Marketing Matters, Now and Forever
This class was my first real exposure to marketing. Prior to this, I always lumped marketing with advertising and assumed that was where it began and ended. To me, marketing was the process in which a business or product was promoted to others. I thought it was all about creativity, cute slogans, and absolutely no research; the exact opposite of my intended career in science.
After taking this class, I realize that a company cannot begin to form without a thought-out marketing plan. Marketing is how a company takes form through tons of market research.
Through marketing, a brand decides what its goals are, how it can provide value to its target market, and who its tribe ought to be. Once this is established, the brand then needs to ensure that they are in constant communication with their tribe, especially in a world in which we are connected 24/7 via the internet.
The most important lesson I learned about marketing is that it is crucial to communicate consistent and clear messages to one’s consumers. Brands need to take every opportunity to increase their brand awareness; whether by new technologies like AR and AI, creative campaigns, or shrewd “Newsjacking.” In a world when people are bombarded with thousands of advertisements a day, a company needs to ensure that they differentiate themselves so they don’t become irrelevant and forgotten.
I am currently on the path to work in the field of biotechnology. This field will surely require a good understanding and experience in marketing. Every drug, clinical finding, and medical device will need to be marketed to someone regardless of where it is in the approval process. Even in the early stages, an idea will need to be pitched to investors, a drug will need to be explained to the FDA, and once fully approved, the therapy will need to be marketed to the public. My biggest challenge of marketing within the world of biotech will be learning how to bring forth my creativity (which I further cultivated in this class) into a primarily dry industry.
I have really enjoyed learning all the new principles, technical skills, and creative exercises through this class. The things I have learned are not only applicable to this one arena but can be transferred into all areas of life.
In order to be successful, a person needs to know how to market themselves. I can now use the tools I was given in this class to embark on my career with the confidence that I can tell a story in which I effectively pitch a very unique commodity: myself!
