What's Required of the Next Generation of Marketers
Patricia Alvey, Distinguished Chair and Director of SMU's Temerlin Advertising Institute, talks about educating future marketers.
By: Maureen Morrison
If there's one thing the next generation of marketers — and even today's marketers — need to know, it's that you can't just be a marketer anymore. . .
Tomorrow's marketers will have to be well-rounded multi-disciplinarians who understand not only creative, but also digital marketing, social media and new technologies -- and how those all complement one another -- as well as how to back up a plan with data and analytics. Tech geeks are increasingly valued in marketing, and it's no secret procurement and financial management have been a hot-button issue for for several years. The answer? Marketers should learn those skills, too.
Successful marketers five or 10 years from now will have to master relevant disciplines and tools, including those for digital and social media, to develop deep relationships with customers, said Andrew Hayes, CEO and CMO recruiter at executive recruiting firm Russell Reynolds Associates. He said they'll need to be able to "predict the future by leveraging insights, interpreting trends and mining data to consistently develop products and services consumers never really knew they needed or wanted." . . .
"If you drive just digital and social media, you're only chasing tactics," noted Patricia Alvey, director-Temerlin Advertising Institute at Southern Methodist University. "We don't believe in angles when it comes to education. We try to prepare young professionals for what's next — to understand the changing consumer market. If you think about it, it all includes digital."
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