Day: October 22, 2010

Today I attended a Careers in Marketing workshop with panels of industry professionals in the fields of marketing research, product management, and advertising and promotions. The event was held by the Business Career Centre from the Sauder School of Business. They provided valuable insight in the paths that can lead from a career in marketing and they certainly opened my eyes today as to what is possible in the field of marketing. I was inspired by the fact that most of these industry leaders started out in different backgrounds such as political science, English literature, and psychology. From such a wide range of backgrounds, these professionals managed to find their passion and wiggled into the field of marketing. Whether it is moving from countries and continents to pursue new opportunities or getting a CA designation before moving into advertising, I was fascinated by how our careers can change so radically without anticipation.

Below is a picture I took from the workshop. Here, one of the panelist is discussing how marketing is utilized in his everyday planning in program management and how the 4P’s can relate to his company and position.

I apologize for the late posting for my weekly blog as I have been completely swamped with midterms and projects.

That being said, as I have stated from my last blog post, I will talk discuss the marketing genius of Steve Jobs and the things he has done to revolutionize the industry with his unique style of promoting Apple products. I read an interesting blog from Phil Gerbyshak regarding the 7 unique lessons we can learn from the marketing genius. From delivering legendary keynote presentations, raising product launches to an art form, and communicating the benefits of Apple products to millions of customers, I feel that anyone interested in marketing and sales should look up his biography and articles.

7) Plan in Analog – draw everything out on paper first and do a big picture diagram for presentations to set out all ideas.

6) Create Twitter-friendly headlines  – get to the point, have a catchy title/phrase that will stick with people so they don’t have to read too much and remember it effortlessly.

5) Introduce the antagonist – Steve Jobs will always introduce his competitors as the bad guy and that Apple will be the hero to save the day, although it is common and cliché, it is extremely effective.

4) Stick to the rule of 3 – human brain can only absorb 3 -4 chunks of information at one time. Jobs will always try to group everything he needs to talk about in 3-4 sections/points so people can go away his presentation having categorized what they’ve just learned.

3) Strive for simplicity – avoid clutter, and keep things simple. It keeps the audience’s mind focused as well.

2) Reveal a “Holy Smokes” moment – “people will forget what you said, what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel”. Create a lasting image.

1) Sell dreams, not products – “Great leaders cultivate a sense of mission among their employees and customers.”  It’s important to have great products; but passion, enthusiasm, and emotion is what sets you apart.