Marketing

The Basics

Marketing is a strategic function focused on creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large. It’s the strategic function that bridges product development and sales, encompassing the four Ps of marketing: product, price, promotion, and place. Marketers take a product with specific features and benefits, create pricing and promotional strategies, and oversee the methods used to bring it to market. They use a blend of creativity and analytical skills to develop strategies that effectively reach target audiences through various channels, including digital media, print, and events.

Different roles within Marketing include:

• Marketing Coordinator/Assistant: Supports marketing campaigns, manages social media, assists with content creation, and handles administrative tasks.
• Brand Manager: Develops and executes strategies to build and maintain a strong brand image and identity for a product or company.
• Product Marketing Manager: Focuses on marketing a specific product, understanding its features, target audience, and competitive landscape.
• Digital Marketing Specialist: Manages online marketing efforts, including SEO (Search Engine Optimization), SEM (Search Engine Marketing), social media marketing, email marketing, and content marketing.
• Content Creator/Marketing Writer: Develops compelling written, visual, or video content for various marketing channels.
• Marketing Analyst: Collects and analyzes marketing data to measure campaign effectiveness, identify trends, and inform future strategies.
• Market Researcher: Conducts studies to understand consumer behavior, market trends, and competitive landscapes.
• Public Relations Specialist: (often overlaps with marketing) Manages public image and media relations.
• Event Marketing Specialist: Organizes and promotes events to generate leads and build brand awareness.
• Assistant/Associate Marketing Manager: Entry-level management role assisting with overall marketing initiatives.
• Assistant/Associate Brand or Product Manager: Supports the brand or product manager in various tasks.
• Junior Copy Editor/Copywriter: Creates and refines written content for marketing materials.
• Social Media Coordinator/Strategist/Specialist: Manages and executes social media strategies.
• Associate, Influencer Marketing: Focuses on collaborating with influencers for promotional campaigns.
• Promotions Assistant/Coordinator: Helps organize and implement promotional activities.

Common marketing depts. within organizations:

• Marketing Strategy/Management
• Market Research
• Brand Management
• Digital Marketing
• Product/Service Marketing
• Promotion/Campaign Management

Marketing within different industries:

Marketing professionals are indispensable in virtually every industry, as every business needs to attract customers and build brand recognition. They can be found in:

Technology: Software as a Service (SaaS), hardware, IT services.

Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG): Food, beverage, household products.

Retail: Fashion, electronics, home goods (both brick-and-mortar and e-commerce).

Financial Services: Banks, insurance companies, investment firms.

Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals: Medical devices, pharmaceuticals, healthcare services.

Automotive: Car manufacturers and dealerships.

Media and Entertainment: Film studios, music labels, publishing houses, advertising agencies.

Real Estate: Residential and commercial property sales and marketing.

Hospitality and Tourism: Hotels, airlines, travel agencies.

Non-profit Organizations: Fundraising, awareness campaigns, donor relations.

Manufacturing: Industrial products, machinery.

Consulting Firms: Marketing consulting.

Why Marketing?

A career in Marketing offers a dynamic, creative, and results-driven path at the core of business growth. You’ll gain a deep understanding of human psychology, market dynamics, and strategic communication, directly impacting an organization’s brand perception and bottom line. The field offers competitive compensation structures, continuous learning as trends evolve, and the satisfaction of building strong brand identities and seeing your efforts translate into tangible success. If you’re passionate about influencing decisions, building connections, and driving innovation, this path provides constant challenge and significant reward.

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Preparation

Preparation for a career in Marketing often begins with a bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business Administration, Communications, or a related field. Hands-on experience is highly valued in the field.

Key steps for preparation include:

• Relevant Academic Background: Pursue coursework in marketing principles, consumer behavior, market research, digital marketing, statistics, and business communication.
• Develop Core Skills: Cultivate strong communication (written, verbal, presentation), interpersonal, problem-solving, analytical, strategic thinking, project management, organizational, research, and critical thinking skills. Creativity and adaptability are also highly valued.
• Gain Practical Experience: Seek internships in marketing departments, advertising agencies, or public relations firms. Participate in student organizations like the Marketing & Advertising Club.
• Build a Portfolio: Showcase examples of your work (e.g., social media campaigns, content pieces, website designs, marketing plans).
• Understand Data: Familiarity with data analytics tools and CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software is increasingly important.
• Digital Literacy: Stay updated on digital trends, platforms, and analytics. Develop digital marketing skills.
• Networking: Connect with professionals in marketing through informational interviews, industry events, and alumni networks.

Recruiting Timeline: The recruiting timeline for marketing roles may continue throughout the fall and spring semesters.

• Internships and Full-Time Positions:
  • 1st Wave: September-November (Networking and Application)
  • 2nd Wave: December-February (Application)
  • Late Postings and Just-in-Time: March-May (Application)

The timeline can vary depending on the specific company, industry trends, and geographical location. Staying informed about the companies you’re interested in and remaining flexible can help you navigate the recruiting process effectively.

Graduate Schools (a small sampling):

• Wake Forest University
• Northwestern University (Kellogg)
• UPenn (Wharton)
• University of Michigan – Ann Arbor (Ross)
• Duke University (Fuqua)
• University of Texas – Austin (McCombs)

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Where Deacs Go

Guess what? When it comes to careers in marketing, what you study in college might not be the only thing that decides your job! Looking at students who’ve gone into marketing in the last five years, it’s clear that lots of different majors can lead to success. Sure, plenty of folks who studied Communication or Business ended up in marketing, which makes sense. But we also see graduates who focused on things like Psychology, Politics, Economics, English, History, Accounting, French Studies, and even Computer Science landing great marketing jobs!

These grads have taken on all sorts of roles, like helping with Digital Marketing, being a Marketing Coordinator, working as a Brand Specialist, or even handling Client Accounts. This just goes to show that if you have a wide range of skills from different subjects, you can definitely find your place in marketing. While many of these cool jobs are in big cities like New York City, Atlanta, Charlotte, Washington, Boston, and Los Angeles, marketing opportunities are actually found all over the U.S. in many different industries. It’s a super open and exciting field for anyone, no matter what their college major is.

Check out a few of our student success stories here!