

Win at your marketing simulation. Here's how

noreply@simbound.com (Louis Havriliuc) — Tue, 16 May 2017 00:00:00 GMT

Win at your marketing simulation. Here's how

The text discusses strategies for mastering educational technology simulations, focusing on competitive analysis and innovation. It advises players to study their competitors, identify market trends, and adapt their strategies accordingly. Additionally, it emphasizes the importance of innovation and learning from simulation experiences. The conclusion highlights the value of active learning and critical thinking over simply winning the game, encouraging readers to use simulations as a tool for personal and professional development.

So you’ve enrolled onto your first marketing course and you’re already dreaming about the day when your clever but still kind of cliché marketing project will turn heads for your favorite brand. Until that happens you realize that you have to go through this ‘simulation’ thing in school. Whether you’re competing in a strategic marketing simulation (like Markstrat for example), a product marketing simulation (check out Cesim Simbrand) or simply a general business simulation game with a marketing dimension some of the tactics exposed here should work well in each case.

This cheat sheet can get you ahead of your class but it comes with a warning: using the techniques outlined here is not going to help you learn as much as if you were to ask the right questions yourself. Go ahead, pat yourself on the back for doing the research on how to come out on top but you see, pondering about how something works does wonders for one's learning. So do that first and consider this article as the easy path to enlightenment should you get lost along the way. Winning this way will feel less good than if you were putting in the actual time and effort to come out on top on your own. Even so we can agree on this bit here: the purpose is to work smarter not harder, that's why you can expect general advice.

Before you get started make sure you know what these terms mean. They will show up in the article quite often:

Simulation: an exercise which is usually taking place online or with the help of a computer and which allows you to test out different marketing tactics and strategies for a virtual company

Decisions: the input you have to introduce into the simulation interface so that it returns results. These can be either numbers, text or other simulation-specific items.

Model: this is common parlance to refer to the way the simulation calculates results. It comes from mathematical model, a fancy word for a custom designed formulae.

We will go through three stages, each one being more complex to carry out than the one before.

I. The Initiation Phase

Breathe in, breathe out. You’re not in it to win it.

Almost all modern marketing simulation games will motivate you to outdrive your competition by gaining more exposure, more clients and building better products. Even if simulations usually unfold in a competitive environment the main goal for the activity is seldom just to win the game Once you realise that winning is not the goal here, it will make the whole process a tad more pleasant and will remove some unneeded pressure. Remember, it’s all about the journey, not the destination.

Get to know the products, the audience and the channels on which you will flex your marketing chops

If you don’t know what to promote and who you’re going to enchant with your marketing as well as the manner in which you’re going to do it then you can’t really do a good job as a marketer. Read the instruction manual. Ask questions from your instructor. Discuss the setting with your team but do find out at all costs if your €5 widget is worth marketing to the ‘acolytes’ virtual customer group.

Single out the winning criterion

Makes sense right? However it’s not so easy as it seems. Modern simulations have turned into a triathlon of decisions rather than the traditional sprint. The better models will take you through a host of decisions before deciding whether you come out on top or not. This means that there is not just one thing which you need to do well but you must win at most or at all of the dimensions in order to ultimately come out on top. So first find out what you have to do to in order to gain small wins. Start out with a bit of fine-tuning and adjustment. In practice this could mean adjusting prices, introducing new products or setting out for new markets. The more boxes you check off this way the closer you can get to your big win. Needless to say that singling out which decisions are important and which are not will save you time and effort down the road.

II. The Awareness Phase

Plan your way to the top

Failing to plan is planning to .. turn an otherwise fun experience into a bit of a nightmare. At a minimum your plan should cover the 4 P’s (product, placement, promotion and pricing). In the services industry people are now talking about 7 P’s, the other 3 being People, Processes and Physical Evidence. A good marketing plan will cover for all of these. But what happens if the simulation does not allow you to take decisions for one or more of these dimensions you ask. Does that mean that you’ll end up wasting all your brilliant creative ideas? While in your plan the focus should be on the components of the simulation, having an extensive plan will often inform most if not all of your other actions. Here is an example of how one decision can influence your company's policy across the entire marketing spectrum: deciding on the price of your offering will force you to think about the right amount and kind of product features while also locking down an audience which could potentially buy what you are taking to market. So by figuring out just the price, you eliminate the need to think about at least 2 or 3 other marketing decisions. Pretty neat, right?

Not to mention that once you have your plan ready you will come across as much better prepared during your class presentation where you will explain the reasoning behind your decisions to your professor and your class. High five!

Dare to steer away from your plan and set out to explore. But whatever you do, thread lightly

One of the things you will almost never hear about what you should do in a simulation is to deliberately make mistakes. So go ahead, push all the buttons, enable all the channels, launch all the products, there is not a lot which can backfire. If you do good then you get some new clients otherwise you still win through experimenting. So it’s a win-win situation any way you want to look at it. In any case, if you are not sure about how your decisions will impact your results it’s important to use small increments when it comes to the experiments you’ll be carrying out. In practice this could mean that you would be changing the price only by a small amount, or investing a tiny bit into a minor improvement for a product, or likewise creating a new marketing effort just to test out things. Once you see the degree to which the virtual market responds to your actions then you can move on and use larger increments.

By taking small steps in the beginning you can mitigate the risks of accidentally ending up with a disastrous decision. This will keep you in the race longer. However this doesn’t mean that whilst you’re playing it super safe the other teams won’t take up risky decisions potentially getting them to a more advantageous position.

Be quick to spot the easy to sell into market

A well built simulation game will provide you with the option of placing several products in front of multiple markets/channels. There is a high chance that one of the product-market combinations made available to you will respond to your Machiavellic marketing efforts better than the rest. This means that at any one time the simulation model will have some sort of ‘flaw’ and by identifying it and using it you can expect increasing rent compared to all of the other alternatives. Game designers usually lay this out for you to discover soon after you experiment with the first and the most obvious option. In the more complex games there is also almost always a market & product combination which turns out to be a flop so you might want to use the results which the game provides as reports to quickly identify this combination.

Part of the joy of playing a marketing simulation is finding out how each market responds to your efforts and almost every model renders resource allocation as the most important decision you will make during the game. If you’re serious about winning this thing then it’s best that you find out which is the most profitable alternative well ahead of the other teams.

III. The Mastery Phase

Spy on your competitors

Let's face it, most edtech simulations are not too impressive on the graphics side. As if going through a quirky interface which looks like a mashup between a spreadsheet, a 90’s website and some long forgotten Science Fiction art is not enough you’ll find out that some game designers find pleasure in putting your decisions against those of the other teams. Most simulations will provide you with reports on the competition. Make sure to extract the most valuable market information or product strategies and keep an eye out for those early trends in the market. Keep in mind that most likely you will be looking at a past situation (kind of like driving using the rear view mirror) so don’t base your decisions just on the last round results.

That means that you will need to adapt to the game situation in which you find yourself at each and every moment and even go with your intuition about what the the other teams will be putting their marketing dollar into. Here are some questions you can ask yourself:

1.Who are my direct competitors and what are their main products?

2.Which markets should I be selling into and what products should I promote on each one?

3.How has market competition changed since the start of the simulation?

4.How will the overall market environment develop in the next few rounds?

First, look at how mature products/markets perform and if this is an evolving scenario (with fluctuations in demand) then make sure you can spot trends early on. This will allow you to come up with a winning combination of product/market of your own. Also take this advice with a pinch of salt as doing this in a simulation is fine as long as you realise that in real life you could get into trouble if you are risking it all on just one product or one market.

Innovate away

The best method, but also the riskiest and most challenging I might add to get ahead in your simulation (as with life in general) is to always come up with something new, something which improves upon the current way of doing things and which covers a market which is not served well. The really smart simulation games will have a ‘sticky memory’ type of feature. This means that your brand and products will be recognised by the virtual consumers as the original product. While you enjoy recognition you will free up resources for other activities like R&D. Of course your product's quality will always play a role in determining demand but it’s much more easier to develop something new out of an existing product or service than to introduce something entirely new to the market.

Conclusion

Remember, the goal of being part of a simulation is to participate, to learn how to think and take action and not least to have fun. With simulations, professors want you to experiment with the concepts they are teaching in class through active learning, and are likely more interested in the way you develop your thinking rather than the results you are getting. While simulation results are sometimes used in grading, don’t ever fall into the trap of associating your simulation results with your ability to perform similar tasks in a real role as even the most sophisticated simulation can not yet determine job success, especially in a field which is evolving as fast as that of marketing.

After seeing hundreds of simulation games unfold I can safely say that some of the best people which have emerged from the exercises have not been those who won the games! The true winners were those which took the time to carry out research, to learn on their own what it means to perform marketing and used the simulation to translate that knowledge into an enduring learning artefact. The very best individuals saw the experience as a starting point to explore new topics with which they interacted during the simulation. I encourage you to do the same. Also what you’ll find out is that with time, few people will care about how well you did on your simulation. What they will notice though is how well prepared you are in meeting the requirements of that witty marketing project you’ve been preparing for so long and for which you should be well trained by now.

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