Brand Management/ Marketing
This meeting covered the basics about marketing including:
- college/degree pathways
- different careers within marketing
- new/growing careers
- how marketing companies operate
- and more!
Speaker's Background
went to USC to do film school (oceanographic cinematography)
but as she worked through her path, she was trying everything from journalism, public relations, clothing industry, startups, a food court company with her entrepreneurial experience
Went to Marshall at USC for her MBA
Got a job at Nestle and did brand management with them for about 16 years
starting her own wellness practice around stress management
working with companies and large groups
Attached below is the handout that was given out at the meeting. It contains most of great information discussed about the various careers in marketing and some great college advice.
Brand Management Basics
The examples below are from her experience working on instant breakfast at Nestle (hot chocolate)
- The graphic design team does brand equity: what the brand and packaging looks like
- Corporate entrepreneur: basically running the business
- in charge of how much sales it has in terms of the product and loss statement.
- how much profit does it make
- Marketers do everything in between (also running the business)
- Good for people interested in entrepreneurship or security of a large company
- Consumer and shopper insights insights: researching and understanding the consumer
- ex: what does a hot cocoa consumer really want (marshmallows,sugar free, etc)
- Strategic planning and innovation: what should the product look like in the future
- Business analytics and troubleshooting: look at the business and its numbers
- Ex: why didn't you sell as much hot cocoa as you're supposed to this season
- A lot of people want to do marketing because of all the pretty brands and ads, but you have to be able to be analytical and be able to troubleshoot
- you have to analyze the numbers and talk to cross functional teams (finance team, supply chain, manufacturing) to figure out what's going on in your business
- You have to be really good at team development to work your way up in the workplace
- helping your associates/people that work for you to develop their careers
- Once you get to a high level, you're doing less work and more analysis of what's going on in the business and helping others to succeed
- As a marketer, you're not the one making the product, but you're accountable to make sure that it's made right
- work with your manufacturing team, make the relationships, organize meetings and ask the right questions
- You first get advice from others for an issue
- Then everyone then looks at you for the final decision
- like you're a CEO of your own little business
- strategic planning and innovation: leverage your cross functional team and understand how to improve the packaging line, product, etc.
As a marketer you're very engaged with your sales and category development team
you're not out there selling
you see a lot of relationships/partnerships
understand what's going on in the marketplace (something that you're accountable for, but not responsible for)
- promotions and consumer communications: Instagram posts, coupons
- large companies have agencies do this for them
- then the company approves it afterwards
- Decisions are based on all of your inputs, relationships and more
- shopper marketing: ads for the person that's buying the product
- ex: moms or dads are the ones shopping in the store buying the product
- Coupons, shelf items, how the product is set up
- new but large part of marketing
- CPG: consumer packaged goods marketing companies are MBAs
Strategy and analytical skills are important
- you need to learn finance: you learn the rules, and then you make those rules work for you
- having some sort of analytical undergrad is really helpful
- it helped on top of the fluffy marketing analysis because numbers don't lie
Advice
- Don't worry about jumping over the ocean, you're building a bridge
- As a student, you are looking at that end point instead of the stair steps
- People had no idea they wanted to do marketing until they learn what it is
- If there's a company you're really interested in (ex: sports products), try to position yourself at a college that you know they recruit from
- that is sometimes the best way to get in the door
- every single job she had was through a USC connection
- Then work yourself up the ladder
- choose a school with a strong alumni network and take advantage of it
- within her first MBA year she got a job in the food service division through the alumni network, and Nestle ended up paying for her MBA
- Consider picking a college town or region, where you'd be interested in working in the future because a lot of times the alumni networks are stronger there (like USC and UCLA in LA)
- Focus on lifestyle, opportunities, network and all of that
- Find out which companies recruit at which colleges
- Nestle had six colleges that they recruited out, and the interns were the ones that received marketing roles
- follow your path and take the steps
- If analytics and creative and running a business is interesting to you, then marketing is a really fun place
- you could do marketing almost anywhere
- if you're just sports, you work for Callaway in San Diego.
- If you're interested in complete computer software, there is software marketing.
- there's so many ways you can apply your marketing degree in your marketing expertise, which gives you a lot of flexibility
- work experience and internships are really key on your resume
- the USC recruiting team at Nestle looks for leadership, work experience, or proof of their capabilities
- So, intern at smaller food companies or product companies in your local area over the summer to start getting yourself experienced in there.