MARKETING
SPECIAL EDITION
STEVE RAFFERTY
KELLYANNE DIGNAN
MARK BRANDON
DUNKIN’ BRANDS
OCEAN SPRAY
DMT SHARP
MARKETING
SPECIAL EDITION
STEVE RAFFERTY
KELLYANNE DIGNAN
MARK BRANDON
DUNKIN’ BRANDS
OCEAN SPRAY
DMT SHARP
HINT Founder and CEO Viviane Menna Barreto Project Lead Valeriya Volobuyeva
Managing Editor
Editors
Whitney Sims-Rucker,
Viviane Menna Barreto, Brazil Reet Sen, Australia Sangeetha Menon, India Christopher Armstrong, India
United States
In this issue
Bruce Hall, United States @HTTBoston
Kellyanne Dignan, United States @HTTBoston
Carlos Condado, Venezuela @HTTBoston
Maria Berdugo, Venezuela @HTTBoston
Cindy Mackey, United States @HTTBoston
Mark Brandon, United States @HTTBoston
Daniela Benzaquen, Peru @HTTBoston
Steve Rafferty, United States @HTTBoston
Greg John, United States @HTTBoston
Valeriya Volobuyeva, Ukraine @HTTBoston
The views and opinions expressed by Hult Think Tank do not necessarily represent the official policy or position of Hult International Business School.
2
FOREWORD This imbalance brings a false expectation to most students, and results in a lack of strategically needed quality personnel applying to the hiring companies. This overall situation has inspired the social responsibility of a team of six students from Hult International Business School, who decided to make a meaningFrom left to right: Carlos Condado, Daniela Benzaquen, Valeriya Volobuyeva, Maria Berdugo and Christopher Armstrong
ful difference. Christopher Armstrong, was our editor, Carlos Condado, Daniela
Welcome to the 1st “Marketing - Special Edition” series. The following interviews with Marketing practitioners will take a closer look at potential employers’ requirements regarding Marketing graduate’s skill sets, and portray a graduate profile most likely to succeed in today’s business environment. We live in a fast-paced world. A volatile business environment gives rise to new challenges, new risks, and opportunities. It has become apparent that a gap exists between the perception marketing students have for a demanded set of skills, and the essential skill sets expected by
Benzaquen and Maria Berdugo were our interviewers, and I, Valeriya, was the Project Lead. Supported by Hult Think Tank, we conducted a series of in-depth interviews with prominent marketing leaders, introduced to us by Executive Director Tom Hall and Director of Corporate Relations Jessica Tocco. Our goal is that you, our reader, may understand what employers want to see in new hires and which skill sets will be competitive in today’s rapidly evolving business environment. Enjoy! Valeriya Volobuyeva Project Lead
potential employers. 3
Greg John Chairman and Founder of KHJ Brand Activation
Marketing • HTT Boston, United States
Q: How have needs towards marketing
be a clear brand experience. That’s the
and advertising changed over the recent
only way you are going to be successful.
years?
Q: What major challenges or risks does
A: Client’s needs are more complex now.
your company face when working with
Before, you just had to place a radio, televi-
clients, and how do you mitigate them?
sion or print ad and that was good enough. Now, the process is much more dynamic, and there are a lot more choices
A: One of our major challenges is to educate clients about social media. It is not
in terms of media channels.
easy and affordable as many of them
A decade or two ago, you would have de-
hundreds of thousand of dollars on an ad-
veloped a plan, a strategy, executed it be-
vertisement when I can just put a post on
tween 6 months to a year, and waited to
Facebook and thousands of people will
see the results. Now you can post some-
like it?”. It doesn’t work that way. Normally
thing online and wait a few hours to see
a client would remember something and
what happens. You have thousands if not
they would say: “hey, this company made
tens of thousands of messages hitting
a viral video and it received 3 million views.
every single person, every single day... but
I want you to do that for me”. But here is
it’s more than messaging - it is all about
the truth: firstly, there is a 1 in a 20 million
branding.
chance of that happening, and secondly,
You can’t just put an ad out there; it has to be advertised with a product mix, public relations, with social media, digital media, customer service, with everything. It has to
think. They argue: “why should I spend
such viral videos that may seem like a seamless and organic initiative, were most likely executed by professional agencies to look that way... and their clients spent a lot of money to make that happen. 4
Q: How do you think the marketing func-
more selective in what they want to get
tion is changing when delivering value
from advertisers; and I think they are also
to your clients in today’s competitive en-
starting to listen to other people more. For
vironment ?
example: when they are about to make a purchase, they don’t just ask their friends
A: Like I said before, it is all about the cus-
or their neighbors, they go online and they
tomer experience. You need to integrate
do studies; they look at comments.
everything: customer service, public relations, online advertising, the package, the product, and the promotion. It’s such a big competition for people’s attention; you look everywhere and you see people on their phones, watching TV, listening to the radio; everywhere you turn there is advertising. So it’s a challenge now: how do we
There is so much information out there that is difficult to be in control of your own brand perception. For example, I travel a lot. To decide my hotels, I go to specialized websites and read the comments, both good and bad. But I can’t help but wonder: are these genuine client’s percep-
engage people?
tions, or were they posted by the competi-
Prospective customers today are very se-
information.
lective about the media they want to look at and how they buy. It’s a tough time, I feel bad for some of the clients that are in retail, because prospects would go to a store, they will look, touch, they will decide what they like and then they go home and
tion? It’s a real challenge to validate all the
Apart from that, I think that whenever trend forecasts go a little crazy, they always end up calming down a bit. For example: back in the day, the big thing was that computers were going to substitute paper. That pa-
buy it online.
per companies were going to be extinct.
Q: Where do you see your industry in
pers: it was being said that print media
the next five years? How will you drive
was going to disappear, that everything
growth or overcome potential chal-
was going to be online... but we still use
lenges?
paper and still read newspapers!
A: I think that people are using more online
I think some of the big newspapers’ com-
and mobile mediums. Moreover, I think
panies have done a great job integrating
that people are progressively becoming
online with print, and print isn’t going away
We also saw that recently with newspa-
5
in a while. For example, I read everything
advertising or marketing, it’s about having
online. Everything; but I read the printed
the ability to provide a complete, end-to-
version of the newspaper online, because
end marketing solution. You need to ad-
in news that you read online, you don’t see
dress every single customer touch point.
the hierarchy, the importance of a story as you do on a printed version.
Whenever someone sees your logo, your
I think we are going to see more of this
product, sees your product, the customer
type of merging: the integration of the old
experience literally begins where they see
with the new.
your logo somewhere, when they just see
Q: Can you say that today you are look-
name, calls customer service, uses your
it, even without considering to buy it.
ing for a much broader range of skills
Q: Describe the profile of a successful
when hiring?
employee in the following categories: 1)
A: Absolutely! For example: if a company just chooses to do TV and print advertising, they need to generate all the experi-
Education 2) Professional Development (hard skills) 3) Personal Development (soft skills) 4) Network.
ence through the different touch points
A: You have to be business smart. You
that customers get exposed to your prod-
can’t just be book smart, you have to be
ucts from. They have to incorporate every-
street smart. You also need to understand
thing.
and address everything with a business fo-
An individual can’t know everything, but they need knowledge of the different important tools to a certain degree, as long as they fall under a certain product’s brand umbrella. The professional must master the variables that compose the experience that they are building and selling to their customers. Nowadays it is not just about
cus. Furthermore, you have to have passion. You wont succeed and make a difference if you don’t have that motivation that impulses you to pay attention to each detail, address every task and tactic needed to win. And finally, you have to have a relentless drive to solve problems. There is no problem that anyone would ever give to
6
me that I would say it can’t be
Q: Why being an international
done. I would just get it done, I
student an advantage (or dis-
don’t care how much it takes,
advantage) for a graduate?
how much it costs; I don’t care
“You have to be business smart, you can’t just be book smart, you have to be street
who I have to role over to do it.
A: An advantage of being an in-
If I get a no, that is a challenge
ternational student is that you
for me, it’s a battle of pride.
bring your experiences from a
When you say you can’t do this,
different culture, domain of an-
I say okay you are challenging
other language that international
me. And you just have to have
companies can leverage on
that desire to find a solution.
while doing business internation-
Every problem has a solution. I
ally. However marketing is all
would never present a problem
about communication, and if
to a client without three solu-
you don’t have a complete do-
tions.
main of the language and understanding of the culture, it is go-
Q: How can a new employee
smart. You need
ing to be hard for you to suc-
accelerate his or her profes-
ceed in the market you plan to
to understand
sional development within
step into.
and address everything with a business focus.”
your industry?
Q: How does one make a
A: You have to go for it, you
good first impression during a
might not get it right the first
marketing interview?
time, but the next time you will be smarter in how to do it since
A: Demonstrate your research
you earned experience by screw-
on the company, position, or
ing up the 1st, 2nd, 5th time.
topic you are addressing and
Get experience, keep yourself
demonstrate you have a busi-
motivated and don’t be afraid to
ness focus mindset, know how
make mistakes.
to solve problems and passion for what you do.
7
Kellyanne Dignan Manager of Corporate (Cooperative) Communications at Ocean Spray
Marketing • HTT Boston, United States
Q: How have needs towards marketing
are no longer in control of everything and
and advertising services changed over
start receiving calls from all over the world
the past five years?
to know what they think about your brand.
A: The number one change is the increas-
Q: Where do you see your industry in
ing number of communication channels,
the next five years? How will you drive
especially digital channels, every day. You
growth or overcome potential chal-
have to be smart to know how to jump into
lenges in the industry?
the channels, and to know who is your audience, where they are and what they are doing. The second would be that now there is the need to reach global markets. Third, you need to be knowledgeable of how to establish a new brand in a new market. In addition to that, its challenging to make different companies’ departments to have a common goal.
A: As a population, we will continue to consume more and more as we keep growing. So focusing on agriculture and in the production of cranberries in those places with increasing population will be a way to drive growth (i.e. Middle East). Q: Can you say that today you are looking for a much broader range of skills
Q: How do you think the marketing func-
when hiring? If yes, what is the differ-
tion is changing when delivering the
ence between the skills sets of past and
value to your clients in today’s competi-
future employees?
tive environment ?
A: Experience in e-commerce and interna-
A: The marketing function is a more inte-
tional exposure (being from another coun-
grated one that works with other depart-
try, speaking more than one language) is a
ments and in a more global way, so you
huge advantage. To be able to provide 8
something important for the in-
national student could be an
ternational markets is key.
advantage.
Q: Describe the profile of a
Q: How can a new employee
“There is higher
successful employee in the
accelerate his or her profes-
demand for inter-
following categories: 1) Edu-
sional development within
cation 2) Professional Devel-
your industry?
opment (hard skills) 3) Personal Development (soft skills) 4) Network.
A: Being cooperative, that’s the kind of person people want
national students. They are good for global
to be with or work with. Get-
positions, they
A: Combination of both hard
ting things done, understand-
bring expertise
skill and soft skills is essential
ing the history of the company,
for a candidate. Be able to do
sharing success with cowork-
the job well and get things
ers, acknowledging other’s ef-
done. Culture fit is critical; abil-
forts... all of this can help one
ity to work with different cul-
accelerate in their career. In ad-
tures therefore being an inter-
dition to that being, innovative
and experience to the table.”
9
and an influencer is a sure shot way of be-
demonstrate you are engaged in the func-
ing noticed.
tion.
Furthermore, ask people how you can help
Q: Finally, what three skills do you be-
them. Be a good manager and allow peo-
lieve a new employee should have in or-
ple to work, avoid controlling or micro-
der to build a successful career in mar-
managing them. Take responsibilities for
keting?
your subordinates. Especially at an entry level, you don’t want to be that person
A: Firstly, having the ability to get things
who says that is not my job. Show willing-
done; secondly, understanding priorities
ness to help other people is very impor-
and being willing to put the hard work in
tant.
first. Finally, not being scared to ask questions. Be curious.
Q: Why being an international student an advantage (or disadvantage) for a graduate? A: There is higher demand for international students. They are good for global positions, they bring expertise and experience to the table. Q: How does one make a good first impression during a marketing interview? A: Do a lot of research about the company in advance. Take the initiative to give recommendations. Don’t ask about vacations or salary on the first interview. If you want to work in marketing, you have to know what is your favorite marketing campaign, and advertisements, what twitters accounts you follow and why. You have to
10
Mark Brandon President of DMT Sharp
Marketing • HTT Boston, United States
Q: How have needs towards marketing
ries to tell. The internet has been a real
and advertising services changed over
boom for companies like ours. Of course,
the past five years?
you have to learn how to take advantage of it.
A: We target pretty traditional markets. We go to woodworking, hunting, outdoors and
Q: What major challenges or risks does
things like that. The real change has come
your company face when working with
from how the marketing message is deliv-
clients and how do you mitigate these
ered to the consumers.
risks?
Clearly, even 5 years ago there was much
A: Our risks are products that look like
more emphasis on print advertising and
ours, but do not perform the same way.
since we are not a big company (30 peo-
The real challenge is to get that message
ple), we have to get as much attention as
out to the consumers and make sure peo-
we can without paying for it. So, PR has al-
ple understand the dierence.
ways been an important part of what we do here. Our focus has also shifted to the web. We now spend a lot more of our budget on web advertising and we are using social media sites. We also try to get
Since we make a product that goes into at least half a dozen verticals (our product has many applications), another challenge is how do you eectively communicate
bloggers to write about us.
with each of these verticals.
Sharpening
This allows us to speak directly to the con-
something that intimidates some people,
sumers and to have a conversation. Before
since there are some technical aspects.
this was done through the retailer or dis-
And it is hard to communicate, because
tributor. And they have a lot of other sto-
you have to educate people (we sell prod-
knives or or other tools is a skill and is
11
ucts that needs some explanation). So, we
take that data and turn it into some action-
created videos on our website, or put them
able information. So, for somebody who is
on Facebook and it has been a tremen-
doing marketing in our world, the change
dous advantage.
would be, can you do that? Do you under-
Q: How do you think the marketing func-
stand how it works and how to leverage that? There are so many channels now. On
tion is changing when delivering the
one hand, you can reach a lot of people.
value to your clients in today’s competi-
But the challenge is to reach the right peo-
tive environment ?
ple. So, you have to have a deeper under-
A: Big companies are definitely data driven. Small companies do not have sufficient resources to do the research. It is
standing of your customer. And it means doing more research, but we don’t mind investing more in that.
now you going to Google Analytics and
Q: Can you say that today you are look-
looking at your website. There is a wealth
ing for a much broader range of skills
of data there and the challenge for us is to
when hiring? If yes, what is the differ-
12
ence between the skills sets of past and
ing customer presentations. So, we need
future employees?
people that can be generalists in many ways.
A: We are still really looking for fundamental interpersonal skills: leadership skills,
Q: How can a new employee accelerate
ability to work in teams, creativity, imagina-
his or her professional development
tion, and energy. Let’s face it: you could
within your industry?
hire a marketing person 5 years ago, and the technical skills needed then are different from the technical skills today and the
A: The best way to do that is to get out there and sit with customers, to go to
technical skills 5 years from now.
trade shows and to understand what cus-
For us someone’s experience is also very
tion is doing. So, to really understand peo-
important. We are hungry for market exper-
ple and be able to turn this knowledge into
tise, for ideas and experience that we can’t
a message, and then to know how to get
home grow here.
that message back out there again.
Q: Describe the profile of a successful
Q: Why being an international student
employee in the following categories: 1)
an advantage (or disadvantage) for a
Education 2) Professional Development
graduate?
(hard skills) 3) Personal Development
tomers are looking for, what the competi-
(soft skills) 4) Network.
A: I personally think it is a huge advantage.
A: If I have to put them in order, I would
we do here (over 30 countries, primarily to
say soft skills number one, professional de-
UK, Germany, South Africa, Australia,
velopment number two, and education
China). International students understand
number three. But it also depends on what
the difference. Besides, when we put our
I am hiring for. If I need a data analyst, I
message out there on our website or so-
would give hard skills in the first place.
cial media, it is international. It does not
We hire very hands on people, who can wear a lot of different hats. He or she might be doing marketing one day, and working on a trade show the next day do-
For example, we export 20-25% of what
stop on the borders, like an ad in the magazine, or TV ad. How do you structure a message so that as many people as possible understand it?
13
Q: How does one make a
importance of interpersonal
good first impression during
skills. Because I honestly be-
a marketing interview?
lieve that you can learn technical skills. They are:
A: Sometimes it might be diffi-
“I honestly believe that you
cult for international students,
1. Know how to be a good
because of the cultural differ-
team member. You got to know
ences. Americans tend to be
how to interact with people.
more open in communication and self-confident.
This is dif-
ferent in many other cultures,
can learn techni-
sometimes it might be difficult
cal skills. We are
to make initial contact.
really looking for fundamental in-
2. You have to be a leader. 3. You need imagination. 4. And courage to put that forward and to sell that visionary
And a lot of us need help with
imagination within your organi-
that. I remember taking commu-
zation.
terpersonal
nication and presentation
skills: leader-
courses when starting out.
5. High level of energy. Enthusi-
ship, ability to
Now you learn this at school.
astic people create a good envi-
work in teams,
I would not hesitate to get help.
extremely helpful to me. Some-
creativity, imagi-
Practice, do some videotaping
one has to have a positive atti-
nation and en-
and get somebody to review it.
tude and be optimistic. It goes
This is something that not nec-
a long way.
ergy.”
ronment and as a boss that’s
essarily comes naturally. 6. Hard skills. Ability to analyze Q: Finally, what three skills
data and retrieve information
do you believe a new em-
that organization can act on.
ployee should have in order to build a successful career in marketing? I have 6 for you. And they go back to when we talked about 14
Steve Rafferty Sr. Director of US Franchising at Dunkin’ Brands
Marketing • HTT Boston, United States
Q: How have needs towards marketing
clients and how do you mitigate these
and advertising services changed over
risks?
the past five years?
A: Our clients are our franchisees and we
A: Marketing needs have changed over
have 8,500 franchise locations in the US
time and moved to the digital space. This
alone.
makes a huge impact on how we market our services and the way consumers perceive them, which in turn has shifted our marketing and advertising spending.
The challenge is to keep our offering relevant. In today’s competitive market, it is crucial to ensure that we have product offerings that are constantly evolving and im-
For instance, we have placed our focus on
proving, such as enabling our customers
mobile advertising with the Dunkin’ Donuts
to pay through their mobile devices.
mobile app, which finds the closest store location and allows you to pay through your phone.
Q: How do you get information on what your consumers want? What tools are you using to stay relevant?
Additionally, the app is customizable to the user, which allows Dunkin’ Donuts to
A: We have a well-developed and sophisti-
match offers regarding their top priority
cated research and development vertical.
products, proving to be a great channel for
They are working hard to be up-to-date
one to one communication.
with market trends and to know exactly what our consumers want. For example:
Q: What major challenges or risks does
we introduced the dark roast, which was
your company face when working with
driven by consumer taste, and also intro-
15
duced the breakfast sandwich with avo-
ence, but also someone who has passion
cado in response to the consumer taste
for the field. We want to get to know the
trend we became aware of.
core values of the candidates that we are
Q: Where do you see your industry in
hiring; people who can demonstrate honesty and integrity in their work. The con-
the next 5 years? How will you drive
cept of good fit is what we are seeking
growth and overcome potential chal-
here.
lenges in the industry? One must seek out companies that exhibit A: In order to grow we need to increase
a culture they would like to be part of.
our knowledge on how to use digital tools
When you interview with any company,
and digital intelligence to ascertain where
look at their values and look for that in
to build new restaurants. Hence, continu-
your interaction with them. Are they being
ing to increase the footprint of the brand.
respectful of your time? Are they being fair
Part of our growth and success will rely on
and transparent with you? These are some
the partners and franchisees we select to
of the questions you need to ask yourself
engage with. We only have 300 stores
and probe into.
west of the Mississippi river, for example. There is huge opportunity for growth for
Q: Describe the profile of a successful
the brand in the next 5 years.
employee in the following categories: 1) Education 2) Professional Development
Q: Can you say that today you are look-
(hard skills) 3) Personal Development
ing for a much broader range of skills
(soft skills) 4) Network.
when hiring? If yes, what is the difference between the skills sets of past and
1) Educational qualifications are a must as
future employees?
it demonstrates a commitment and disci-
A: There have been dramatic changes in
a level of curiosity that goes far beyond
the recruitment market. Today, we are look-
possessing soft skills.
ing for more than just technical skills whilst hiring. We need someone who not only understands the basics of marketing, has academic qualifications or practical experi-
pline towards a goal. It also demonstrates
2) Hard skills are really important but you can teach those. They can be developed over time.
16
3) It is important to be able to
A: It helps for a new hire or
work effectively with others
graduate to have an interna-
and to understand the role one
tional perspective. That way,
needs to play to get the team
the company can take advan-
t o t h e m o s t e ffe c t i v e
tage of different perspectives
outcome.
in a world that is constantly
Q: How can a new employee accelerate his or her professional development within
changing. Moreover, it is a big plus for firms with a goal to grow their brand internationally.
your industry? Q: What makes for a good A: The responsibility for profes-
first impression during a mar-
sional development always
keting interview?
rests with the individual. What
“It’s all about authenticity -
I have noticed with new em-
A: It is all about core values
ployees is that they expect
and who you are. While think-
many options will be laid out
ing about advertising and con-
sumer believe
in front of them. You have to
necting with consumers, it’s all
in your brand
look for things on your own.
about authenticity. Does the
Try new things; find a team
consumer believe in your
essence?”
that’s going to help you grow
brand essence? What are you
the most. Take accountability
selling? Being authentic mat-
for your own professional de-
ters in trying to leave a lasting
velopment and know what it is
first impression when thinking
that you want and test that.
about the people you want to
Let people know what it is you
work with.
like to do.
Does the con-
If someone at an interview
Q: Why being an interna-
asks you a question that you
tional student an advantage
don’t know the answer to, it is
(or disadvantage) for a
perfectly okay to say “Hey,
graduate?
that’s a great question. I’ve
17
never thought of that before” or “I really don’t know the answer to that”. It’s important to be genuine towards the company. Q: Finally, what three skills do you believe a new employee should have in order to build a successful career in marketing? A: The right mix/blend of the hard skills (knowledge of the field and hopefully some practical application of it) combined with some authenticity built on a foundation of core values that make you someone people want to work with. Also, ask yourself “Is this the right fit for me?”
18
Cindy Mackey VP of Marketing at Boston Museum of Science
Marketing • HTT Boston, United States
Q: What skills does a marketer need to
museums but also competing for people’s
have to be successful?
leisure time and leisure money. People want to enjoy themselves. We are compet-
A: Nowadays I see a lot of marketing go-
ing for everything. Even a free day, you can
ing digital. Therefore, it is important to be-
have a nice day outside at a park. We have
come familiar with the digital marketing cy-
to make certain we are giving the value for
cle of trying to get the clients and then try-
what people pay.
ing to engage with them so that they become customers. Familiarize yourself with
Q: How do you think the marketing func-
all the tools and software currently out
tion is changing when delivering the
there.
value to your clients in today’s competi-
Eight years ago we probably weren’t doing
tive environment ?
any digital marketing but now 30% of our
A: The market is definitely becoming more
budget goes into digital. Social media is
and more digital. Moreover, we have
also important: think of how to engage peo-
strived to acquire our client’s email ad-
ple. How do you get and create content
dresses, because with those, we can
that engages people is imperative.
reach out to them, cross-sell, all that sort
Q: What major challenges or risks does
of stuff.
your company face when working with
Q: Can you say that today you are look-
clients and how do you mitigate these
ing for a much broader range of skills
risks?
when hiring? If yes, what is the differ-
A: We have a lot of competition. Our product and services are expensive and we are
ence between the skills sets of past and future employees?
in competition not just with other science 19
A: Marketing is a set of skills. You have to
A: There is a enormous amount of informa-
decide how best to use it. Different tools
tion out there. You cannot go into an inter-
are available to you and you have to de-
view not being prepared or not having
cide which one would be best at each
looked at the companies website or not
time. For the Museum of Science, we have
having given it some thought. Analyze care-
curriculum material and we use HubSpot
fully the company’s website or their strat-
for developing leads and following up on
egy to the information available.
the leads.
Q: Finally, what three skills do you be-
Q: Why being an international student
lieve a new employee should have in or-
an advantage (or disadvantage) for a
der to build a successful career in mar-
graduate?
keting?
A: It is a huge advantage, but it depends
1. Need to be strategic; you cant just have
on where you are. If a company is trying to acquire international clients or establish offices abroad, it’s huge. Being bilingual is also a huge advantage. Q: How does one make a good first impression during a marketing interview?
an idea of tactics 2. You really want to be updated on everything. You don’t want to say “oh I didn’t know about that” 3. Always be networking, marketers are always networking. You really want to build those networks before you even really need them
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Bruce Hall President of Eureka Ranch
Marketing • HTT Boston, United States
Q: What do you think are the main
come a product that is the same as every-
trends in the marketing function devel-
one else’s.
opment in a company? And how would you forecast this development?
Q: Where do you see your industry in the near future? How will you drive
A: The Internet and digital communication
growth or overcome potential chal-
have changed the function quite dramati-
lenges?
cally. In many ways, flexibility is critical for folks going into the marketing arena primarily due to how the Internet has created numerous new opportunities for companies to reach their customers. The days of traditional media where you spend a lot of money and you did not have a lot of flexibility is over. It is critical that you come up with new approaches, test, and learn what works through an analytical approach. The marketing function needs to drive products that bring real value and can be truly differentiated due to the rise in competition. If you have to constantly focus on price, discount, and cannot constantly offer something new and different, you will
A: The marketing function is an analytical one. We have to be very objective of what works and what does not work, and make investments that truly drive the business. If you contrast this with a creative exercise, it is not just about being creative and coming up with a social media approach that is sexy or new, or catches people’s attention. It has to be something meaningful and that drives revenue for the company. So, the marketing function needs to be analytical and objective and capitalistic in terms of making investments that you know are going to drive real growth and bottom line profitability.
suffer. No amount of marketing can over-
21
Q: How do you think the companies’ re-
budgets are heavily scrutinized, therefore
quirements towards marketing agencies
agencies need to think in terms of busi-
have changed? And what are the main
ness results, driving value across all the dif-
challenges agencies face these days?
ferent mediums: TV, digital, etc.
A: The media buying function has changed
Q: Describe the profile of a successful
dramatically. Agencies are now judged on
employee in the following categories: 1)
a set of services/offerings, approaches
Education 2) Professional Development
and the broad range of clients that they re-
(hard skills) 3) Personal Development
tain. However, to get it right, there is a lot
(soft skills) 4) Network.
of trial and error involved. For example, P&G has done a lot of digital testing and learning internally, and therefore avoids traditional agencies that are built on big media buys which comes with big fees. Agencies will not be able to test and deliver fast
A: First one is analytical and problem solving skills; these are in very high demand. Second is leadership. Third is to collaborate. And it is far more important than it used to be. It is very American to always
enough.
put leadership at the top of the list. Leader-
Q: What is the key value that agencies
going to an objective effectively are skills
should bring to their clients?
that are currently lacking in a lot of compa-
ship paired with the ability to get a team
nies. A: The more agencies can think in terms of the business objectives of the client and
An area that is really lacking is the ability to
help them truly achieve these objectives,
write effectively. I see a lot of new gradu-
the more valuable they become. Marketing
ates who are unable to express their thought clearly. Communication skills are of immense importance. Q: How can a new employee accelerate his or her professional development within your industry? A: Be known for the ability to get important things done. There are a lot of distractions 22
in any job. Those who excel are usually the
company can do to really high performers
ones that stay very focused on their objec-
is to set the bar too low.
tives. Getting things done is one of the biggest challenges that managers have. Distractions, barriers, fighting between people, starting and stopping, indecisiveness of the leadership: employees’ projects that do not make progress due to any of those issues tend to result incomplete. Therefore, if you can prove to your management that you are capable of consistently getting things done regardless of the barriers and with high quality you will stand out from your peers. Q: Where would you suggest our student to work after graduation: a large network company or smaller niche player? A: After you graduate you should go to a company and work for someone you know
Make sure you ask yourself every 6 months: “am I still learning?”, “am I still growing?”. And if you are not, you should decide what is the right next step. Do not let anyone say you can’t. Do not let anyone discourage you. Say, “I am going to do this. I am going to get into environment where I can learn to be challenged, and that’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to make that happen”. I would go for a larger company that has a lot of people to learn from and a lot of opportunities and resources. I would make sure this company is known for training and has a learning culture inside of it. Later you can go for a smaller company, but now you can help them and you will become very valuable to them.
you would learn a lot from. Do not necessarily prioritize money as the #1 factor in your next move. Get a good foundation by allowing yourself to be challenged, and do this early in your career. Do not go to a company where mediocre is ok. Go to a company where you know they will ask a lot from you. The worst thing a
23
Ambassador Pinta Gama @HTTLondon
24
Hult Think Tank is an award-winning
and the other on Assisted Suicide. We also
student-led organization with 80 members
often play ice-breakers such as the Life-
in four continents. Our purpose
boat game, in which the players need to
is to raise intellectual discussions, to in-
convince the judge of why they should be
form people about pressing and current
the sole survivor of a sinking boat.
matters and to deliver insights and solutions. THINK.SOLVE.SHARE.
Student Competitions
We accomplish that through the following
Our Intellectual Olympians work in teams
platforms:
to come up with solutions for imposed
Opinion Pieces
ments. We have hosted a competition with
Our Op-Eds are varied. All we ask from our Intellectual Ambassadors is to find a topic they love, expose a problem, and strategically identify a way out. For this reason, we have pieces about Economics, such as “Impact Investing in Emerging Markets” by Mark Missirlian, about New Media, such as “Innovation in Digital Storytelling” by Giulia Ubertallo, or about the Third Sector, such as “Non Profit Evolution” by Ebuwa IghoOsagie.
challenges from companies or governa Brazilian club (Panorama Consultoria Internacional) on a Marketing Strategy for the iWatch in India, and one of our teams won. The members of this team received a certificate for outstanding performance signed by our Executive Director Tom Hall and our Dean Karen Phillips. The team was composed by Jamal Abisourour, Hengtao Zhang (in the picture below with Competition Manager Lies de Smit) and Aravindbabu Kumar.
Debates Our Intellectual Gladiators fiercely, but craftily combat each other to identify which team has the better gasp of a topic, or the better soft skills. We have hosted a debate on the topic “Is the World Flat?” and watched two debates by intelligence2, one on Genetically Modified Organisms
25
Podcasts Our Media Consultants reach out to incredi-
engaged audience and knew that HTT would be successful from that day.
ble people inside and outside our school ecosystem to gather insights on all sorts of topics. In this issue, for example, we have an interview with a Sr. Economist at the World Bank, a CSR Consultant to the UN and a Hult Professor. To this day, we have a total of 19 podcasts - most of which are attributed to Reet Sen (in the picture below with Brian Smith and Barry Donalson).
Our second event was with the French Entrepreneur Gilles Blanchard, who presented a lecture on “If You Are In Your 20s, HTT Thoughts This blog is our newest platform. Here, our
Why Work In Anything Other Than The Internet”.
members can share shorter opinions on
Our third event was with Ambassador Mar-
trendy topics. The first one was “Women
cos Pinta Gama (picture at the beginning
as Fearless Innovators” by Alexandra
of this article), who spoke about “Interna-
Fantacchiotti.
tional Organizations”.
Lectures
Our last one was on Innovation and Entre-
Our first event was a panel with Professors Alan Hertz, Daniel Rukare, Neil Fitzgerald and myself on the relationship between the US and Syria (2013). We had a wonderfully
preneruship and featured Professor Mike Grandinetti, ABC’s Shark Tank winner Nick Pirollo, Alumn MD Omar Shaker and Managing Director of BetaSpring, Owen Johnson,
26
HINT was born as a way to wrap all the amazing content that we have created in a cohesive and appealing manner. One that can reach more people and change more lives. Video Learning Where every Hult student and every ProfesWith the help of Leo Draxl, we filmed Pro-
sor from any campus, graduate or under-
fessor Hertz talk about globalization (avail-
graduate, can participate and share a little
able in this journal). The video was such a
bit about what they know and love.
success that other Professors decided to participate. Today we have filmed Profes-
Where we can reach out to external guests
sors Rukare, Papadopoulos and Dean
to go to the source of the industry
Melissa Willby (also available in this issue),
changes. Where we can display to the mar-
and plan to start filming in our brand new
ket who we are and what we know. Where
studio in Boston.
we can expose our edge, of being innovative, entrepreneurial and international. Our hope is that future students will look at this and decide to keep our movement going; that future employers will be impressed by our work, or that companies will decide to partner with us. There are so many opportunities ahead... but it all started with an idea and an urge to do more. 27
I created Hult Think Tank in London in October of 2013 and as I look back, I must acknowledge and give thanks for the inspiring work of my peers and partners, as well as the instrumental help from the Hult staff. Without them, this journal would never exist. Since 2013, so many incredible things have happened: We won an award for “Best Publicity” (London);
Hosted a writing workshop with Anna Handley-Fierce, Editorial Manager at Skyword (Boston);
Became accredited by the Royal Bank of Scotland and the 21st best NGO in the
Created a website, available at
world, Associacao Saude Crianca;
www.hultthinktank.com, that has over
Partnered with Fundacao Estudar/Na Pratica, BRASA, PAVLOK and KarmaCircles,
10,000 pageviews, having been accessed in six continents.
and secured sponsorship with the National
Personally donated 50 milk crates to chil-
Recruiting Group;
dren in need (Brazil);
28
Expanded - Dubai, Boston, Shanghai and San Francisco respectively in the pictures.
Had fun and gave back to our community (Beer Pong Tournament in Boston and Ice Cream Social in Dubai);
29
Alinejadchatli, Amruthavarshini Shankar, Laura Salovaara, Flavien Caminati, Sara Villacis, Eirik Thomassen, Anne Marte Ring, Andile Mkonto, and Tomi Blanchard to our current 80 members all over the world. Thank you to faculty and staff, specially Raised intellectual discussions not only with other students, but also with our faculty and staff through the Directors Cut Project, in which we meet to discuss books or Ted talks. This would never have happened without Executive Director Tom Hall’s influence;
Claire Eisenberg and Emily Burke, to our external contributors, friends and family. This journal is for all of you. For you, our reader, I would like to invite you to visit our website at www.hultthinktank.com. Every article presented in this journal is available there. The difference is that apart from text, we also have videos and audio. I would also like to welcome you to contribute. Join us in creating insights about the things you love. Welcome to a new perspective. Welcome to HINT.
But most importantly, we have learned and we have grown.
Viviane Boavista Menna Barreto
Thank you from the bottom of my heart to
Master of International Business (2015) Founder and CEO
everyone that has been involved in this project. From our founding members, Nadiya
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