Marketing lessons learned around the globe

Lessons learned from a global marketing career

BYUH professor says traveling to 87 countries for work opened the world for him

BY JENNIFER ELIVERA HACHUELA

Jeff Christensen, assistant professor at BYU–Hawaii, said marketing and teaching taught him the importance of knowing how to market oneself.

“You need to understand what your unique qualities are and what you bring to the table that no one else has,” he said.

Christensen, who works for the Faculty of Business & Government, in the Center for Hospitality & Tourism, said he worked for companies such as Expedia, United Airlines, Royal Caribbean, InterContinental hotel groups and Netflix.

Realizing similarities through travel

His love for traveling has taken him to 87 countries, he said. He was amazed with Australia’s landscapes, he added, and China’s art history.

“My career opened the world to me,” said Christensen. He added traveling to different countries led him to understand people’s many similarities. “

We all have similar worries, goals and natural desire to be happy. Cultural differences helped me appreciate cultures better and made me realized that my way of seeing things isn’t always the best way for other people,” Christensen shared.

Greater appreciation for family time

Christensen said he spent several days at hotels during his career in sales and marketing.

Comparing the challenge of balancing time with family and work, he said he has a greater appreciation for the time he has for his family as a professor at BYUH.

“Now it’s different since our house is closer to my workplace,” he said. “We are able to spend more time together and are more involved in the lives of each other.”

It’s all about the people

Delphia Lloyd, a senior from Idaho, has Christensen as one of her professors. She said of Christensen, “One of my favorite lessons I remember being taught by him is his emphasis on creating connection with people.

“He would always emphasis that it’s about the people. It’s important what experience you have with your guest. That was impactful to me.”

Helping students think creatively

Christensen’s former student and current teaching assistant, Olivia Hixon, said, “He is one of the best professors because he is so engaging and gives great feedback. I would say the biggest lesson I learned from him was how to think outside the box and be creative.”

Jeff Christensen worked for Expedia, United Airlines, Royal Carribean and more. Photo provided by Jeff Christensen.

Austin Forte is Christensen’s former teaching assistant and he shared he thinks Christensen is his favorite professor. “I have learned that knowledge is not power, but instead the application of knowledge is power.” Forte added learning about economic systems and its application has opened his eyes.

Christensen began teaching in 2019 and said one of his favorite parts of teaching is “when I see the light go on in their [students'] heads. It is meaningful to me when they go out into the world and become successful.” •

Jeff Christensen tells his students understanding people and cultures helps them better understand themselves and learn that all people have similar worries, goals and desires to be happy. Photo illustration from Unsplash by Christine Roy.