Marketing Degree

From Kelley Indianapolis' Kyle Hickey, Marketing, Supply Chain and International Studies - Class of 2012

Surprisingly, over the past four years I have never really thought about what the last day of my undergraduate degree would look like. However, the past few months I have had many thoughts about this coming day and what it will most likely look like. One thing I do know is there will be many emotions wrapped up on commencement day.

Putting on my cap and gown the day of commencement will be the beginning to a very special day. I picture commencement day where my family, best friends, and Kelley staff and faculty will be there to celebrate with me. I know there will be many “thank yous” passed out from my side for all the people who have helped me get to where I am now and who I know will help me in the future.

I also look forward to being with my friends and seeing them walk across the stage. These friends have been my closest for the last four years, and it makes me really happy to be graduating with them. When studying got hard, when writing didn’t come, when relaxing was needed, when laughing was a must, and when lecturing got dry – my friends were always there for me.

My family, who I know is so proud of me, also will be there to celebrate with me. It truly humbles me to think of what my parents have sacrificed and done to help me complete these four years. I know that they are really proud, and it means the world that they will be there to congratulate me. Walking across the stage will signify one very important phase of life coming to a close and the beginning of a new, exciting phase of life. Commencement day will be one of the happiest days of my life.

From Kelley Indianapolis' Kyle Hickey, Marketing, Supply Chain and International Studies - Class of 2012

This semester has come to a close as will my undergraduate experience here at Kelley. Thoughts have been racing through my mind such as: registering for classes, buying a parking permit, finding the best deal on books, and seeing which friends are going to be in my classes. However, there is not going to be another semester. I graduate in a couple of days. It is a strange, bizarre, yet exciting realization all at the same time. Reflecting over the past four years has been limited due to taking 17 credit hours, working a part-time job, working as an intern, and juggling friends. Now that it is all over, I want to reflect on some of the most memorable and valuable experiences I have had at Kelley Indianapolis.

Because IUPUI is a commuter school, some students don’t make new friends and connections. Some are satisfied with their existing high school friends. Others simply come to school to get a degree. A degree, to me, is much more than just a sheet of paper saying I have completed something–it has a much deeper and lasting importance.

I-Core was my first Kelley experience about which I was really excited and proud to be a Kelley student. Through this experience I was able to connect with my three group members in a way that is unexplainable. Each of us had a distinct personality, along with special skills, that enabled us to work together and come up with the best possible plan for the organization we worked with. These group members are like family now and I would do anything for them.

Yes, I know all of you have had group members that do not contribute their parts, but for the ones you really do connect with, hold on to and never let them go. You are going to be out in the real world very soon working with a group of people, make the most of it and hear their input and recommendations. If you listen to them, they will listen to you. I have learned so much respect for others throughout my four years at Kelley by being in so many group settings.

As college students, we see Kelley professors and staff as people we can’t relate to. We think they live completely different from us. This is how I saw them for my first year or so. However, I realized they are people who understand college students the best, and they can relate to me in so many ways. Once I was struck by this realization, I began to actually build relationships with my professors and staff by talking and listening to their advice. Now that graduation has come around, I am so thankful for the relationships and connections that have been built with so many Kelley professors and staff. They only want the best for each of you, so take time to talk and relate to them. They will be there for you after your days at Kelley are over.

Two years ago I entered the wide hallways of the business building of IUPUI. As a freshman, I was just waiting to see what the future would hold. Wanting to get involved with something I choose Kelley Indianapolis Cares for its great community service oppurtunities and impact on the community.This organization works with Gleaners, Habitat for Humanity, as well as many others. I could not wait to see what else was in store during my ungraduate experience

However, I soon realized that I can't just sit around and wait to see what the future will hold. I need to act upon it now. In order to get an internship my junior year through Kelley Careers, graduate with Accounting Degree and a Finance Degree, and pass the CPA Exam, I need to start preparing myself for the future. As professor Tim Bennett once said, "market your brand". We each have our own brand that defines who we are professional, whether you have a lot of great skills, are a strong leader, or have the ability to organize large scale events. We each have goals, ambitions, and know that in the future there is something that we want. However companies don't hire just a set of skills, they hire people with plans, motivations, and hobbies. They hire people who know who they are.

So here is my brand-My name is Ashley Manuel. I'm an accounting and finance major. I believe serving others can change the world, but most of all it can change how you percieve yourself. I strive to be a great leader, but I believe in order to become a great leader you first must be able to help others with compassion and integrity. I want to become a CPA and work in tax at a public accounting firm after graduation and I'm extremely excited about beginning as a blogger for the Kelley Biz Blog. All in all, just like anyone else, I want to make a footprint in the world and leave college with a bright future ahead of me.

 

 Apparently, most Americans don’t think they are living up to their creative potential – according to new research from Adobe only 39% of Americans say they are. If you want to see the data from Adobe for yourself, click here. At the same time, I am sure that most marketers would say being creative is an important characteristic to have. Okay, so what’s the definition of being creative?

Creativity has a wide variety of definitions. According to Wikipedia, there are over 100 definitions of creativity and being creative. But, there are some common themes – being able to see something new, unusual, and/or novel that is of some value or is useful in some way.

In Kelley Indianapolis' undergraduate marketing degree program, students have to develop a complete marketing plan for an existing, local brand. One of the reasons that these local companies work with Kelley students is because they are hoping the students will help them figure out something new and different they could be doing to be more successful. So, it makes sense that we might do some exercises to expand or highlight students’ creativity. Here’s one assignment. At the beginning of the semester, students are given the page below and told to come up with the most creative way to use these patterns.

This semester, I also encouraged them to not feel restricted to two dimensions – they could use these patterns in any creative manner that occurred to them. Over the next 10 weeks, I reminded them about the assignment and gave them the opportunity to pick up additional copies or patterns. Well, I was totally amazed at how creative some of our students are. I thought you might enjoy seeing some of the most novel ways these patterns were used:

• How about a diorama of a foreign community or village?

• Anyone interested in a flower? Or, a pinwheel?

• Or a hanging twirlie?

• A caterpillar? Or, a set of coasters?

• 3D versions of the pattern?

• A story depiction of Fat Tire beer, a brand we’ve been analyzing all semester?

• Or substituting your face for one of the patterns?

• And even creating a fractal?

Bottomline – our students found a wide variety of novel ways to use these patterns several of which would also be quite useful. Which do you think is most creative?

As a marketing professor, I am always keeping my eyes open for examples of strong marketing. At the same time, I try to think of ways to help my marketing degree students experience these examples for themselves rather than having me just tell them about it.

For the last several years, I’ve kept track of TOMS Shoes. Actually, one of my students first shared the story of this company with me. He was one of those students who cared both about business and doing good. His team did a presentation about TOMS’ dual focus of making a profit and giving back to the community. In case you don’t know TOMS story, here’s the elevator pitch: With every shoe you purchase, TOMS gives one to a child in need. As part of his Amazing Race experience, Blake Mycoskie (TOMS’ founder) discovered a lot of children without shoes. He set up his company to help change that.

There are many things from a marketing perspective that TOMS does right:

• Product – the basic shoe is comfortable and interesting. They constantly change up the designs to keep customer interest. They work with designers to add extra cachet. They even have seasonal offerings. But, the basic shoe is great. Product also includes packaging, which again is a hit for TOMS. Check out the photo below from Savannah Smiled’s Tumblr(http://savannahsmiled.tumblr.com/). The box reminds you of the cause and TOMS story. Inside, there’s a shoe bag, a logo sticker and a letter from Blake.

 

• Price – these are definitely not the cheapest shoes around. But, that’s not really the point is it? Instead, the price point is acceptable (basic shoes are $44 - $58) especially when you realize that you are really buying two pairs – one for you and one for another. TOMS does little discounting; the most frequent is free shipping.

 

• Place – TOMS is primarily sold in their own online store. But, they can also be found online at Amazon and in select bricks & mortar stores including Nordstrom’s and independent specialty boutiques.

 

• Promotion – this is where TOMS excels. Great website. Having received TOMS emails for about 2 years, great email marketing strategy. TOMS also does all of the social media – twitter, Facebook, Pinterest. This year, they’ve direct mailed one catalog (which I know got my mom to buy another pair after seeing all her choices). And, the blog is very engaging. TOMS doesn’t rank in organic search for shoes, but that’s a highly competitive category. The cause marketing initiative “One Day Without Shoes" is where TOMS’ efforts are unparalleled. One April Tuesday every year, One Day Without Shoes asks people all over the world to take off their shoes to see what those without experience every day. This initiative has its own website, highly linked to TOMS of course. The website itself has a lot to offer – a robust story; an event locator and ability to register your own event; a national challenge to get organizations to register their members with a Blake party for the winner; downloadable event materials including rally signs, street stencils, DIY shirts, pocket cards, stickers, banners, displays and toolkits; an iPhone event locator app; videos; a photowall; even a way to do it virtually via Sims and all of the social sharing integrations you could want.

 

So, this year I asked my undergraduates to participate in this event for extra credit. Although they thought it was a way to earn bonus points, I hoped they would experience the power of word-of-mouth marketing. Lucky for me, my class meets on Tuesday so they could come to class without their shoes. Naturally, I too went without shoes for the day – yep, those blue toenails are mine.

 

 

Afterwards, they have to reflect on the day and share their thoughts with me. Their reflections covered a couple of key themes:

1. You become a champion of a cause and play a key role informing others:

“Fortunately, right before my M450, while walking through the hallway between the library and the business building, a student stopped me and thanked me for participating, claiming she did not have the courage to do so. It made me feel amazing. It’s funny how one person can make that big of a difference.”

 “Also, I realized that very few people are aware of this issue. With many people unaware of TOMS or the event, I found enjoyment in explaining my slightly kooky appearance in the middle of the library. I felt like I was an insider with great information about a good movement/cause.”

“I love being able to explain to people why I am walking around looking like a crazy person, it brings a spirit of humility upon me.”

“One thing that I learned during my experience of “One Day Without Shoes” was how much awareness that simply one person can make by going barefoot. I never believed it until I did it on April 10. More and more people kept on asking me about why I wasn’t wearing shoes and just like the website had mentioned raising awareness can be achieved by drawing attention to certain things.”

“It was cool how people would ask you the reasoning behind being barefoot, because I was able to spread the word about one day without shoes.”

2. Without shoes, you spend more of the day looking down to try and protect your feet:

“Before this experience, I didn’t realize how much I took shoes for granted. Every step I took was calculated and not one went without me looking down to see the next. I think it was a good experience to essentially walk a mile in someone else’s shoes... Only walking that mile barefoot. When I was walking barefoot outside, it was the thing on the top of my mind. Whereas when I have shoes on, I think about what I’m about to do next, what I have to do later that day, etc. I never think about the next step I’m going to take.”

“Today, I was without shoes. I spent a great deal of my time looking down in order to make sure I didn't step on anything sharp or jagged. Walking without shoes also made me walk a little slower than normal.”

3. Without shoes, your feet get dirty and they hurt:

“At times it was painful and agonizing to think about how dirty my feet were getting.”

“At the end of the day, my feet hurt in spots that don’t usually hurt!”

“My feet became very dirty and they were starting to ache after awhile.  I also realized that you use different muscles in your feet when you walk without shoes.”

4. We take our shoes for granted, worrying about which ones to buy rather than being glad we have them

“Sometimes I spend so much time shopping for the 'perfect' shoe when in all actuality I should be grateful to have shoes period. It is important at times to step back and be thankful for the basic needs of life.”

“We as Americans don’t realize how good we have it in our country. We take for granted the fact that the many people in the world do not have one pair of shoes while we all tend to have several pairs of shoes for different occasions.”

 

Dear TOMS Shoes –

Kelley School of Business Indianapolis undergraduate marketing students and I want to thank you for giving us an opportunity to undertake a worthy experiential education activity. 

We vow to go “One Day Without Shoes” again next year!

(FYI – in case you didn’t know, IUPUI won The Challenge in 2011 and Blake will be visiting our campus on April 30, 2012 to celebrate our efforts and share his story)

I attended a party with a coworker who works in the Career Planning Office. He stated that there are over 100 employment opportunities, both internships and permanent positions, that were yet unfilled. I was taken aback. I said, "None of those positions are in accounting, are they?" To which he smiled and said, "Oh, no. With the accounting students, all I had to do was sit back and watch."

Am I proud of the accounting students? You bet! The MSA and MST students hear it from the beginning at orientation—go to the Meet the Accounting Recruiter event. Meet with your professors. Stay involved.  Why? Competition. With over 400 accounting students on this campus alone, you have to distinguish yourself. And how can you do that? Instead of staying in for a 5 year undergraduate degree, pursue your master degree in either accounting or taxation. You should be taking the courses that will help you not only pass the CPA exam, but also help you not only secure a job, but help you in your chosen career path.

The MSA and MST programs feature classes that are only offered at the graduate level. In addition, you will have some access to classes offered through the MBA program and the law school. Employers are becoming more discerning. Some recruiters will even review your transcripts, looking for specific classes. 

Interested in tax? Both the MSA and the MST program offer classes in S-Corp Taxation, Partnership Taxation and fiduciary taxation. Is auditing a better fit? We offer classes in Corporate Financial Reporting and Financial Statement Analysis. 

The job market seems to be improving. That means even more competition for coveted positions at prestigious firms. Now is the time to go the extra mile and get your graduate accounting degree! 

While I love teaching students working on their marketing degrees, I have to admit that I do look forward to Spring Break because it usually means a chance to get in some snow skiing. I've gotta be honest, downhill skiing is one of my favorite activities. And, there is a limited window of time when you can easily do it. Plus, skiing at spring break gives me a chance to reflect how what's happening in my classes and rethink how I want to finish out the semester.

Now, I've been skiing for quite a while...let's just say more than 20 years. And, I've been using the same skis since before Dick's bought Galyan's (which was some time in 2004). I know this because my right ski still has a Galyan's label on it. But, when it comes to skiing my motto has been "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

But still, even a loyalist like me sometimes lets their eyes be distracted by a bright new shiny toy - you got it, the latest rocker skis. So today, I demo'd a pair. And, they were really playful. A few runs hitting some moguls and I was feeling very comfortable and confident. So, we decided to head into the bowls. Now, those of you not familiar with bowls might not realize that these are considered "extreme" trails. Actually, trails is an overstatement as they are more typically just snow-covered ground through the woods on steep faces of the mountains. You make your own trail, being as aggressive as you dare.

So, we hit The North Face and Hawk's Nest. At this point, we could have taken the "easier way" to the "Paradise Lift". But, we felt good and decided to take the risk of doing even harder slopes. Then, we hit the Sock-It-To-Me Ridge followed by The Last Steep. As we were making our way down what was clearly the steepest slope of the day, I started to go across some rocks and in seeking a way to avoid them lost my confidence and my edge and started sliding right down the mountain sideways. Then, my first ski flew off. I figured that wasn't good and really jammed my remaining ski in to try and stop. Instead, I had too much momentum and rolled head over heels. I figured this was not good, but as they say, "a rolling stone gathers no moss." Neither did I.

Lest you worry, the story ends well. I eventually stopped sliding downhill and was completely uninjured. The picture at the right gives you sense of how steep the mountain was. And, I only started sliding about 2/3 of the way down which although hidden behind the trees was actually the steepest part. As I picked myself up and tried to find my 2 skis and 2 poles, I started reflecting on how I had survived. Then, it hit me that it was much like the last corporate reorg that I survived. So, here are my rules of survival:

1. Protect your head. In skiing, this means wearing a helmet (which I did). In a corporate life, this means finding some powerful mentors to shield you. Of course, it helps to have these folks in place before the reorg starts
2. Tuck your head in. In either situation, having your head or neck sticking out is probably too risky right now
3. Bring your arms and legs in as close to your body as possible. Your goal is to avoid peripheral damage. Same as #2 above in terms of the payoff for taking a risk
4. Be calm because this too will pass. Don't panic and start acting crazy. Take deep breaths. Find your "happy" place...
5. When it's all over, breathe a sigh of relief and thank god you were lucky this time.

I am not suggesting that knowledge, experience, and capabilities have nothing to do with survival. Quite the opposite. Being knowledgeable and increasing knowledge through education definitely help. I've been scuba trained and have done rescue first aid training several times. Experience gained through hard work help ensure you are doing the right things most of the time. And, both of these traits will help others want to support you. Still, I do believe that every now and then we all need a little luck. And boy did I feel lucky today!

One final thought - always remember your support team too. While I was busy shaking all the snow off and checking to make sure I was intact, my constant support team known as my husband was at the ready to jump in and help out when he could. This time, it was just to help recover skis and poles. But boy was I thankful he was there.

Today, trying something new was a calculated risk. While that risk had a few questionable moments, in the end it paid off: I found a new pair of skis that help me perform better than before, I had an awesome day, and I had an adventure worth sharing with others. What's your next calculated risk?

On Friday March 2^nd, Kelley hosted its 66^th Annual Business Conference in downtown Indy. I always look forward to attending this conference as it gives me a chance to take a deep breath and think about something more than what’s going on in my classes. But, this year I was especially excited given the theme of “Incite Innovation”. You know it’s going to be a great day when you start by hearing what John Kao and Ray Kurzweil are thinking (click on their names if you want to see what they are up to). And, they both had some very interesting and futuristic ideas to share. But as a marketer, I really enjoyed the luncheon talk by Don Knauss, Chairman of the Board and CEO of The Clorox Company. He shared several ideas that anyone working on their undergraduate marketing degree or marketing MBA needs to remember:

1. It’s not competition that will kill your business, it’s not paying attention to customers that will kill it. So many companies seem to focus on what others are doing instead of understanding what customers are doing. Customers’ needs change. If you don’t keep up with them, they’ll find their own alternatives and fire you.

 

2. In order to innovate, you have to start with what problem customers are trying to solve. Then, apply advanced technologies to help them solve that existing problem. My favorite example was how Clorox has improved Glad Bags. People want to send less plastic to landfills. But, trash bags that rip are a nightmare. So, Clorox borrowed collaborated with P&G to bring diaper technology to create a stretchy, thinner trash bag.

 

3. Be careful when you are trying to understand what customers want. Often, they aren’t great at figuring out what they really want or need. But, they are great at complaining. So, figure out what problems are causing them to complain. We used to call this Problem Detection research. It’s still a great idea for existing products and services. Sometimes now, we refer to this as focusing on the Customer Experience.

 

4. Let’s not forget the macroenvironmental trends. Since innovations are only good when people want to buy them, it helps to look forward at trends that might be impacting your customers. Clorox apparently looked at future trends and identified four that they think will affect their products: 1) Increasing concern for health and being healthy, 2) Making sure that what we are doing leads to a sustainable future, 3) Keeping products and services affordable (a nice way to say we are more price-sensitive), and 4) An increasingly multicultural US consumer. As they choose between innovations to move forward, they compare them to this set of trends and tweak their improvements or prioritize them against future potential.

 

Thanks, Don. It was great to be reminded about how to understand customers and innovate solutions to keep them happy and productive using our products. So marketers, let's create the innovations that add value and excite our customers to support our brands!

An article in the Indy Star a week or so ago caught my attention. The headline reads: Gum may not stick around. My first thought was, “What are they talking about? I love gum.” Well, hold on. The main thrust of the article is that gumball machines are falling out of favor. While I was surprised to discover that only 27% of gumball machines dispense gumballs any more, it does make sense. Those huge gumballs are not really a great experience – they are huge and sometimes hard to bite into. When you do bite one, you sometimes discover that it was kind of stale. But even worse, you get a big, immediate shot of sugar that quickly disappears. Instead, you are left with a flavorless bit that’s often difficult to chew. So, I do get why we are not chewing too many gumballs any more.

But, the end of the article suggests that total gum sales are down in 2011. So, this data also made me pause. How is it that Americans are chewing less gum than they used to? So, I set my undergraduate marketing degree students to figure out what’s going on. We started by brainstorming what needs chewing gum fulfills, that is what job do people hire gum to do? Here’s what we came up with:

• Freshen your breath
• Remove food from your teeth after eating
• Give you something to do when you are bored
• Stave off hunger so you can avoid calories
• Keep your mouth wet when you are thirsty
• Help you quit smoking
• Get your vitamins

Then, we started thinking about all of the alternatives to meet these needs. It turns out that there are lot so alternatives. Think about some of the new choices we have:

• Mints and Mouthwashes – there are plenty of new choices here including all kinds of long lasting ones. They’ve innovated functional features too.
• Anyone hear of Wisps, the baby on-the-go tooth brushes?
• iPhone and other smartphone apps – I don’t know about you but I am almost never bored when I have my iPhone.
• Low cal snacks – hey the snack people discovered people were worried about their health and we have an explosion of 100 calorie, baked and other better for you options.
• Waters – what kind of water do you like: tap (on the go Brita filter bottles), flavors (any, and I do mean any flavor can be found), and even vitamin-enhanced

This is one of the ongoing challenges for marketers. Part of getting your marketing degree is learning how to figure out who your real competition is. Your real competition is always changing. It’s not just the alternatives in your own product category you have to think about. You also have to monitor all those options that can substitute for your category and do the same job you do. The customer is hiring a product after all, not a product category. So, think more broadly – what other choices are preventing your brand from being chosen?

 

B2B Video Provided by Kelley's Office for External Affairs:

Written by Carly Griffin, Senior Marketing Student

I can honestly say that this past Wednesday was the most fun that I have ever had on the second floor of the Business Building. For the past five years, the Kelley School has hosted a student engagement event for students, and this year’s theme was Backpacks to Briefcases (B2B). As an intern for the Kelley Office for External Affairs, I had the privilege of coordinating the logistics of this event.

The goal of B2B was to educate Kelley students about reaching important milestones while progressing through their college years.  Representatives from the Office of Student Financial Services, Kelley Academic Programs, the Kelley Career Planning Office, Kelley Indianapolis Student Government, and First Year Programs all attended and gave us important real-life tips for success. For example, Financial Services wanted to make sure that students in their junior years knew how to calculate their spending habits and create appropriate budgets. Financial Services also wanted seniors to be aware of their credit reports and how to read them correctly.  

In addition to the educational information provided during Kelley B2B, there were opportunities for students to be involved through social media outlets. A Twitter hash tag (#kelleyindyb2b) was available to collect student comments all day long. In addition, Kelley students were invited to participate in a Facebook photo contest by posting creative photos of their backpacks on the Kelley Indianapolis Facebook page.  The winner took home a leather Kelley briefcase.

Students were also invited to participate in the backpack weighing contest that took place on the second floor throughout the day. The winning backpack weighed in at a whopping 34.3 pounds!

For me, B2B was more than just take-home knowledge. Planning the event provided me with real-world experience and allowed me to network with people I would have never had a chance to know otherwise. I worked closely with Angie Meyer in the Career Planning Office. After meeting and talking with her, she asked me to run for secretary of Kelley’s Student Government. It felt good to think that only after meeting me a time or two, she trusted me to do a great job for this organization. I ran for the position, and you are now reading this blog written by the secretary for the Kelley School of Business Indianapolis Student Government!  In addition, I worked on B2B plans for the Academic Programs Office with Carly Grennes. She is academic advisor for the Kelley undergraduate program. After our collaboration on this event, Carly nominated me to the IUPUI Top 100 Program. I am excited to share that I am pursuing this nomination.

I have never been more proud to be a part of the Kelley school than I was during the Backpacks to Briefcases festivities. This opportunity showed me that it’s important to be engaged with student activities while completing my college degree. Not only did I gain invaluable experiences and relationships, I had a lot of fun!

Alexander the Great. Plato. Martin Luther King Jr. Mahatma Gandhi. Obi Wan Kenobi. Can you tell me what all these individuals have in common? A mentor.

As a young professional, I am constantly having a inner debate about what I actually want to do with my career. What am I really passionate about in business? Should I go back to the Kelley School and get a entrepreneurship MBA or a marketing degree?  How is my graduate experience going to translate into future professional opportunities? Should I wear the blue or red tie?

While I'm sure I will always have some form of these debates, its good to know that we were given two ears and one mouth. What do I mean? Its quite simple and yet complex at the same time: you were meant to listen more than speak.

Listening and mentorship go hand in hand like, "peanut butter and ladies" says Ricky Bobby. Faculty insights, professional wisdom, and past experiences of a mentor can help answer those tough questions about where you wind up in the future. Human beings are social creatures, we were not made to go through life alone. Picking an mentor that is invested in your success can make all the difference in your personal and professional life.

For me, I tend to have different mentors for different areas of my life. Dave Ramsey and more recently, Pete the Planner, generally have a stronghold on how I behave financially. Kris Gethin, trainer and nutritional expert, controls my eating and exercising habits. Ed Foreman, Jim Rohn, and Napoleon Hill have a fairly tight grip on my mental health and well-being. While this approach works for me, maybe you know someone you respect personally and professional who you feel would be a great mentor. If you don't, make it a mission to find someone. As a matter of fact, I know several Kelley School of Business professors who would serve as excellent mentors.

Alexander the Great had Aristotle. Plato had Socrates. Gandhi had Dadabhai Naoroji. Obi Wan Kenobi had Yoda. Who have you sought out to help you get to where you want to be?

 

-Nate 

 

@NCanadaWeTrust

@PetethePlanner

@KelleyIndy

One of the key ideas I share in my marketing MBA and undergrad courses is that marketing is much broader than advertising. Yes, we use a lot of examples of advertising to help key concepts come alive. And yes, there are a lot of marketers who basically spend their days creating advertising or marketing communications of some sort. And, probably if you ask a bunch of salespeople what marketers do, they’d say, “create ads.” But, I do like to stress that “Promotions” is just one of the aspects of marketing.

Okay, I realize that some people will disagree with me right from the start when I tell students there are 4Ps in Marketing – Promotions, Product, Price and Place (Distribution). Of course, I also tell them (although I might not repeat it enough to really stick) that not everyone agrees about the 4Ps. Actually, what I say is that one way to think about Marketing is via the 4Ps. We can argue whether there are 4, 5, 6, 7 or an infinite number of Ps. But, really what I want them to realize is that there are multiple dimensions to marketing that should work together to accomplish a brand’s positioning and market goals. I suspect they kind of feel beat over the head with this idea based on an email I received last week:

I was reading this article this morning and noticed that a PROFESSOR at George Washington said the goal of marketing is to create some sort of buzz, create memorable campaigns, something edgy. But I associated these comments more with advertising than marketing. I know advertising is a part of marketing, but I thought it was interesting that the quote sounded like she was substituting advertising for marketing.
http://news.yahoo.com/nd-tourism-director-ad-wasnt-meant-racy-000559311.html

Right away, I was proud of this student for asking a great question. But being curious like I am, I went ahead and clicked the link to see what had caused this brouhaha for a Kelley student. That’s when a bolt of lightning struck me – in some markets, maybe the domain of marketing is mostly that promotions “P”. The quote above was about a campaign for tourism to North Dakota that was quite controversial. Well, let’s put on our North Dakota Tourism Marketer’s hat: you have no control over Product (ND either has fun places to visit or not, you don’t create fun places), or Price (individual locations set their prices), and very little over Place (actually, New Zealand has done an awesome job of helping people buy their NZ destinations online). So, what the marketer really controls is how it is promoted. To this marketer, it is possible that marketing=advertising.

I contrast to one of our Kelley supporters up the road in Carmel, IN – Delta Faucet (click if you want to check them out). The marketing group at Delta Faucet not only recognizes the importance of all 4Ps, but product development and R&D report into the marketing function. Great, innovative products are a key component of their brand strategy. So, it makes sense that product development should be tightly aligned with the rest of the marketing team.

So, I guess my new advice to our students seeking marketing degrees is to understand what the real domain of marketing should be in your product category. If it really is primarily advertising, then do it really, really well. But, if there is any way to see marketing more broadly, try to manage that too. So, what’s the domain of marketing in your product/service category?

One of the best parts about being a Kelley professor happens when your students reach out to tell you about the cool, new things they are doing. In the last few weeks, I have been lucky enough to re-connect with several of our grads.

But today, I want to share the story of Peter Brasovan and Jared Byczko, two friends who graduated from Kelley with their undergraduate business degrees a couple of years ago. Peter was a student in two of my undergraduate marketing classes. After graduation, he traveled the US doing event marketing for Sony Playstation. A couple of years of daily and weekly travel later, he settled in Chicago and worked in marketing for the Chicago WhiteSox. What a great way to put his marketing degree to good use. But, what's a young professional to do in a big city when he isn't incredibly busy with his marketing job? Peter's answer - take up Crossfit.

Now for those of you not familiar with Crossfit, it's the principal strength and conditioning program for many police academies and tactical operations teams, military special operations units, champion martial artists, and hundreds of other elite and professional athletes worldwide. CrossFit is a core strength and conditioning program. It's designed  to elicit as broad an individual adaptational response as possible. CrossFit is not a specialized fitness program but a deliberate attempt to optimize physical competence in each person over ten recognized fitness domains:

• Cardiovascular and Respiratory endurance
• Stamina
• Strength
• Flexibility
• Power
• Speed
• Coordination
• Agility
• Balance
• Accuracy

Bottomline, Crossfit is a hard-charging, get your body in peak shape kind of workout. I don't know about you, but I am sure my body could stand some improvement. Of course, the key to being successful to these kinds of hard workouts is having a coach who teaches you proper technique and helps keep you from doing too much, too fast. As experienced Crossfitters and certified coaches, Peter and Jared are prepared to do just that.

For my part, it's great to see our grads taking charge of their destinies and committing themselves to something they feel passionate about. So, check out Crossfit Naptown and say "hi" to a couple of our Kelley grads. http://www.crossfitnaptown.com/

Oh yeah, here's Peter showing off what Crossfit has done for him!

Watch Peter with fellow Kelley alumnus and business partner Jared Byczko discuss running their own business.

When I started the Kelley MBA program two and a half years ago, I wanted to make sure that I didn’t repeat the same mistakes I made when I graduated from undergraduate school when it was almost impossible for me to find a job.  As I enter into my final semester as an MBA student, I find myself in a much better position than I was when I was entering my final semester as an undergrad.  For starters, I actually have a job, but even more important, I used the experience that I gained from all those failed interviews to structure my MBA experience.  While the degree is essential, it is important to have substance to bring with it, which is something that I lacked as a new college graduate.  All of the internships, volunteer experience, and extracurricular activities that I had during my undergraduate career gave me the opportunity to interview, but I didn’t have what it took to close the deal.  I was more focused on adding to the list of things I have done, than taking the time to really think about and express what those experiences taught me and how they can relate to the job market. 

While this was a tough lesson to learn at the time, it was something that stayed in my mind even after I found a job.  That is why, throughout my time in the MBA program, I have continually asked myself “what can I talk about in a job interview?”  Potential employers are going to look at my resume and see an MBA from the Kelley School of Business, one of the best business schools in the country, and be impressed enough to take the time to interview me.  However, what am I going to say in the interview that will give me an upper hand? What can I say about my time at Kelley that will close the deal?  An interviewer is not going to want to hear about what specifically I learned in class, or the formulas that I have memorized, they are going to want to hear about my experiences and, more importantly, how I can apply these to the job.  Simply following the class schedule required to get the MBA credential and completing the degree as quickly as possible really wasn’t going to provide me with the story I want to tell.  Instead I looked for opportunities to give me something I could talk about…”interview fodder”, if you will. 

For instance, I took the opportunity to participate in DIVE, the entrepreneurship enterprise.  DIVE was a valuable learning experience, and the type of “outside of the classroom” learning I was looking for.  In addition, my DIVE project is a perfect example of something I did in business school that would be interesting to talk about in a job interview, something that a potential employer would like to hear about.  The same can be said about why I joined the Student Advisory Board (formerly the Evening MBA Association).  Not only do these things add to the list, but they will be what will lead my conversation about getting an MBA.

The Kelley School of Business provides countless opportunities to enhance a students experience in the program, from the enterprises, to overseas study opportunities, to mentoring and facilitation sessions.  It is important to take advantage of these and begin to create interesting stories to tell in a job interview. Simply following the schedule to get the degree will only provide a credential that opens a door; it is the experiences you create and can relate that will give you the ability to land the job.  

Hello again Kelley world! I do not know most of you, but if any of you have been following the Kelley Indianapolis Biz Blog since its origin then you might remember me. I was an undergrad student/athlete from 2003-2008 when the Kelley School of Business-Indianapolis started the Biz Blog. I have a Marketing Degree and Supply Chain Management Degree;  I also played soccer at IUPUI. I have found my way back to Indianapolis via my career path and I have been asked to rejoin the Biz Blog team.

I am very excited to be a part of this team again. WOW, The Kelley School here in Indianapolis has grown tremendously in the few short years since I graduated.

I have had some pretty amazing jobs in my young career (Manager of event marketing tours for PlayStation, EA Sports, LG, and Sony). These jobs along with my passion for fitness have  led me to becoming a business owner here in Indianapolis. Jared Byczko (another Kelley alum) and myself opened CrossFit NapTown back in October of 2011 at 609 N. Delaware St. Indianapolis, IN 46203. www.crossfitnaptown.com

I never truly thought I would become a business owner while sitting through all of my Marketing courses, but my various career choices led me in the direction of becoming an entrepreneur.

Over my next few weeks/post I will talk about the trials and tribulations that my business partner and I encountered while opening CrossFit NapTown and how the Kelley school prepared us for our endeavor. I can say with 100% honesty that we both felt very prepared for our venture due to our course structure as undergrads. We talked many times how our I-core project became real and how the steps we took during that semester in college become real over the course of 6-8 months while we prepared our new business.

As with any new business there have been a few speed bumps in our path, but for the most part our planning and preperation has paid off. Jared has a management background and I have a marketing background; when we combine our skill sets we have a pretty well oiled business machine.

Until next time stay warm and stay healthy.

I enjoy helping students to find ways to study abroad to meet their international studies programs requirement.  I thoroughly enjoy meeting with students who were admitted into a program and then help them navigate the confusing documentation process.  What are the “barriers” to studying abroad?

That is a good question…

Myth 1:  “Studying abroad costs more money.”

• Truth:  Students who participate in Kelley programs register through Bloomington and pay Bloomington rates.   If you register for 16 credits for the London Internship program, you pay the Bloomington rate for 16 credits ($5,000).  16 credits at IUPUI $4,300.  ALSO you can get business scholarships to study!!
  • Some programs do require additional fees

Myth 2:  “Studying abroad will set back my graduation.”

• Truth:  Some Kelley abroad programs offer courses that count towards the human resources management degree, the supply chain management degree, international studies degree, the accounting degree, the marketing degree, and the finance degree.  This does not include any general education classes offered at each program.  THERE IS NO REASON FOR YOU TO NOT CONSIDER STUDYING ABROAD.

Myth 3:  “I don’t have a world language.”

• Truth:  Do you need a language to study in London?  No.  Do you need a language to study in Australia?  No.  China?  Yes.  Hong Kong?  Maybe not.  If you are going to Spain and completing an internship, should you know some Spanish?  Yes.  Not all programs require a world language.

Search programs (iabroad.iu.edu) you would like and meet with an advisor.  What could it hurt?  If you cannot meet with an advisor, why not meet one online on November 17th from 5:00-7:00pm.  Just log into http://breeze.iu.edu/ksbiabroad.  I look forward to virtually meeting you!  

This last Saturday was the 3rd annual IUPUI Regatta. Being the marketing chair for the event this year, I was looking forward to this day for about 7 months. For those of you who don't know the Regatta is a canoe race on the the downtown canal bringing together students, staff, faculty, and alumni.  This year there were 112 teams competing against each other for the title of the 2011 IUPUI Regatta Champions. The team that took this title home was IUSM Gubernaculum with a time of 7 minutes and 10 seconds. 

At the Regatta, there were many other things to do besides just the race.  There was a Family and Community Area which featured dog shows, dancing shows, obstacle courses and much more! It may have been a little cold and cloudy, but many people came out to this event in the support of student scholarships.

During the preparation of this event I learned much about the marketing field and I am proud to be on the track to complete my Marketing Degree at the Kelley School of Business Indianapolis.  

Of course, the answer is that you should not. The purpose of qualitative research is to explore issues, identify language, see how people think and feel, and generate hypotheses. On the other hand, quantitative marketing research attempts to accurately count perceptions and behaviors, size a phenomenon and diagnose how important an issue is. So, the decisions a marketer or business manager should make with these two kinds of data should be very different.

And in reality, the process to collect each of these types of data is very different.

But in my experience, too often marketers do just that - they try to quantify when they are exploring. The lure to cross-over comes from the following thought process:

• We are already talking to these people, so why can't we just add a survey to the focus group or one-on-ones? (because that wasn't the purpose of this research)

• After all, someone is going to ask me, "how many people thought that?" (great, so use words like some, many, few, a majority, etc. This research is meant to be directional, so you can suggest some directions)

• And, we've talked to enough people that isn't this now quantitative? (aggregating several small groups doesn't actually mean you have a larger sample; you still have a bunch of small groups)

If you join Kelley to get a marketing degree like a marketing MBA, you'll find out all the reasons why this is a bad idea. But, the fundamental reason is that you sample differently -- because you have different goals. So, you end up with unpredictable biases. Sometimes the quant confirms the qual. But more often, you get opposite results. This means you make what you think is a data-driven decision that really wasn't.

Let's look at an example. First, here are some qualitative results from some concept testing. Most of the research was spent asking people what they think the concept means and what interests them. But, you could also look at how they ranked the concepts in terms of which is better. This data tells you that Concepts A and B are good, while Concepts C and D are not. Notice that there are no percents here.   So, tread lightly. Recognize what each type of research is best at and use it accordingly. 'Nuff said.

Recently, I have come to embrace the power of Web 2.0. All of us, in quantitative marketing and even business in general, have so many opportunities to access so much good content. There are people who spend their days sorting through the huge volume of info on the web to help us be more informed and therefore, hopefully more successful.

And, so many great thinkers are now sharing their ideas online via blogs and social media. Some days, I feel I could spend half my time just keeping track of who says what. So, I've got to say "hats off" to Eloqua. Once again, they've churned through the data and handed us simple to use information. Anyone working on their marketing degree, especially a marketing MBA, should look over these blogs and pick a few to follow. I've included the infographic below. But, if you want to look at the details and find the links to the blogs themselves, check out Eloqua's blog post today by clicking here.

A second "hats off" to local blogging platform company, Compendium, for being named on this list of influential blogs. Of course, I am biased since their President is a Kelley Evening MBA grad.

 In response to Prof. Kim Saxton's excitement for the beginning of school, I would have to say that I too heavily anticipate the beginning of my last fall semester in pursuit of my Marketing and Supply Chain Management degree. The last month of my life has been really exciting with the 3rd annual Indiana Innovation Showcase and getting hired at Indiana's foremost Search Engine Optimization company, Slingshot SEO . 

The Innovation Showcase was a great showing of some really cool startup companies locally and even nationally. Amongst the booths of super Indiana startups stood a stage for elevator style pitches of companies aspiring to join them in next year's showcase. If you've never tested the waters of this environment I highly suggest it, because of its high potiential for networking and the ability to share your passions on an open stage. Some of my top highlights of the showcase include learning more about up and coming ebook solution provider CourseLoad LLC, listening to a really cool pitch from James Paden on his new side project Emaillium, and chatting it up with my favorite Chief Research Officer/Future Boss Jeremy Dearringer from Slingshot SEO. 

I have to blame my recent internship offer from Slingshot SEO on the experiential learning and tremendous educators here at Kelley Indy (a sponsor of the Showcase). I really have some of the best business professors. I look forward to learning as a part of the Slingshot family, after all the best way to learn the science of marketing is to experiment and actually do it. I really can’t wait to return to the excitement that is Kelley Indianapolis during the school year. 

"Focus on the Journey, not the destination. Joy is not found in finishing an activity but in doing it!" 
Follow my journey on twitter @jckilgore